Nate Caddy brings up game 50 as Essendon meet North Melbourne
Essendon meet North Melbourne at Norwood Oval, Sunday 12:30pm (AFL, Round 4). Essendon have won 108 of the 168 meetings with North Melbourne since 1925.
The big picture
Essendon are 2–21 in AFL 2026, averaging 69.6 points for and 107.7 against.
North Melbourne are 9–14 in AFL 2026, averaging 84 points for and 94.6 against.
Form
Essendon have won zero of their last five and most recently lost to Port Adelaide 95–105.
North Melbourne have won one of their last five and most recently lost to Sydney Swans 70–123.
Essendon have lost their last five.
Head to head
These sides have met 168 times on our records since 1925: Essendon 108, North Melbourne 59, 1 drawn.
Last time out (2026, Round 16), North Melbourne won 79–65 at Marvel Stadium.
Biggest margin between these two: Essendon by 125 points in 2000 (198–73).
Players to watch
For Essendon, watch Archie Roberts (28.1 disposals a game, 2 goals in 2026) and Zach Merrett (27.3 disposals a game, 10 goals in 2026).
For North Melbourne, watch Harry Sheezel (30.4 disposals a game, 12 goals in 2026) and Luke Parker (25.3 disposals a game, 3 goals in 2026).
Milestone watch
Nate Caddy is set to play game 50.
Caleb Daniel is 1 goals short of 50 for their career.
What the numbers say
On the numbers this is too close to split.
Written automatically from Lineball's own match and player database. Not betting advice.
