Australian FootballMelbourne
Sporting PaperThe Footy Paper
Match Report
Friday 21 August 2026
No. 3
Round 3
Essendon9.1569
North Melbourne12.981
Marvel Stadium · Sat, 7:35 PM · Attendance 40,154 · FT
Scoreboard
Quarter by Quarter
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essendon | 2.5 | 4.8 | 5.12 | 9.15 | 69 |
| North Melbourne | 3.2 | 7.2 | 12.6 | 12.9 | 81 |
Scorers
Goalkickers
Essendon
P. Wright 2, J. Caldwell 1, S. El-Hawli 1, L. Blakiston 1, I. Kako 1, J. Gresham 1, Z. Merrett 1, N. Caddy 1
North Melbourne
Z. Duursma 3, N. Larkey 2, C. Trembath 2, T. Blamires 1, T. Xerri 1, P. Curtis 1, C. Zurhaar 1, L. Dovaston 1
How the match was won
Scoring Progression
ESS · NMFC
Head to head
Team Statistics
| ESS | Stat | NMFC |
|---|---|---|
| 328 | Disposals | 405 |
| 178 | Kicks | 254 |
| 150 | Handballs | 151 |
| 85 | Marks | 138 |
| 15 | Marks Inside 50 | 20 |
| 54 | Tackles | 39 |
| 25 | Hitouts | 13 |
| 21 | Clearances | 31 |
| 52 | Inside 50s | 49 |
| 105 | Contested Possessions | 116 |
| 217 | Uncontested Possessions | 278 |
| 27 | One Percenters | 40 |
| 24 | Frees For | 23 |
| 23 | Frees Against | 24 |
| 9 | Goals | 12 |
| 15 | Behinds | 9 |
The full box score
Players
Essendon
| Player | # | D | K | H | M | T | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Roberts | 21 | 25 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| J. Caldwell | 6 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| A. McGrath | 1 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 1 | - | - |
| S. Durham | 22 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 1 | - | - |
| K. Langford | 4 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 4 | - | 2 |
| D. Parish | 3 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 3 | - | - |
| J. Prior | 25 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | - | - |
| X. Duursma | 28 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 2 | - | - |
| A. Perkins | 16 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 1 | - | 2 |
| A. Day-Wicks | 44 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 | - | - |
| P. Wright | 20 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | - |
| S. El-Hawli | 41 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Farrow | 2 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 3 | - | - |
| L. Blakiston | 46 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| I. Kako | 10 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| J. Gresham | 11 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Z. Reid | 31 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | - | - |
| Z. Merrett | 7 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| N. Caddy | 30 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| M. Guelfi | 35 | 9 | 1 | 8 | - | 3 | - | - |
| Z. Johnson | 40 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - |
| A. May | 26 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | 1 |
| B. McKay | 32 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
North Melbourne
| Player | # | D | K | H | M | T | G | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. McKercher | 10 | 35 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 2 | - | - |
| L. Parker | 26 | 33 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 3 | - | - |
| H. Sheezel | 3 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 5 | - | - |
| L. Davies-Uniacke | 9 | 31 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 4 | - | 1 |
| F. OSullivan | 2 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 3 | - | - |
| C. Daniel | 5 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 1 | - | - |
| T. Powell | 24 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 4 | - | 1 |
| D. Stephens | 15 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | 1 |
| J. Simpkin | 12 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 1 | - | - |
| T. Pink | 32 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 8 | - | - | - |
| L. McDonald | 11 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 2 | - | - |
| T. Blamires | 39 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - |
| G. Wardlaw | 6 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 2 | - | - |
| T. Xerri | 38 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| C. Comben | 30 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | - | - |
| N. Larkey | 20 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 5 | - | 2 | 1 |
| P. Curtis | 25 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - |
| C. Trembath | 47 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| C. Zurhaar | 44 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 |
| L. Dovaston | 1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| C. Coleman-Jones | 21 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | - |
| A. Corr | 4 | 5 | 5 | - | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| Z. Duursma | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | 3 | - |