The is the first time in about three seasons I find myself reviewing a Melbourne game, and to be honest I am looking forward to this review, especially seeing this version of the Dees post Oliver and Petracca. There must some reason why the Dees are the seasons surprise packet, and I intend to find out why.
As for the Bombers, I look forward to seeing how the kids are performing, young uns’ like Archie Roberts, Archer Day-Wicks, Dyson Sharp, Sullivan Robey, Hussien El Achkar, Jacob Farrow and Nate Caddy.
Played in the Spirit of The Reverend
The scoreboard will show the Demons recorded a predictable 45-point victory over a gallant Bombers, but what the scoreboard fails to show is the third quarter performance of the young Bombers. In a game dedicated to the memory of the Reverend, Neale Daniher they did him proud.
At the end of the day Melbourne have further entrenched themselves in the top six, while the Bombers can concentrate on what they did right in the third quarter when they outscored the Dees and move on.
Joel Fitzgerald
In a game full of young ‘uns on both sides, the most impressive performance by one of the up and comers was Melbourne’s 22-year-old midseason recruit, Joel Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald finished the game with 12 contested possessions, six intercepts, six score involvements, seven clearances and three tackles from his 26 possessions, to be among the Demons best. It is easy to concentrate totally on his stats, but like a lot of other midseason recruits, he has great game awareness and a body ready to take on all the bumps and bruises.
In short, Joel Fitzgerald is an another example of a midseason recruit who is game ready.
Clubs who underestimate the value of the midseason draft do so at their own peril.
Going from a debutant we now turn our attention to one of the most elite players in the competition, Kysaiah Pickett, who was the difference between the two clubs, especially in the first half when the game was up for grabs.
Kysaiah Pickett
Here’s a dangerous proposition for all the teams who have their sights set on all things silver come the end of the year; you will most likely have to go through one of toughest, classiest, more talented players in the competition, one Kysaiah Pickett.
Pickett is a one-man wrecking ball, with his low centre of gravity, exquisite skills, an innate ability to read the play, and his ability to do the unbelievable, and then some.
I did say he is tough.
In the second quarter alone Kysaiah put on the afterburners as he and his teammates gapped the listless Bombers with a brutal display of football, to take a an impressive 41-point lead into the main break.
While Pickett had an impressive 12 possessions with two goals for the quarter, that just doesn’t tell the full story. Pickett spent large parts of the quarter in the Dees defensive half, creating havoc.
There have been questions as to whether or not Pickett has the tank to be an onballer?
Pickett as a forward is brilliant, but Pickett as an onballer is scary, and I mean scary good. A lot of coaches facing the Dees in the rest of the season will have to do a lot of homework trying to figure out a way of stopping Kysaiah.
Pickett is not of those players who gathers stats from kick-ins, nor little dinky kicks across the backline, but rather if he has a 32-possession like did against the Bombers, then the chances are he is going to hurt you and hurt you bad. Pickett is more than just a possession beast when he is let loose in the middle, he also hurts opposing teams with his tackles, bumps and general toughness.
Kysaiah Pickett is arguably the most all-round talent gifted package in the AFL at the moment, but it is his physicality which has opponents praying it is not Pickett tackling them.
Pickett’s career is on a trajectory to match the deeds of one Lethal Leigh Matthews.
It’s a big call, but he is ticking all the right boxers.
Essendon’s Finest Moment
After halftime, the young Bombers came out ready to, and while early goals to Nik Cox, Hussien El Achkar and Sullivan Robey cut the margin back to 22-points, it was the effort of the Bombers in defence which was more impressive.
Defensive pressure and Essendon have not been friends for many a year, and it would have pleased the Essendon faithful to witness their club playing with true desperation and standing tall.
In probably the best quarter I have seen Xavier Duursma play, he led the way with an impressive 11 possessions with 201 metres gained in third stanza. With Duursma, Mason Redman, Jordan Ridley and Jaxon Prior leading by example, the Bombers young guns jumped on board, in particular a kid by the name of Jacob Farrow (who looks like a 14-year-old).
Farrow, a debutant this season for the Bombers, in the midst of his breakout game, starred in the third quarter as he stood tall and stood tough. It was not only his eight disposals, with an efficiency that would put most AFL players to shame that impressed, but it was the way he went about it, clunking four defensive marks, and refusing to be beaten at the coal face.
Jacob Farrow is a keeper, but I still think he looks way too young to be on an AFL field.
The Bombers third quarter response after a miserable first half was impressive, outscoring the Demons kicking 3:02:20 for the quarter compared to the Dees 1:04:10. It is worth noting, the Dees’ only goal for the quarter came in junk time after the young Bombers had spent all their tickets.
As a reviewer, it is always a pleasure to go positive with a team that is struggling, and while I have been critical of the Bombers in the past this season, their third quarter against the Demons proves to themselves, more importantly than anybody else, they are capable of mixing it with the big boys.
Why did Melbourne win?
It is kind of a dumb question as Melbourne were never going to lose this game, as such, the better question would be, is the current crop of Demons ready to make a statement in season 2026?
Halfway through Round 14, the Demons find themselves sitting pretty in fourth position (I am aware of other factors), and at the start of the season any Demon supporter would have sent the CAT Team out to see you if you even suggested the Dees would be flying so high before their bye.
It was a ludicrous proposition to even suggest the Demons would win nine games by Round 14, never alone nine wins for the entire season, so where to from here?
Barring a complete form reversal, the Demons mindset should be a place in the Top 6, and possibly even a top 4 place.
One of the primary reasons the Dees have been able to cover the departure the absence of Oliver and Petracca has been the recruitment of Jack Steele to the club.
As an old school ruck-rover (look it up) Steele has become the mortar holding the Demons, young but exciting midfielders together, and working them as coherent and well drilled team unit.
Players like Jake Bowey, Trent Rivers, Harry Sharp and others are benefiting from the duo of Jack Steele and Max Gawn at stoppages.
Max aside, the Demons midfield has no household name stars in the middle, and this might be why they are catching so many teams off guard, and it is the blue-collar work ethos of Jack Steele keeping the Dees no name centre unit tight.
Obviously, big Max and Steele are not the only players setting the standards at the Dees, as across nearly every line senior players are stepping up this year.
Against the Bombers, Jake Lever was the general down back, directing his troops to positions that matter, and at the same time he seemed to be enjoying himself as he constantly has a new found smile on his face, which is very unnerving – a bit like Gomer smiling in Full Metal Jacket (look it up).
Tom Sparrow, Ed Langdon, Trent Rivers and Harrison Petty are other Dees who have also lifted their ratings this season.
The odd man out at the Demons is Bayley Fritsch, and I’m not suggesting he is doing anything wrong, but his decision making when a goal might be in the offering may suffer from tunnel vision at times, however, it was pleasing to see him play this game as a more defensive forward spending substantial time on the defensive side of centre.
With a great group of young guns coming through and the senior players buying in to Steven King’s game plan, the question remains unanswered, how far can the Demons go this year?
The Kids are Alright
Joey Montana made a massive call midway through the third describing Bomber first year player Dyson Sharp as a future captain of the club. Seriously Joey, the kid had a good game with 17 possessions, but future captain after seven games?
Dyson Sharp did have a good game and his future is bright, as is the future of the aforementioned Jacob Farrow, and the pair of them might day form the backbone of an Essendon team on the rise, but just for now, they both need games and another preseason under their belts.
Some Essendon friends of mine have harsh opinions about Elijah Tsatas, but I could not disagree with them anymore than right now.
Tsatas is a good honest footballer on the rise who has been on the Bombers list since 2023, and against the Demons he had a stellar game with 22-possessions, playing mainly back of the centre.
There is a reason Tsatas hasn’t been delisted, and that might just be for the reason he can play and perform at the level.
Archer Day-Wicks, apart from having a really cool name, is another babe in the woods who is learning what is needed to survive in the big leagues at Essendon, and surviving he is. It might do him good to watch how the Wizard or the Pap, dare I say it, Kysaiah go about their work.
There are big wraps from the Hangar about Sullivan Robey, and it is easy to see why. The kid is a real goer with a bit of toughness.
Robey was involved in the Cook concussion in the second quarter, and while it did affect his performance for the rest of the match, he never gave up trying.
Hussien Al Achkar is lively little jack in the box up forward for the Bombers, and he loves kicking a goal or two. All clubs need a little Jack Russell, and the Bombers have found a good one in Al Achkar.
Koltyn Tholstrup is slowly building a nice body of work for the Dees, and while he is not yet a star, he is playing some consistently good football after a stop/start season last year.
While Luker Kentfield had a quiet game against the hardened bodies of the Bombers, but he has caught the eye since his debut a couple of weeks ago. A few more games under his belt this year and a punishing off season will do Luker good.
In keeping with the Langford tradition, young Harvey, wearing the number four on his back, is making a name for himself this season with his consistency and desire to get the hard ball. This kid is a gun, and the Dees should lock down a contract as soon as possible.
The Problem of being Nate Caddy
Nate Caddy turns 21 on Bastille Day (14th July), and he is yet to play 50 games of football in the bigtime, but the pressure put on the shoulders of this kid is unbelievable.
Caddy is a bloody good footballer but therein lays the problem of Nate Caddy at the Hangar, as the success starved Bombers fanbase want success and they want it now, and at times some of their scorn is laid barely at the feet of young Caddy.
Caddy is going to be a star given time, and it is to be hoped he is appreciated as much for his growth within a really weak team from week to week, and not for what the supporter believes he may or may not become.
The Problem of being Harrison Jones?
Harrison Jones is a problem inside of a problem, inside of another problem and so forth, and that is the problem with Harrison Jones.
Since debuting 2021 Jones has teased, not the only the supporter base of the Bombers, but the wider football public at large that he will be a star one day, but it has never eventuated.
Many times, in the past I could have written the above about H Jones prior to today, but I wanted to believe he was more than he was showing on the field, and sadly for Harrison, he is now in the position of having to prove his critics wrong.
The Problem of being Xavier Duursma
My 118-year-old, Old (dec) Nana laughs whenever somebody mentions Xavier’s name, as she knows he would be given the worst seat at Christmas lunch each year as the family regales in praise for his two brothers, Willem and Zane, and his sister Yasmin who is making a name for herself in the AFLW.
Setting aside the thoughts of my old Nana, and contrary to her assessment, Xavier Duursma played his best game for the season against the Demons, especially in the third quarter when he owned the defensive half of the field clunking marks and repelling the Demon onslaught.
Credit where credit is due, possibly this year Xavier will be offered a seat at the main table come Christmas. Or at least a better seat than Zane.
Lukas Cooke and Archie Roberts Injuries
Midway through the second quarter, Melbourne debutant Lukas Cooke, was the meat in the sandwich between Ben McKay and Sullivan Robey. While McKay left the field because of bit claret on his face, young Lukas Cooke was deemed to have been concussed under HIA protocols, and he played no further part in the game.
To the point when Cooke was knocked out, he was having an impressive debut with seven kicks and four marks.
In a freak incident, Archie Roberts attempted to tackle Kysaiah, who went low to absorb the tackle with Roberts giving away a free for too high, and in the effort, Roberts flipped over Pickett and he popped his should when he hit the ground.
The loss of Roberts not only hurt the Bombers for the rest of this match, but it will for as long as he is out. It would fair to say Roberts was a long way in front of the Crichton Medal after 13 rounds, with daylight second.
Just for the record, Roberts was starring until his second quarter injury in this match with 12 possessions with four of those possessions deemed contested.
Good luck to Lukas Cooke and Archie Roberts with your recoveries.
Dean Solomon
I am not a believer of having an interim coach for over half a season, solely for the reason it creates a scenario where the whole club is kept in limbo. If a new coach was appointed right now for the Bombers, they would have the opportunity to see who and what players are on his list, as well as setting his imprimatur on the club a half a season earlier.
Twelve plus games with an interim coach is far too long, and it wastes a valuable half a season to start a rebuild.
Fin
Surprisingly, this was a really interesting game to watch, especially as a critic who could finally see method to the madness at the Bombers.
Next week, the Dees take on the Crows in Adelaide in what can best be described as a true eight-point game. Just for the record, I will be reviewing that game.
The Bombers have a bye next week, and I reckon the whole team should go someplace and forget about football for five days. The week after the bye, the Bombers take on the Roos under the roof at Marvel in the Marshmallow Cup.
Finally, buy HB Meyers a coffee, he reviews four games every weekend, and he ensures at least a couple of articles are published each day.
Fearless Leader is a bloody ripper.
Stay strong and stay bold.
