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Essendon vs North Melbourne — AFL 2026 Round 3

Round 3

Match details

Home & Away
Round 3
Full time
Essendon
69–81
NTH by 12
North Melbourne
15th
of 18 · index 78Round Health Score (0–100), last 3 rounds. Scores drift down league-wide as the season's injury load builds — read the slope relative to the league, not the level.
Round health
13th
of 18 · index 82Round Health Score (0–100), last 3 rounds. Scores drift down league-wide as the season's injury load builds — read the slope relative to the league, not the level.

Evenly matched on squad health.

Season 14th of 18 · index 39
Season 8th of 18 · index 60−5vs season

Head-to-head

10Ongoing injuries6
7Long-term (LTI)5
6 dDays' rest6 d
2Games in 21 days2
654 kmLast month air km2,718 km
Squad stabilityESS 8thNTH 13th of 18

Value-weighted players used — 1st = most churn of key players, 18th = most settled. Weighted by player value (our metric), not raw squad size.

Soft-tissue = the OSIICS muscle/tendon family — the injuries most prone to recurrence (ESS 1, NTH 0).

What do these scores mean?
Round Health
— point-in-time (0–100, 100 = no injury absences), weighting current ongoing absences on a fixed scale comparable across rounds. The league average drifts down as the season's injury load builds, so low late-season numbers are normal.
Season Health
— cumulative season-to-date: value-weighted injury burden, availability and incidence. Load-managed rests are excluded from both.
Sat 28 Mar · 7:35pm·Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
State
VIC
Surface
Hybrid surface
Roof
Retractable roof
Capacity
56,347

Injuries from this game

What this game cost — players hurt in it, OSIICS-classified, each linked to its injury record.

No injuries reported from this game.

Back from injury

Players who returned from injury in this game, each linking to their profile.

ESS

None returned

NTH

Current injuries

Every ongoing injury carried by each squad today (16 across both). Injuries sustained in this game are in the casualty report above.

NTH carry the cleaner bill of health — ESS enter with 10 ongoing injuries to NTH's 6, 7 of them long-term.

ESS
  • Knee — MCL Sprain

    Long-term
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Foot — Midfoot Ligament Sprain

    Long-term
    FragileDue Mar 1, 2027
  • Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    Injury-proneDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Shoulder — Shoulder Dislocation

    Long-term
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Chest/Torso — Back Injury (General)

    Long-term
    In rehab
    FragileDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Knee — ACL Tear

    Long-term
    IronmanDue Mar 15, 2027
  • Xavier DuursmaMID
    LTI
    Recurrence

    Hamstring — Hamstring Strain

    Severe
    Overdue (16 days)
  • Systemic/Other — Unspecified Injury

    Minor
    IronmanDue Mar 1, 2027
  • Darcy ParishMID
    Recurrence

    Lower Leg — Calf Strain

    Minor
    Due Mar 1, 2027
  • Knee — Knee Injury (General)

    Minor
    Due Mar 1, 2027

Signals

  • 2recurrences
  • 2awaiting diagnosis
  • 3durability-fragile
  • Body regions: 4× knee
  • What they lose: 4 midfielders, 3 forwards, 2 defenders

Recurrence flags repeat injuries to the same body region within 24 months.

Injury classifications use the OSIICS system (Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System). © John Orchard — Free to use with acknowledgment.