AFL 2026, Round 3 Talking Points

Scott Pendlebury’s party planning has gotten awkward, Essendon hits another new low, and an incredible draft crop is looking even better.

That and more as the big issues from Round 3 are analysed in Foxfooty.com.au’s Talking Points!

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PIES’ AWKWARD PENDLES PARTY DILEMMA

The day Scott Pendlebury becomes the new V/AFL games record holder will be a celebration, no matter what.

But party planning is always more complicated than you think.

Achilles soreness will force Pendlebury to miss the Easter Thursday blockbuster in Brisbane against the Lions, though the 38-year-old was always likely to miss it as part of his management plan.

It leaves Pendlebury on 428 career games, four away from Brent Harvey’s 432, with the question now becoming where Pendlebury will play his 433rd.

Problematically, Pendlebury now doesn’t have a lot of margin for error, based on the presumed plan anyway.

The Magpies champion should be back for their Gather Round clash with Fremantle, which is followed by a six-day turnaround to play Carlton at the MCG.

Should he then play on Anzac Day against Essendon, Pendlebury could play his record-equalling game 432 against Hawthorn in an MCG home game.

However there are just five days between the Bombers game and the Hawks game, and if the Magpies were going to manage him against Brisbane in Round 4 anyway, you’d suspect he would be managed for a five-day turnaround too.

If Pendlebury plays all of those games, he could break the record in Round 9, on Saturday night at the MCG against Geelong - which sounds perfect.

A slight caveat? That’s a Cats home game.

SEN reported Geelong and Collingwood had discussed swapping home games to ensure the Magpies had control of the MCG’s screens on Pendlebury’s big night - they are controlled by the host - but this was found to be too difficult.

Still, the Cats were reportedly “open to helping Collingwood and will work with its rival to support their requirements for the record-breaking game if it was needed”.

Given the Cats have arguably been the club’s greatest rival during Pendlebury’s career it will be a fitting night.

But what if that can’t happen?

Well, if Pendlebury misses any of those games between Gather Round and the Geelong clash, he would be lined up to play his record-breaking game interstate - Round 10 against Sydney at the SCG.

It would be extremely surprising for the Magpies to allow such a milestone match to be played away from home, not just for sentimental reasons but for financial ones.

Resting Pendlebury twice, instead, could allow him to play his 433rd game in Round 11 when Collingwood hosts West Coast at the MCG.

That would otherwise not be a blockbuster game, but the Pendlebury record would make it one - much like Dustin Martin’s 300th game bringing 92,311 fans to an otherwise middling Richmond-Hawthorn game in 2024.

Collingwood’s upcoming fixture and projected Pendlebury plan

Round 4 vs Brisbane, Thursday night, Gabba

Pendlebury to miss

Round 5 vs Fremantle, Friday night, Adelaide Oval (Gather Round)

Game 429

Round 6 vs Carlton, Thursday night, MCG

Game 430

Round 7 vs Essendon, Saturday arvo, MCG (Anzac Day)

Game 431

Round 8 vs Hawthorn, Thursday night, MCG

Game 432 and record equalled OR managed

Round 9 vs Geelong, Saturday night, MCG

Game 433 and record broken OR game 432 if managed once

Round 10 vs Sydney, Friday night, SCG

Game 433 if managed once

Round 11 vs West Coast, Saturday twilight, MCG

Game 433 if managed twice

After that, the Magpies face the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium and then host Melbourne in the traditional King’s Birthday clash.

But we reckon it won’t get that far - and Pies fans should probably make sure they’ve got tickets to that Eagles game. It might be the day.

BOMBERS REALITY CLEARER THAN EVER BEFORE

Where to here for Essendon?

The Bombers remain winless on the season at 0-3, with their 16-game losing streak dating back to last May one short of a club record.

And based on Brad Scott’s language after their latest loss to North Melbourne, it’s now crystal clear that this is an official rebuild.

We’ve known as much over the last 12 months as the club prioritised the draft over trade and free agency.

But it’s more evident than ever before; both with the eye test, given the names running out for the club, and based on the dialogue from the man running the team.

This isn’t to stick the boot in and kick a club when its down. Their effort was much better against North, even if it was a game the club should’ve circled as one it could’ve realistically won.

But the message to Dons fans is now loud and clear; be prepared for more pain in the short term.

“(Scott) said it’s a medium-to-long-term plan, and in the short term they’re going to take some more pain,” Saints great Leigh Montagna said on Fox Footy.

“I think that’s evident now for everyone in the industry to see that’s the case. How long that takes, who knows. It’s not going to be overnight, it may be another three to four years.

“Unfortunately for Essendon fans, they’re going to have to be patient. Hopefully, they’ve nailed these drafts in recent years and they get the right characters in. They can bring in some free agents at the right time, and build a list again that is competing in finals.”

So what exactly will that look like?

The elephant in the room is having extra draft picks now — instead of Zach Merrett following his failed trade to Hawthorn — would have the club better placed long term.

Much like how Carlton owns Sydney’s two first-round picks in the 2026 and 2027 drafts.

Because if you’re realistically not going to be competing now, you want as much stock in the future as possible.

Essendon’s priority should very much be blooding games into its high draft picks from recent years.

Nate Caddy has already establishing himself as their marquee forward.

Archie Roberts was a bargain at Pick 54 in that same 2023 draft as Caddy.

Isaac Kako has been a slower burn but he’s also clearly a key building block for the future.

It’s the 2025 draft the club invested most into with three first-round picks — Sullivan Robey, Jacob Farrow and Dyson Sharp — with only Robey yet to play his first game after an injury interrupted pre-season.

Getting reps into these players together should be the main focus.

And can any other young players really establish themselves?

Zak Johnson and Angus Clarke were two Bombers that emerged as a result of their injury debacle last year, though Clarke’s start to 2026 has been hampered by a syndesmosis injury.

“It’s all about the draft. They need to bring in as many kids as they can … they need to bring in as much as they can now,” Geelong champion Cameron Mooney added.

“The development side of their football club is the most important thing now, for mine.”

‘IF WE GO DOWN THAT PATH, SCRAP THE GAME’: FUTURE OF HIGH MARKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

It seemed inevitable this would come with increased focus around protecting player from concussions.

The future of high marks has been cast into the spotlight after Alix Tauru’s specky over Noah Answerth knocked out the Lions defender.

It’s one of the all-time great trademarks of Australian rules and what makes our game so great.

But it’s in direct conflict with this extreme focus on protecting the head at all costs, with so many other measures already put in place that have affected the game.

The sling tackle and pinning the arms in a tackle — once considered the perfectly executed tackle — are now big no-nos.

Could the high mark now be in danger, too?

Not according to Cats legend Cameron Mooney, who thinks scrapping the specky would ruin the fabric of AFL.

“Absolutely no danger whatsoever. If we do start going down that path, let’s scrap the game altogether,” he said on Fox Footy.

“It has been going for over 150 years, it is one of our greatest marketing tools in our game.

“That’s (Tauru’s grab) Mark of the Year so far, we’ll be talking about that at the end of the year as one of the great marks.

“Unfortunately we’re going to get these incidents.

“But to ever talk about taking the big high mark away, I will walk out of this job in a heartbeat.”

Dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna agreed, arguing there should be more onus on players that back into contests to protect themselves and avoid putting themselves in harm’s way.

“I don’t think you can take away the high mark, because Tauru has done absolutely nothing wrong there,” Montagna said.

“If anything, as we go down the track and concussion becomes more of an issue, we continue to educate players that back into contests or run back with the flight.

“Continue to educate them to avoid those incidents, because Noah Answerth was so courageous in that instance.”

2024 DRAFT STARTING TO LOOK SPECIAL

The 2001 AFL ‘Superdraft’ — featuring greats like Luke Hodge, Luke Ball and Chris Judd — has been widely lauded.

The 2023 draft, which included Sam Darcy, Nick Daicos and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, is also looking mighty promising.

And the 2024 draft has now entered the conversation.

Finn O’Sullivan is really starting to come on, with the North Melbourne young gun’s lockdown role on Zach Merrett while picking up 24 touches himself some effort.

Jagga Smith has busted onto the scene in a major way as the Rising Star favourite after his 2025 was wiped by an ACL injury.

And the likes of Sam Lalor, Levi Ashcroft, Alix Tauru and Murphy Reid are showing they have all the tools to be genuine superstars of the future.

Heck, three Lions from the 2024 class — Ashcroft, Sam Marshall and Ty Gallop — are already premiership players.

The emergence of O’Sullivan and Smith more specifically in 2026 is what’s really taken this crop to another level.

Consider that we’re still yet to see the likes of Sid Draper, Josh Smillie and Taj Hotton get a good chance to show their chops after an injury interrupted starts to their careers.

The Tigers have evidently invested a lot of stock in the 2025 draft in a pool they had six top first-round picks — Lalor, Smillie, Hotton, Jonty Faull, Luke Trainor and Harry Armstrong — after trading away Daniel Rioli and Shai Bolton.

For their sake, let’s hope it only continues to age better.

First-round of 2024 draft

1. Sam Lalor (Richmond)

2. Finn O’Sullivan (North Melbourne)

3. Jagga Smith (Carlton)

4. Sid Draper (Adelaide)

5. Levi Ashcroft (Brisbane)

6. Harvey Langford (Melbourne)

7. Josh Smillie (Richmond)

8. Tobie Travaglia (St Kilda)

9. Leo Lombard (Gold Coast)

10. Alix Tauru (St Kilda)

11. Xavier Lindsay (Melbourne)

12. Taj Hotton (Richmond)

13. Isaac Kako (Essendon)

14. Jonty Faull (Richmond)

15. Joe Berry (Port Adelaide)

16. Bo Allan (West Coast)

17. Murphy Reid (Fremantle)

18. Ollie Hannaford (GWS)

19. Harrison Oliver (GWS)

20. Cooper Hynes (Western Bulldogs)

21. Luke Trainor (Richmond)

22. Jesse Dattoli (Sydney)

23. Harry Armstrong (Richmond)

24. Cody Angove (GWS)

25. Sam Marshall (Brisbane)

26. Ned Bowman (Sydney)

27. Matt Whitlock (North Melbourne)

Other notable picks

29. Lachie Jacques (Western Bulldogs)

30. Jobe Shanahan (West Coast)

33. Jack Whitlock (Port Adelaide)

38. Christian Moraes (Port Adelaide)

39. Angus Clarke (Essendon)

49. Harry O’Farrell (Carlton)

41. Riley Bice (Sydney)

42. Ty Gallop (Brisbane)

45. Hugh Boxshall (St Kilda)

51. Sam Davidson (Western Bulldogs)

70. Zak Johnson (Essendon)

SO, ST KILDA... WHO’S ‘RISING WITH NAS’?

In the words of St Kilda head coach Ross Lyon post-game on Saturday evening: “We’ve got a few that need to rise with ‘Nas’.”

Sitting at 1-3 heading into their early bye, it may be the most accurate assessment the mastermind has made so far this season.

Wanganeen-Milera, whom Lyon was referring to, has evidently become the club’s focal point on-field after re-signing on a lucrative two-year deal last August.

No critics question that reality, such has his recent influence at Moorabbin been both on game day and culturally. But, like most million-dollar players, added responsibility brings added attention from opposition clubs.

The 23-year-old is learning that very quickly in the form of opposition taggers, and it’s beginning to unmask the middle-of-the-road performances of his teammates.

Big-name recruits in Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Liam Ryan and Sam Flanders have been the first to feel the public’s wrath amid an early patch of losses, but their coach’s message after Round 3 extends well beyond the quartet.

The Saints were within striking distance against all of Collingwood, Melbourne and Brisbane, but faded in each of the three losses — not to mention they very nearly relinquished a 39-point lead to GWS in their sole victory for the year, walking away as only four-point winners.

On that sentiment, a comment Lyon made after their Round 1 loss to the Demons resonates; just perhaps not with the sentiment they would hope.

“The reality is, we could be 2-0, maybe, or 1-1. But 0-2, regardless of what that result is ... as long as you (the players) come in to prepare to fix those (errors) and learn ... as much as it grinds on you, we certainly feel we’ve given great effort,” Lyon told journalists earlier this month.

“That’s not going to satisfy everyone, but it certainly satisfies me as head coach.”

Well, the reality is that with that last-gasp victory over GWS, the Saints were very close to being 0-4, and in a game of inches, the club can’t afford to cut things much finer than they are right now.

St Kilda’s early bye couldn’t have come at a better time this upcoming weekend, before travelling to Adelaide for a Gather Round weekend finale against a down-and-out Port Adelaide outfit, who had a harrowing home loss to West Coast on Sunday afternoon.

Post-bye, Ross’ mob has three very winnable fixtures against the Power, the Eagles and Carlton that they simply can’t afford to lose if they’re going to be in a genuine position to return to September — an outcome widely expected of them after such a busy off-season and recent mediocrity.

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