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PLAYERS / LEWIS MELICAN
Updated 17 May 2026

Lewis Melican

#118/177·Bye Rd 12
DEF
Price $281kBE 41Owned —Bye Rd 12Avg 63.0
ROOKIEBIBLEVerdict
◉ WATCH

Melican posted 80 in R10 — 39 above his 41 BE — in what represents his best output in weeks. The McCartin injury cover continues to be his selection lifeline and the 80 is the strongest argument yet for keeping him. Cash gen remains negative at -$1,096/round as the price drifts, so you are not growing value. Hold while McCartin is out and set a firm exit plan for when the Swans' key DEF returns.

Signals2/3 · Partial alignment
Form
Improving
Trajectory
-$1k/wk
Consistency
Consistent
Recent formSeason avg 63
80▲
64
55▼
Comparable PicksWhy this comparison · Same primary position (DEF), ±$200k price band

Lewis Melican

DEF

Jedd Busslinger

DEF
—
—
Form
R1
59
R2
34
R4
46
R8
55
R9
64
R10
80
R7
99
R8
96
R9
47
R10
56
Pricing
Price$281k
Price$282k
Breakeven41
Breakeven41
Cash/wk+$-1k
Cash/wk+$3k

Decision

Should I trade Lewis Melican?

Form, breakeven, and a comparable replacement weighed up.

Intel feed

Recent intel

Community Intel· T3

Lewis Melican had a poor R8 by metrics — 50% defensive 1v1 loss rate noted (vs 22% for TMac), looking lost according to commenters. Multiple community members prefer Hamling over Melican at this stage.

r/sydneyswans Monday Review thread (comments)
Community Intel· T3

Lewis Melican has been named in the Sydney Swans team, returning to fill the spot vacated by the injured Tom McCartin. Confirmed across two team selection posts, with community members happy to see him back.

u/Famous_Ice_6108 (post body) + Teams are out thread; cross-post corroboration on r/sydneyswans
Community Intel· T3

Lewis Melican has been dropped in favour of Joel Hamling, who offers better mobility and closing speed according to community discussion. Melican was seen as a risk to the spot going forward.

u/Captain_Oz on r/sydneyswans (post)
Injury Watch· T3

Lewis Melican dropped from Sydney's AFL side citing both form and a back complaint that ended his R5 game early. AFL.com reporter Emily Patterson reports he is using this opportunity to get his body right. Raw stats show his marks, tackles and defensive 1v1 performance are 30-40% down from 2025.

u/dphi0001 (r/sydneyswans, Emily Patterson report)
Injury Watch· T3

Melican went off injured last game, which caused Serong to be shuffled into a deeper defensive role. Worth monitoring team selection.

u/Hyrax49 on r/AFLSupercoach
Community Questions

What people are asking about Lewis Melican

Mentioned in
  • Who should cover Tom McCartin's key defensive role while he is out injured in Round 8?
    T. MccartinDEFTop: Hamling returns as cover (50%)
    36