Cal-culations: Solomon can't be the answer as Bombers hit rock bottom

AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey takes a look at Essendon's mess, why Nick Daicos remains the No.1 in the AFL and more in Cal-culations

ESSENDON REACHES ROCK BOTTOM

IT IS hard to know what Essendon expected. Whatever it was, it hasn't worked.

When the Bombers decided to sack Brad Scott after round 11, with a year and a half to run on his contract, Essendon gave interim coach Dean Solomon a 13-week stint to hold the fort whilst also providing him an opportunity to prove himself as a candidate to be Scott's long-term successor.

That cannot be a consideration now after the Bombers' fifth straight loss and their dismal performance against St Kilda on Sunday.

Essendon hoped a change of voice would provide a change of result. In reality, the Bombers have been the same if not worse, remaining totally out of sync and with confusion about how they are meant to be playing.

Defensively there has been no improvement and aside from the game against Melbourne, who had the game won in the second quarter, the Bombers have had potentially winnable games against West Coast, Carlton, North Melbourne and St Kilda – all in their ladder range – and been easily beaten in the lot.

Solomon's priority when he took on the role was on connection and spirit, and his passion and love for Essendon is undoubted, but there has been little of that on show. The Bombers laid seven tackles in the first quarter against the Saints. By half-time they were down inside-50s by 16 and clearances by 13.

St Kilda, not viewed as a scoring powerhouse, kicked eight goals to one in the second term alone. Essendon hasn't kicked more than 10 goals in its past seven matches. Meanwhile Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (46), Bradley Hill (42) and Max Hall (33) all had career-high disposal counts with ease.

Unlike Carlton, where the changes under interim coach Josh Fraser have seen clear strategic and game plan shifts, personnel changes and new faces brought in to feature in different roles, there has been little to note at Essendon.

Unless the Bombers were keen to get into the coaching market and join Tasmania and Carlton, there was little to gain from making the call on Scott before the midway point of the year. They have looked like a club that has been ticking off the weeks left to go until round 24.

Solomon hinted last week that a decision was soon coming from his end about whether he will take part in the senior coaching process now the club had settled on a panel and process. That will be a call he has to make.

But as Essendon hurtles towards only its second wooden spoon in more than 90 years, the results in the back half of this season make it impossible for the Bombers to go in that direction.

If the Bombers were keen to look at a model where Solomon could be head coach and supported by a senior mentor and potentially even James Hird in a football department role, the lack of progress has also put a halt to that concept.

Hird wants the top job, has a vision, knows there is hard work ahead and at this stage is the only person to put his hand up for the role.

In the meantime, Essendon still has seven games to come, starting with a trip to the Gabba to face Brisbane next week before clashes with Greater Western Sydney, Hawthorn, Adelaide, Geelong, Sydney and Port Adelaide.

With that fixture, it would be more of a surprise if Essendon won a game than if they didn't, which would make for a worse season than the last time they finished wooden spooners in 2016, when they won three games after having 12 of their senior guns suspended for the year in the lowest point of the club's history.

A decade on, a different type of dire has enveloped Essendon.

THERE IS A CLEAR BEST PLAYER IN THE AFL

NICK Daicos simultaneously did two things on Saturday night.

He proved yet again he is the game's No.1 player whilst also showing why Collingwood never wants to drop down the ladder to go back up whilst they have the game's greatest asset in their midst.

Daicos could not have missed the discussion of other players usurping him as the best player in the AFL in recent times. But his past six weeks has proven that not only is he the game's best player, it's a title he holds comfortably.

His effort against Gold Coast – 31 disposals, eight clearances, one goal and 12 score involvements – was another example of his mastery and Daicos steered the Pies to their important six-point win over the Suns to keep alive their finals hopes whilst putting a dagger into those of their hosts.

This has to be the year Daicos gets the Brownlow Medal he has deserved for several seasons.

He should again poll maximum votes against the Suns, following what could be a run of more than 16 votes over the past seven weeks. Added to that in this bracket of games has been Daicos hitting the scoreboard, kicking 13 goals in that window.

He now has 19 already this season and spending more time deep in attack has added another element to his game, and he will easily eclipse his career-best tally of 20 goals he kicked in 2024.

Another AFL Coaches' Association Award as the game's best player would make it two from five seasons, while he has his fourth straight All-Australian jumper from five years already locked in.

Across the past six weeks, Daicos has picked up 38 coaches' votes and more will be coming this week as his lead in that award also jumps further.

Daicos being Daicos dovetails into the approach of the Pies, led by coach Craig McRae, to never want to strip the list back and rebuild. Just like 'Dangerflag' – the premise that whenever Geelong has Patrick Dangerfield on its list they would try to challenge for a premiership – the Daicos decade is pivotal to the Pies' hopes to defy list gravity.

If you have the best piece of the puzzle, continue to find ways to help him take you to the promised land (again). It's why he has been front and centre in trying to get Zak Butters to Collingwood. It's why partnering him with Lachie Neale is front of mind for the Magpies and it's why he should be standalone skipper next year.

The 23-year-old needs more help around him, but the Pies' are taking the approach to build around him rather than step back and build up.

The best player in the AFL? Nick Daicos every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

WHO LET THE DOGS DOUBT?

THE BULLDOGS have lost their bite.

On Friday night, Sydney was missing Tom Papley, Justin McInerney, Joel Amartey, Braeden Campbell and Sam Wicks from its best team. The Bulldogs were without Sam Darcy and Bailey Williams.

The absence of Darcy has been glaring for the Dogs since he went down in round six with his knee injury, but Sydney's set of missing players through injury was far more extensive than the Dogs, who had an injury list totalling three players heading into Friday night's clash.

But the gap in quality between the two teams was clear in the Swans' 35-point win, which could have been more with Sydney registering 61 inside-50s to the Bulldogs' 41.

The Dogs' issues were compounded by Brodie Grundy having his way with Tim English so much so that the Dogs sent their ruckman to a backline role and preferred to use Rory Lobb to try and combat Grundy's influence. Alas, Lobb was also no match and neither did English suit the defensive post as the Dogs conceded 14 marks inside 50 and only managed five themselves.

What has happened to the high-scoring, powerful Bulldogs? A premiership assault cannot rest on one player but it seems when Darcy's anterior cruciate ligament snapped, so too did the Dogs' capacity to hit the scoreboard. It has been a disaster they have not been able to circumvent.

The Bulldogs have reached triple figure scores just once since he went down against Geelong earlier this year and that was in defeat against the Dockers.

They have managed to score 15 or more goals – or 100 points – just three times this season. Last year they did it 14 times. After averaging 108 points last year, they are averaging 82 points this season.

Since the opening month of the season, when they were the were the most watchable Western Bulldogs and averaged 110 points a game in a stretch of four straight wins, they have averaged 73 points a game.

Their percentage of 90.8 is better than only three teams – 18th placed Essendon, 17th placed Richmond and 16th placed West Coast - and it has dropped from 137 per cent in 2025 (third in the competition).

DEES DELIVER, SUNS FADE

THE STORY of the year is Melbourne. The disappointment of the season is Gold Coast. Their narratives are more linked than you'd think.

The Demons are into the top six on the ladder after dispensing of Hawthorn in Tasmania, not an easy task and even less so having never played at UTAS Stadium in Launceston.

But their barnstorming first half, led by Max Gawn and fed by a group of hungry forwards ready to cash in, saw them take the points in a battle between the top-four contenders.

Steven King's brilliant first season in charge of the Demons has seen them unearth a new daring style whilst developing the confidence that anything is possible, after a trade period that saw them part ways with Demons legends Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.

Both of those players have performed for their new clubs, particularly Petracca at the Suns who has not been Gold Coast's issue, but the freshness at Melbourne has afforded opportunities to those who were ready. Jack Steele, too, has been one of the recruits of the year.

The Suns, meanwhile, have flopped to six straight losses and are six points outside of the finals whilst key players weigh their futures. Ben King's interest in Hawthorn is live and if he were an unrestricted free agent right now he would be a lock to be at the Hawks next year. He is still strongly considering it as a restricted free agent, though that would likely force a trade scenario, complicating factors.

Meanwhile Jed Walter has an offer worth nearly $6 million on the table from Essendon but is considering short and longer-term options from the Suns.

Melbourne is also chasing Bailey Humphrey, who kicked three goals against Collingwood on Saturday and looked back to some of his better form.

The Dees hold the Suns' first pick at this year's draft after last year's Petracca deal, which is now remarkably placed at No.5 in the order after Gold Coast's six-game losing streak.

The Suns cut their middle tier to bring in a draft class that they had to secure, and the performances of Zeke Uwland, Jai Murray, Beau Addinsall and Dylan Patterson have already shown they had to make those moves. For the most part of their losing run, it has been their senior core that hasn't delivered rather than the missing parts from 2025.

CLUBS PLAN FOR PLAYER COMMERCIALISATION CHANGES

SPEAKING of Gold Coast superstar Christian Petracca, the new Sun's address to club chief executives at last week's meeting on the Gold Coast, including discussions on the commercialisation of players, came at a time where the issue is front of mind for the League.

Petracca was there with Suns boss Mark Evans, speaking to the group of club bosses and AFL heavyweights about how he is using his personal brands to good effect.

It was part of a wider discussion the League had with the club chiefs about the next wave of commercial opportunities for players in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will start in 2028 and likely run through to the end of 2031 when the current broadcast deal ends.

This is going to be a big talking point because players have started to exceed clubs in follower counts – Petracca has 181,000 followers on his personal Instagram page, which is more than his current club Gold Coast (151,000 followers) and his former club Melbourne (171,000) – and the game's biggest names continue to block general media commitments to focus their energies on paid and sponsored content, often in conflict of their club deals.

Because the broadcast deal is locked in so far ahead, clubs are conscious the rise in the salary cap is unlikely to be enormous in the next CBA, so finding other ways for the big name players to commercialise deals and their image is front of mind for the AFL and Players' Association.

There is also a view the player ASAs – additional services agreements – could be reshaped so players can earn more for their extra services to a club outside of their traditional playing contract.

The AFL is expected to come back to the clubs with concepts around ways to enhance the commercialisation of players, with clubs also encouraged to be creative about how the next model could work.

LOOKOUT, THE LIONS ARE BACK

WE HAVE been here before with Brisbane. We should have all known that when Greater Western Sydney crunched the Lions in round 11, there would be an inevitable resurgence.

Their second half of the year brilliance catapulted them to their 2024 flag and they are following a similar model this year.

Champion Data shows that the numbers are nearly identical between rounds 13-17 this year as in 2024.

Here's the breakdown: they are ranked No.1 in points scored in this window and were No.2 then; they are ranked eighth for points against in this window and were eighth then; they are ranked third for forward half intercepts now and were third then; they are ranked No.1 for goal per inside 50 entry and were third then.

Scoring, turnover score differential, points from forward half intercepts, scores per inside 50 and shot at goal accuracy are almost identical as well.

The Lions' demolition job of Geelong in the first quarter of Thursday night's clash at GMHBA Stadium continued their back-and-forth rivalry with the Cats in recent years. Let's see if we get another instalment in September.

SOLVING THE FEATHERED FRENZY

THERE'S only one G in seagull, but there are hundreds of seagulls at the 'G for every night game.

Sitting at the MCG during Saturday night's Richmond and Carlton match was a reminder of the issue facing the venue in trying to limit the seemingly ever growing issue of the seagulls circling, particularly for night games.

The MCG has tried just about everything and is understood to be searching for a new solution as the seagulls have navigated the bird wires linking one side of the ground to the other.

The ground has also used wedge-tailed eagles to scare away flocks of seagulls, as well as deploying kites to frighten the seagulls who use the MCG as a landing pad. But they are back in force, circling in their hundreds, getting close to the play and sensing a hot chip is there to grab in the stands.

Short of a roof, it's not clear how to solve the gull gatherings.

If you're an ornithologist reading this and have an idea, reach out to the MCG.

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