Dons v Roos, Scott v Clarko: Who has more to lose?

Essendon versus North Melbourne is a must-watch contest, for all the wrong reasons.

The Bombers’ disastrous start to the 2026 season has been well covered, dismantled twice through two without much positive in either clash.

Falling off against the Hawks, a contest against Port Adelaide presented as a winnable opportunity, however a poor performance on multiple fronts saw the club in the limelight over the course of the week.

As for the Kangaroos, a perfect start to the season saw the club comfortably take care of Port Adelaide, suggesting that the club may have turned a corner within their long-lasting rebuild.

But after blowing out to a 30-point lead against the Eagles, North Melbourne faltered under pressure, losing by 17 points to hand West Coast their first win in 308 days.

Two sides that have provided very little to cheer for over recent years, but which is under the most pressure to win in Round 3?

“I find them really hard to split,” Sam Edmund told SEN Sportsday.

“You look at Essendon – they’ve lost their last 15 games. They’ve lost all ability to defend as long as those 15 games, and they’ve got a coach four years into a five-year deal.

“Everything has changed around Brad Scott, let’s not forget. They have made that much change at that football club.

“And then you’ve got North Melbourne, chasing two wins in a row for the first time in three years and they blow it against the only team battling even more than them in recent times.

“Their coach is four years into a five-year dela with all the change put around Clarko as well. They’ve got some board angst as well in the background, as do Essendon with their coterie groups.”

As for Ken Hinkley, he believes that the Bombers have far more to lose.

“I see the media interest, that’s what I go to first,” he said.

“Who is the biggest loser if they lose this week? I think it’s Essendon because of the media attention.

“North Melbourne are not as big a club, and they’ve at least won one game when they beat Port Adelaide, who then went on and beat Essendon convincingly.

“They should be in confidence mode at the moment, but I think the pressure comes on Essendon more than North ever so slightly because of the size of the club.

“If we listen to this week (in the media), it’s Essendon. North Melbourne are not being spoken about.

“All we’ve spent our time on… everyone is kicking the you-know-what out of the Bombers.”

The contest takes centre stage at Marvel Stadium on Saturday at 7:35pm AEST, with North Melbourne entering as strong favourites.