2025 AFL Round 18: North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs

This is the match report for the match played on 3 July 2025 between North Melbourne and Western Bulldogs during round 18 of the 2025 AFL season. North Melbourne hosted Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. Jy Simpkin captained the hosts. Marcus Bontempelli captained the visitors with Tom Liberatore as vice-captain. The hosts were coached by Alastair Clarkson and the visitors were coached by Luke Beveridge.

North Melbourne
Back: W. Dawson, T. Pink, G. Logue
Half-back: F. O'Sullivan, C. Daniel, B. Scott
Centre: D. Stephens, L. Davies-Uniacke, J. Simpkin (capt.)
Half-forward: J. Konstanty, N. Larkey, C. McKercher
Forward: P. Curtis, F. Maley, C. Zurhaar
Follower: T. Xerri, H. Sheezel, T. Powell
Int.: Z. Duursma, R. Hardeman, C. Harvey, W. Phillips
Sub.: R. Hansen

Western Bulldogs
Back: L. Bramble, J. O'Donnell, N. Coffield
Half-back: J. Johannisen, R. Lobb, B. Dale
Centre: R. Sanders, E. Richards, J. Freijah
Half-forward: C. Poulter, A. Naughton, M. Kennedy
Forward: L. Vandermeer, S. Darcy, R. Garcia
Follower: T. English, M. Bontempelli (capt.), T. Liberatore (vice-capt.)
Int.: T. Duryea, C. Hynes, R. West, B. Williams
Sub.: L. McNeil

North Melbourne (13.7.85) were defeated by Western Bulldogs (20.14.134).

Goalkickers
North Melbourne: N. Larkey (5), C. Zurhaar (2), P. Curtis, R. Hansen, C. Harvey, F. Maley, C. McKercher, H. Sheezel
Western Bulldogs: A. Naughton (5), S. Darcy (4), M. Bontempelli (2), B. Dale (2), T. English (2), T. Liberatore (2), J. Freijah, L. Vandermeer, R. West

As a result of this match, North Melbourne remained 16th on the ladder and Western Bulldogs were then 4th on the ladder (up from 7th) by the end of the day.

Match Details

Season: 2025 AFL Season
Round: Round 18
Teams: North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs
Date: Thursday 3 July 2025
Time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Marvel Stadium
Attendance: 25,009

Match Results

Outcome: North Melbourne def. by Western Bulldogs
Score: 13.7.85 - 20.14.134

Quarter Breakdown

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
North Melbourne 5 . 2 8 . 3 12 . 6 13 . 7 13 . 7 (85)
Western Bulldogs 4 . 2 10 . 4 15 . 10 20 . 14 20 . 14 (134)
Margin NMLB by 6 WBUL by 13 WBUL by 22 WBUL by 49 WBUL by 49
Duration 33:51 33:07 34:06 30:50 2:11:54

Honour Roll

Coaches: Alastair Clarkson (North Melbourne), Luke Beveridge (Western Bulldogs)
Captains: Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne), Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
Vice-Captains: unknown (North Melbourne), Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)

Brownlow Votes

Player Team # Votes
Tom Liberatore WBUL 21 3
Ed Richards WBUL 20 2
Aaron Naughton WBUL 33 1

Player Statistics

North Melbourne

# Player Pos. ToG% GL BH DI KI HB MK HO TA CL CR FF FA RF IF
25 Curtis, Paul FPL 82% 1 0 7 5 2 1 0 4 1 3 2 1 0 3
5 Daniel, Caleb CHB 88% 0 0 25 15 10 5 0 4 1 4 0 2 6 2
9 Davies-Uniacke, Luke C↓ 17% 0 0 6 3 3 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 1 1
18 Dawson, Wil BPL 85% 0 0 8 8 0 3 3 4 0 2 2 0 4 0
7 Duursma, Zane INT 62% 0 0 6 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3
46 Hansen, Robert SUB↑ 53% 1 0 11 8 3 4 0 3 1 3 1 0 0 1
17 Hardeman, Riley INT 78% 0 0 20 14 6 1 0 1 1 3 2 2 6 1
37 Harvey, Cooper INT 75% 1 1 15 10 5 4 0 2 0 4 1 2 2 2
41 Konstanty, Jacob HFFL 86% 0 0 8 4 4 2 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 1
20 Larkey, Nick CHF 83% 5 1 9 8 1 6 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
19 Logue, Griffin BPR 88% 0 0 13 8 5 6 0 1 1 4 0 2 3 0
39 Maley, Finnbar FF 83% 1 0 8 2 6 4 5 6 1 2 0 0 0 1
10 McKercher, Colby HFFR 83% 1 0 32 23 9 9 0 1 1 3 0 0 5 3
2 O'Sullivan, Finn HBFL 80% 0 0 11 4 7 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1
29 Phillips, Will INT 71% 0 0 16 8 8 4 0 4 6 2 1 1 0 2
32 Pink, Toby FB 97% 0 0 10 3 7 4 0 0 0 3 0 2 3 0
24 Powell, Tom RO 80% 0 0 25 12 13 4 0 8 6 9 1 1 5 3
8 Scott, Bailey HBFR 83% 0 0 18 9 9 6 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 5
3 Sheezel, Harry RR 87% 1 1 22 10 12 3 0 6 3 3 2 1 2 3
12 Simpkin, Jy (c) WR 85% 0 0 16 9 7 2 0 4 6 5 1 2 0 4
15 Stephens, Dylan WL 91% 0 1 16 11 5 4 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 1
38 Xerri, Tristan RU 76% 0 0 17 8 9 1 30 5 7 1 1 0 2 3
44 Zurhaar, Cameron FPR 87% 2 1 10 8 2 4 0 3 1 2 1 2 1 3
Rushed 2
Total (23 players) 13 7 329 193 136 81 38 63 41 61 19 20 44 43

R. Hansen replaced L. Davies-Uniacke.

Western Bulldogs

# Player Pos. ToG% GL BH DI KI HB MK HO TA CL CR FF FA RF IF
4 Bontempelli, Marcus (c) RR 82% 2 1 25 13 12 5 0 10 0 1 2 0 0 4
29 Bramble, Lachie BPL 73% 0 1 20 11 9 3 0 3 1 0 0 0 3 2
17 Coffield, Nick BPR 82% 0 0 12 7 5 5 0 3 0 2 1 1 4 1
31 Dale, Bailey HBFR 85% 2 0 13 9 4 2 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 3
10 Darcy, Sam FF 82% 4 2 12 8 4 6 4 3 2 5 2 2 0 2
15 Duryea, Taylor INT 81% 0 0 8 4 4 3 0 2 0 3 0 1 1 2
44 English, Tim RU 84% 2 1 13 11 2 7 29 4 2 0 0 0 0 3
27 Freijah, Joel WR 88% 1 0 12 9 3 3 0 1 4 4 1 2 0 4
38 Garcia, Riley FPR 73% 0 0 18 8 10 0 0 4 3 2 3 1 0 3
6 Hynes, Cooper INT 68% 0 0 11 7 4 3 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 2
39 Johannisen, Jason HBFL 82% 0 1 15 11 4 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 3
8 Kennedy, Matthew HFFR 83% 0 0 25 12 13 4 0 5 4 5 0 3 3 6
21 Liberatore, Tom (vc) RO 80% 2 0 27 16 11 5 0 10 6 1 1 0 1 7
7 Lobb, Rory CHB 100% 0 0 15 11 4 9 0 1 0 2 1 1 4 3
30 McNeil, Lachlan SUB 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 Naughton, Aaron CHF 85% 5 2 14 11 3 9 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 2
18 O'Donnell, James FB 93% 0 0 10 7 3 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 2
25 Poulter, Caleb HFFL 68% 0 0 10 4 6 1 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 1
20 Richards, Ed C 82% 0 2 26 18 8 3 0 2 9 6 1 2 0 7
9 Sanders, Ryley WL 89% 0 0 23 9 14 3 0 4 0 3 2 2 1 3
23 Vandermeer, Laitham FPL 73% 1 1 17 6 11 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 3
14 West, Rhylee INT 84% 1 0 13 4 9 1 0 4 2 2 2 1 0 1
34 Williams, Bailey INT 85% 0 0 17 7 10 4 0 2 0 1 0 1 2 1
Rushed 3
Total (23 players) 20 14 356 203 153 88 33 71 35 48 20 19 27 65

Legend

ToG%: Time-on-Ground Percentage, GL: Goals, BH: Behinds, DI: Disposals, KI: Kicks, HB: Handballs, MK: Marks, HO: Hitouts, TA: Tackles, CL: Clearances, CR: Clangers, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, RF: Rebounds Inside 50, IF: Inside 50s

Player Line-Up

North Melbourne Coach: Alastair Clarkson
BACK FOLLOWER INTERCHANGE
29 L. Bramble 18 J. O'Donnell 17 N. Coffield 38 T. Xerri 7 Z. Duursma
44 C. Zurhaar 39 F. Maley 25 P. Curtis 3 H. Sheezel 17 R. Hardeman
FORWARD 24 T. Powell 37 C. Harvey
HALF-BACK

29 W. Phillips
39 J. Johannisen 7 R. Lobb 31 B. Dale

46 R. Hansen
10 C. McKercher 20 N. Larkey 41 J. Konstanty



HALF-FORWARD



CENTRE



9 R. Sanders 20 E. Richards 27 J. Freijah



12 J. Simpkin (c) 9 L. Davies-Uniacke 15 D. Stephens FOLLOWER INTERCHANGE
CENTRE 44 T. English 15 T. Duryea
HALF-FORWARD 4 M. Bontempelli (c) 6 C. Hynes
25 C. Poulter 33 A. Naughton 8 M. Kennedy 21 T. Liberatore (vc) 14 R. West
8 B. Scott 5 C. Daniel 2 F. O'Sullivan

34 B. Williams
HALF-BACK

30 L. McNeil
FORWARD



23 L. Vandermeer 10 S. Darcy 38 R. Garcia



19 G. Logue 32 T. Pink 18 W. Dawson



BACK



Western Bulldogs Coach: Luke Beveridge

Score Timeline

Quarter Team Scoring Event Score Time
Q1 WBUL Laitham Vandermeer goal 0.0.0 - 1.0.6 00:57
WBUL Tim English goal 0.0.0 - 2.0.12 02:48
NMLB Harry Sheezel behind 0.1.1 - 2.0.12 05:19
NMLB Nick Larkey goal 1.1.7 - 2.0.12 07:02
NMLB Nick Larkey goal 2.1.13 - 2.0.12 11:02
NMLB Nick Larkey goal 3.1.19 - 2.0.12 12:18
WBUL Sam Darcy behind 3.1.19 - 2.1.13 14:27
WBUL Tom Liberatore goal 3.1.19 - 3.1.19 17:29
WBUL Tim English goal 3.1.19 - 4.1.25 22:45
NMLB Paul Curtis goal 4.1.25 - 4.1.25 26:43
WBUL Marcus Bontempelli behind 4.1.25 - 4.2.26 28:39
NMLB Nick Larkey goal 5.1.31 - 4.2.26 30:55
NMLB Nick Larkey behind 5.2.32 - 4.2.26 33:48
Q2 WBUL Aaron Naughton goal 5.2.32 - 5.2.32 01:24
NMLB Harry Sheezel goal 6.2.38 - 5.2.32 03:45
WBUL Bailey Dale goal 6.2.38 - 6.2.38 09:42
NMLB Nick Larkey goal 7.2.44 - 6.2.38 11:28
WBUL Aaron Naughton goal 7.2.44 - 7.2.44 14:45
NMLB Cooper Harvey behind 7.3.45 - 7.2.44 19:09
WBUL Aaron Naughton goal 7.3.45 - 8.2.50 21:08
NMLB Cameron Zurhaar goal 8.3.51 - 8.2.50 24:06
WBUL Ed Richards behind 8.3.51 - 8.3.51 25:27
WBUL Aaron Naughton behind 8.3.51 - 8.4.52 28:52
WBUL Marcus Bontempelli goal 8.3.51 - 9.4.58 30:15
WBUL Aaron Naughton goal 8.3.51 - 10.4.64 31:54
Q3 WBUL Lachie Bramble behind 8.3.51 - 10.5.65 02:32
WBUL Jason Johannisen behind 8.3.51 - 10.6.66 05:17
NMLB Cooper Harvey goal 9.3.57 - 10.6.66 06:00
WBUL Sam Darcy goal 9.3.57 - 11.6.72 09:22
NMLB Finnbar Maley goal 10.3.63 - 11.6.72 11:06
NMLB Rushed behind 10.4.64 - 11.6.72 13:31
NMLB Robert Hansen goal 11.4.70 - 11.6.72 15:00
WBUL Tom Liberatore goal 11.4.70 - 12.6.78 18:03
WBUL Rushed behind 11.4.70 - 12.7.79 19:15
WBUL Ed Richards behind 11.4.70 - 12.8.80 20:41
WBUL Marcus Bontempelli goal 11.4.70 - 13.8.86 21:23
NMLB Rushed behind 11.5.71 - 13.8.86 23:12
WBUL Bailey Dale goal 11.5.71 - 14.8.92 24:01
WBUL Rushed behind 11.5.71 - 14.9.93 25:24
WBUL Tim English behind 11.5.71 - 14.10.94 27:40
WBUL Aaron Naughton goal 11.5.71 - 15.10.100 30:09
NMLB Cameron Zurhaar goal 12.5.77 - 15.10.100 31:55
NMLB Cameron Zurhaar behind 12.6.78 - 15.10.100 34:04
Q4 WBUL Rushed behind 12.6.78 - 15.11.101 01:50
WBUL Sam Darcy goal 12.6.78 - 16.11.107 03:41
WBUL Laitham Vandermeer behind 12.6.78 - 16.12.108 05:22
WBUL Joel Freijah goal 12.6.78 - 17.12.114 09:58
WBUL Sam Darcy behind 12.6.78 - 17.13.115 12:55
WBUL Sam Darcy goal 12.6.78 - 18.13.121 14:52
NMLB Colby McKercher goal 13.6.84 - 18.13.121 18:23
WBUL Sam Darcy goal 13.6.84 - 19.13.127 21:21
WBUL Rhylee West goal 13.6.84 - 20.13.133 25:00
WBUL Aaron Naughton behind 13.6.84 - 20.14.134 27:58
NMLB Dylan Stephens behind 13.7.85 - 20.14.134 30:23