2026 AFL Season Round 9: Sydney v Melbourne

This is the match report for the match played on 3 May 2026 between Sydney and Melbourne during round nine of the 2026 season of the Australian Football League. Sydney hosted Melbourne at the SCG. Callum Mills captained the hosts with Isaac Heeney as vice-captain. Max Gawn captained the visitors. The hosts were coached by Dean Cox and the visitors were coached by Steven King.

Sydney (19.17.131) defeated Melbourne (17.12.114).

Match Details

Season: 2026 AFL Season
Round: Round 9
Teams: Sydney v Melbourne
Date: Sunday 3 May 2026
Time: 3:15 PM
Venue: SCG
Attendance: 40,673

Match Results

Outcome: Sydney def. Melbourne
Score: 19.17.131 - 17.12.114

Quarter Breakdown

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Sydney 5 . 2 10 . 8 13 . 15 19 . 17 19 . 17 (131)
Melbourne 5 . 4 7 . 4 10 . 8 17 . 12 17 . 12 (114)
Margin MELB by 2 SYDN by 22 SYDN by 25 SYDN by 17 SYDN by 17
Duration 34:21 32:35 31:40 38:02 2:16:38

Score Worm

This chart is oriented such that the margin is positive when the hosts (Sydney) are in the lead and is negative when the visitors (Melbourne) are in the lead.

Honour Roll

Sydney

Captain: Callum Mills
Vice-Captain: Isaac Heeney
Coach: Dean Cox

Melbourne

Captain: Max Gawn
Coach: Steven King

Brownlow Votes

Player Team # Votes
Malcolm Rosas SYDN 10 3
Brodie Grundy SYDN 4 2
Isaac Heeney SYDN 5 1

AFLCA Champion Votes

Player Team # Votes 5 4 3 2 1

Player Statistics

Sydney

# Player Pos. ToG% GL BH DI KI HB MK HO TA CL CR FF FA RF IF
36 Amartey, Joel FPL 78% 4 1 14 7 7 6 0 2 0 4 1 1 0 2
26 Bice, Riley INT 83% 0 0 17 10 7 6 0 2 1 2 0 0 2 0
22 Blakey, Nick HBFL 80% 0 2 29 14 15 1 0 2 3 3 1 2 4 5
25 Cootee, Billy INT 56% 0 0 11 5 6 1 0 2 4 1 1 0 0 4
35 Curnow, Charlie FF 78% 1 4 8 7 1 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0
28 Edwards, Will BPL 86% 0 0 10 4 6 3 0 2 0 3 1 2 1 0
4 Grundy, Brodie RU 85% 1 1 26 12 14 2 45 4 11 8 2 4 4 3
5 Heeney, Isaac (vc) RR 81% 0 0 33 11 22 4 0 5 3 3 1 0 3 6
17 Jordon, James HFFL 93% 0 0 18 6 12 0 0 6 4 0 2 0 1 2
44 Lloyd, Jake HFFR 84% 1 0 17 12 5 7 0 2 2 2 0 1 3 3
6 McDonald, Logan INT 73% 3 0 7 5 2 4 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 0
27 McInerney, Justin RO 89% 1 1 29 12 17 5 0 2 5 3 2 1 2 7
43 Melican, Lewis FB 81% 0 0 13 7 6 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 2
14 Mills, Callum (c) CHB 80% 0 0 26 14 12 11 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 1
11 Papley, Tom CHF 73% 1 1 14 9 5 2 0 4 1 1 1 1 0 4
24 Rampe, Dane BPR 84% 0 0 22 11 11 5 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 3
34 Roberts, Matt WR 82% 0 1 18 10 8 8 0 4 1 1 2 0 3 4
10 Rosas, Malcolm FPR 82% 7 0 14 11 3 4 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 1
8 Rowbottom, James INT 71% 0 0 19 8 11 3 0 6 4 5 2 1 1 2
13 Serong, Jai WL 83% 0 0 16 8 8 6 0 3 0 5 1 2 2 1
12 Sheldrick, Angus INT 51% 0 2 21 7 14 4 0 0 2 2 1 0 2 2
1 Warner, Chad C 77% 0 1 21 15 6 4 0 4 3 2 0 1 1 8
15 Wicks, Sam HBFR 71% 0 0 22 15 7 2 0 3 0 1 1 0 4 3
Rushed 3
Total (23 players) 19 17 425 220 205 95 46 61 44 54 20 20 41 63

Melbourne

# Player Pos. ToG% GL BH DI KI HB MK HO TA CL CR FF FA RF IF
37 Chandler, Kade HBFL 91% 1 0 14 6 8 0 0 7 0 3 1 1 1 3
41 Cross, Paddy INT 74% 0 0 9 7 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 2 2
31 Fritsch, Bayley HFFL 95% 0 1 12 5 7 2 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 1
11 Gawn, Max (c) RU 84% 2 0 18 12 6 4 22 1 7 2 3 0 3 3
27 Heath, Max INT 46% 1 0 8 4 4 2 16 2 3 4 3 3 0 3
22 Howes, Blake BPR 84% 0 0 16 6 10 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 1
21 Jefferson, Matthew HFFR 88% 1 0 12 4 8 2 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 3
14 Jiath, Changkuoth INT 74% 0 0 12 7 5 3 0 3 0 2 1 0 1 1
15 Langdon, Ed WR 85% 0 0 22 12 10 4 0 2 1 4 0 2 5 3
4 Langford, Harvey RR 86% 1 0 14 8 6 3 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 2
16 Laurie, Bailey INT 67% 1 1 17 5 12 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2
8 Lever, Jake FB 94% 0 0 15 13 2 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 1
28 Mihocek, Brody CHF 4% 0 1 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 Petty, Harry HBFR 94% 0 0 13 7 6 6 0 2 0 2 1 1 2 0
36 Pickett, Kysaiah FPR 89% 2 1 22 17 5 1 0 6 8 5 1 2 3 2
33 Pickett, Latrelle FPL 79% 1 2 13 5 8 4 0 0 0 7 0 2 0 2
30 Sharp, Harry WL 90% 2 2 18 11 7 4 0 2 3 2 2 1 0 8
32 Sparrow, Tom C 81% 1 2 21 13 8 2 0 10 6 3 1 3 0 7
9 Steele, Jack INT 73% 0 0 19 4 15 2 0 4 6 1 1 0 0 3
12 Tholstrup, Koltyn CHB 77% 0 0 22 15 7 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 10 3
10 Turner, Daniel BPL 93% 1 0 16 9 7 6 0 2 0 4 0 2 6 1
2 van Rooyen, Jacob FF 88% 2 0 7 3 4 1 0 4 1 3 2 0 0 2
6 Windsor, Caleb RO 67% 1 1 15 11 4 1 0 5 5 1 2 0 1 6
Rushed 1
Total (23 players) 17 12 338 185 153 56 38 62 45 58 20 20 43 59

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

Sydney Coach: Dean Cox
BACK FOLLOWER INTERCHANGE
10 D. Turner 8 J. Lever 22 B. Howes 4 B. Grundy 26 R. Bice
10 M. Rosas 35 C. Curnow 36 J. Amartey 5 I. Heeney (vc) 25 B. Cootee
FORWARD 27 J. McInerney 6 L. McDonald
HALF-BACK

8 J. Rowbottom
37 K. Chandler 12 K. Tholstrup 35 H. Petty

12 A. Sheldrick
44 J. Lloyd 11 T. Papley 17 J. Jordon



HALF-FORWARD



CENTRE



30 H. Sharp 32 T. Sparrow 15 E. Langdon



34 M. Roberts 1 C. Warner 13 J. Serong FOLLOWER INTERCHANGE
CENTRE 11 M. Gawn (c) 41 P. Cross
HALF-FORWARD 4 H. Langford 27 M. Heath
31 B. Fritsch 28 B. Mihocek 21 M. Jefferson 6 C. Windsor 14 C. Jiath
15 S. Wicks 14 C. Mills (c) 22 N. Blakey

16 B. Laurie
HALF-BACK

9 J. Steele
FORWARD



33 L. Pickett 2 J. van Rooyen 36 K. Pickett



24 D. Rampe 43 L. Melican 28 W. Edwards



BACK



Melbourne Coach: Steven King

Score Timeline

Quarter Team Scoring Event Score Time
Q1 SYDN Nick Blakey behind 0.1.1 - 0.0.0 01:08
MELB Brody Mihocek behind 0.1.1 - 0.1.1 02:34
MELB Latrelle Pickett behind 0.1.1 - 0.2.2 03:50
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 1.1.7 - 0.2.2 08:03
MELB Harry Sharp behind 1.1.7 - 0.3.3 10:50
MELB Jacob van Rooyen goal 1.1.7 - 1.3.9 12:20
SYDN Joel Amartey goal 2.1.13 - 1.3.9 15:59
MELB Caleb Windsor goal 2.1.13 - 2.3.15 17:15
SYDN Logan McDonald goal 3.1.19 - 2.3.15 18:52
MELB Max Gawn goal 3.1.19 - 3.3.21 20:06
MELB Harry Sharp goal 3.1.19 - 4.3.27 23:31
MELB Harry Sharp goal 3.1.19 - 5.3.33 24:56
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 4.1.25 - 5.3.33 28:23
SYDN Rushed behind 4.2.26 - 5.3.33 29:41
SYDN Joel Amartey goal 5.2.32 - 5.3.33 32:02
MELB Kysaiah Pickett behind 5.2.32 - 5.4.34 33:28
Q2 SYDN Brodie Grundy behind 5.3.33 - 5.4.34 03:03
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 6.3.39 - 5.4.34 04:08
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 7.3.45 - 5.4.34 07:24
MELB Matthew Jefferson goal 7.3.45 - 6.4.40 08:42
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 8.3.51 - 6.4.40 10:05
SYDN Chad Warner behind 8.4.52 - 6.4.40 15:01
SYDN Tom Papley goal 9.4.58 - 6.4.40 16:50
MELB Max Heath goal 9.4.58 - 7.4.46 19:28
SYDN Charlie Curnow behind 9.5.59 - 7.4.46 20:40
SYDN Joel Amartey goal 10.5.65 - 7.4.46 22:52
SYDN Charlie Curnow behind 10.6.66 - 7.4.46 26:19
SYDN Rushed behind 10.7.67 - 7.4.46 27:13
SYDN Tom Papley behind 10.8.68 - 7.4.46 28:04
Q3 SYDN Joel Amartey behind 10.9.69 - 7.4.46 02:11
SYDN Justin McInerney goal 11.9.75 - 7.4.46 02:44
SYDN Charlie Curnow behind 11.10.76 - 7.4.46 04:49
MELB Tom Sparrow behind 11.10.76 - 7.5.47 05:34
MELB Bayley Fritsch behind 11.10.76 - 7.6.48 06:29
SYDN Charlie Curnow goal 12.10.82 - 7.6.48 10:20
SYDN Nick Blakey behind 12.11.83 - 7.6.48 11:51
MELB Bailey Laurie goal 12.11.83 - 8.6.54 13:09
MELB Caleb Windsor behind 12.11.83 - 8.7.55 14:17
SYDN Jake Lloyd goal 13.11.89 - 8.7.55 17:22
MELB Max Gawn goal 13.11.89 - 9.7.61 20:30
MELB Tom Sparrow goal 13.11.89 - 10.7.67 23:03
SYDN Rushed behind 13.12.90 - 10.7.67 24:41
SYDN Justin McInerney behind 13.13.91 - 10.7.67 25:35
SYDN Angus Sheldrick behind 13.14.92 - 10.7.67 27:33
MELB Latrelle Pickett behind 13.14.92 - 10.8.68 28:39
SYDN Matt Roberts behind 13.15.93 - 10.8.68 30:30
Q4 MELB Kysaiah Pickett goal 13.15.93 - 11.8.74 00:21
SYDN Brodie Grundy goal 14.15.99 - 11.8.74 03:24
MELB Kade Chandler goal 14.15.99 - 12.8.80 05:07
SYDN Logan McDonald goal 15.15.105 - 12.8.80 07:14
MELB Harry Sharp behind 15.15.105 - 12.9.81 08:35
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 16.15.111 - 12.9.81 09:10
SYDN Logan McDonald goal 17.15.117 - 12.9.81 10:30
MELB Bailey Laurie behind 17.15.117 - 12.10.82 12:39
MELB Latrelle Pickett goal 17.15.117 - 13.10.88 14:58
SYDN Malcolm Rosas goal 18.15.123 - 13.10.88 16:20
MELB Kysaiah Pickett goal 18.15.123 - 14.10.94 18:26
SYDN Angus Sheldrick behind 18.16.124 - 14.10.94 22:17
MELB Daniel Turner goal 18.16.124 - 15.10.100 25:01
SYDN Charlie Curnow behind 18.17.125 - 15.10.100 27:46
MELB Jacob van Rooyen goal 18.17.125 - 16.10.106 28:21
MELB Tom Sparrow behind 18.17.125 - 16.11.107 29:40
MELB Harvey Langford goal 18.17.125 - 17.11.113 30:55
MELB Rushed behind 18.17.125 - 17.12.114 34:32
SYDN Joel Amartey goal 19.17.131 - 17.12.114 36:24