In Round 19 of the 2026 AFL season, Jake Stringer had one of the all-time stinkers in front of goal, and a young superstar showed he needs to learn to beat the tag. Plus, how good is winning, Bombers fans?! Here's whose stocks are up and down.
Our footy experts cast their eye over the week's action to find out whose stocks are up -- whether it's a coaching masterstroke or a player having a blinder -- and whose are down.
Adelaide
Stocks up: Most believed the Crows were destined to slide this year after a minor premiership and finals capitulation in 2025. Instead, Matthew Nicks' side has again put itself in position to challenge for the flag. All of a sudden top four is in play, with the Crows only sitting outside by 0.6% following their stirring win over Sydney. With games against the Magpies, Bombers, and Tigers in the next three weeks, they may well be earning that double chance again.
Stocks down: A man who will miss those three games is Darcy Fogarty after the forward was banned for three weeks for a swinging arm on Harry Cunningham, an incident that concussed the Sydney defender. Fogarty had played an impressive game against the Swans, kicking four goals to help fend off a second-half fightback.
Brisbane
Stocks up: In case you needed a reminder, Kai Lohmann is firmly among the competition's most dangerous small forwards. The excitement machine kicked another four goals against West Coast to take his season tally to 36, including 14 across his past four games. As if that wasn't enough, he also took a spectacular hanger that had everyone out of their seats. He's in red-hot form and looms as a huge weapon for Brisbane heading into September.
Stocks down: The Lions are flying, but they're not the only contender building momentum. The Crows sit just behind Brisbane in fifth, separated only by percentage after knocking off second-placed Sydney, while Melbourne is also surging in sixth. The two-time reigning premiers are playing premiership-quality footy again, but the race for a top-four finish is tightening. There won't be much room for error over the final month and a bit.
Kai Lohmann with a HUGE hang ✈️#AFLEaglesLions pic.twitter.com/4IFY9A2GUe
— AFL (@AFL) July 18, 2026
Carlton
Stocks up: The Blues may have lost again (for the sixth straight time) to the Magpies, but Jagga Smith's performance has to excite every single member of the Carlton faithful. The highly-touted youngster was everywhere, racking up 29 disposals, winning eight clearances, and kicking a great goal. He's going to be a star, and fan favourite, for a long time.
Stocks down: Just minutes into the game, Harry McKay came from the MCG with a knee complaint. It was an injury which occurred after some minor contact with teammate Sam Walsh. It's since been confirmed to be a meniscus tear and bruising in his left knee, which means he'll likely miss a little bit of time. With Carlton's wildcard hopes in an awkward spot, does Carlton rush him back or play it safe?
Collingwood
Stocks up: Two Magpies produced arguably their best games of the season. Darcy Cameron was immense in the ruck, finishing with 18 disposals and 18 contested possessions, while also recording eight clearances and six intercept possessions. Beau McCreery also looked back to his damaging best, kicking two goals from 15 disposals and applying relentless pressure with a game-high 27 pressure acts in an important forward-half role.
Stocks down: Time catches everyone eventually. Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom still have moments of class, but they looked a step off the pace against Carlton. Pendlebury's handball straight to Mitch McGovern gifted the Blues a goal, while Sidebottom finished as Collingwood's lowest-rated player according to Champion Data. With just a five-day break before Adelaide, don't be surprised if Craig McRae gives his veteran pair a well-earned rest.
READ: Collingwood face big calls on veterans for short break
Essendon
Stocks up: That was the kind of effort Bombers fans have been crying out for. Too often this season Essendon has looked flat, but against a Giants side pushing for a wildcard spot, the Bombers played with genuine hunger and desperation for four quarters. They simply wanted it more. It delivered just their second win of the season, but after such a difficult year, the four premiership points would've felt pretty special. How good's winning?
Stocks down: Even in victory, Archie Roberts will want one moment back. Just after the Bombers hit the front in the final quarter, the young defender gave away a costly downfield free kick after striking Clayton Oliver off the ball. Oliver may have exaggerated the contact, but Roberts still gave the umpire little choice after making contact three times. GWS converted the opportunity to reclaim the lead, and while Essendon ultimately escaped with the win, it was a silly, needless mistake.
The moment Essendon caused a Giant upset and broke their 12-game losing streak ✈️#AFLDonsGiants pic.twitter.com/nJ0kqrHofz
— AFL (@AFL) July 19, 2026
Fremantle
Stocks up: Freo's third quarters are starting to become ruthless. Last week against the Swans they booted six goals in the premiership quarter followed by nine in the fourth. Against the Power, they kicked six again in the third term after trailing at the main break by 12 points. Good teams can flick a switch and put their foot down when it's needed and it seems the Dockers have that gear right now.
Stocks down: But... is a bad habit starting to creep in? As we said above, the ladder-leaders were trailing at the main break against a 15th-placed Power side missing a handful of their stars, which follows the 0.11 they posted in the first half of last week's win against the Swans. Maybe they're in cruise control, three games clear on top heading into August. Maybe it's a genuine bad habit that could become costly. Let's wait and see.
Geelong
Stocks up: Ah, there's nothing quite like a trip to GMHBA Stadium to get the Cats right. Or perhaps Geelong's much needed win coincided with the return of Gryan Miers. The former staple of this side had been toiling away in the reserves (we're not sure why) but was recalled to take on the Saints on Thursday evening. Miers made a major difference in the attacking half with his vision and kicking smarts, kicking three goals from 22 disposals and finishing the night with a game-high 12 score involvements. Very valuable.
Stocks down: Despite returning to winning ways, it was a far from perfect night for the Cats. A potentially serious ankle injury to star runner Max Holmes will have every fan sweating. Holmes' right foot got trapped underneath him at a contest late in the game and he immediately limped from the ground. Shaun Mannagh was the other injury concern, ruled out of the second half with hamstring tightness.
Gold Coast
Stocks up: In a weird way, were Dimma's comments last week justified this week? The Suns coach claimed the season was all but over and that focus should shift to 2027. Well, Gold Coast has now lost eight consecutive games and sit an almost inconceivable 14th on the ladder. With every new loss, the season looks more and more "gone" for this team that once upon a time was the favourite to lift this year's premiership cup. Crazy!
Stocks down: Just one kick from Jed Walter against the Bulldogs is nowhere near good enough for such a highly-rated young key forward prospect. The 21-year-old has shown flashes at times this year but still has a long way to go to become the consistent forward threat Suns fans would be hoping for.
GWS
Stocks up: There weren't many positives from a disastrous loss to a side that had won just once in its past 30 games, but Connor Idun was certainly one. The dependable defender continued his outstanding season with 24 disposals, a game-high 10 intercept possessions, and five marks. He rarely gets the headlines, but week after week Idun simply gets the job done. One of the competition's most underrated and reliable defenders.
Stocks down: It really wasn't Jake Stringer's day in front of goal! The Giants forward has enjoyed an excellent season, but somehow finished with 0.7 (the first player to do so since Justin Longmuir in 2003) against his former club in one of the more wasteful displays you'll see. Want a worse stat? He's just the fifth player on record to have 8+ shots at goal but 0 goals! GWS as a whole struggled too, kicking 8.16, but had Stringer converted even a couple more of his very gettable chances, the result might have been very different.
Hawthorn
Stocks up: That was an important return to form for Mitch Lewis, with has been the speculation of trade rumours given Hawthorn's interest in Suns pillar Ben King. Lewis booted five goals against the Tigers, his best return in a game since Round 10, 2023, giving everyone at Hawthorn reason to pause and consider what a fit and firing Lewis can offer. Of course, the caveat is the opposition; he needs to keep building in the last few weeks of the season.
Stocks down: Great player, that's beyond doubt, but James Sicily can still get carried away by getting involved in silly scuffles off the ball. His tete-a-tete with Tiger Rhyan Mansell was the latest example of opposition players getting under Sicily's skin. It's not terribly costly when you give away a goal against Richmond, but come September...
Melbourne
Stocks up: Melbourne has been searching for its next long-term key forward. They found that in Jacob van Rooyen, who is enjoying a career-beast season, and they might have found his long-term partner in Matthew Jefferson, as well. The young tall was a constant aerial threat against North Melbourne, booting four goals and taking five marks while repeatedly flying at the footy. Alongside van Rooyen, the Demons suddenly look to have a genuine one-two punch inside forward 50.
Stocks down: The only sour note for Melbourne was the injury to Dan Turner. The key defender was sent to hospital for scans on his ribs after copping two accidental knocks from teammates during the match -- first in a first-quarter marking contest with Jake Lever, then in a third-quarter ground-ball collision with Matthew Jefferson. The Demons will be hoping the scans clear him of any serious damage.
North Melbourne
Stocks up: Like most weeks, Harry Sheezel was busy against the Dees, racking up another 33 disposals to go with six marks, five tackles, eight score involvements, and one goal. Cooper Harvey (28 disposals and 462 metres gained) was also impressive out of the back half, producing the highest-rated game of his career (13.8 rating points).
Stocks down: North Melbourne's wildcard hopes took a hit. The run home only gets tougher for the Roos, who face a desperate Saints side in Round 20 and then Hawthorn, the Bulldogs, Geelong, and Sydney. They'll need to pull off several upsets from here if they're to make it. If nothing else, a scalp or two would be another sign this young group is genuinely heading in the right direction.
Port Adelaide
Stocks up: The Power were missing a host of superstars against the Dockers, including Zak Butters, Mitch Georgiades, and Jason Horne-Francis. But their absence gave others opportunities, and one who relished the extra responsibility was Joe Richards, who was playing a forward-midfield role and finished with a career-best 31 disposals, one goal, eight tackles, and six clearances in defeat, trusted by Josh Carr with 13 CBAs.
Stocks down: Honourable losses must eventually get frustrating... Port Adelaide deserves credit for the way they compete every week, and leading the ladder-leading Dockers at half time without several superstars was another gutsy effort. But there comes a point where fans want those brave defeats to become wins. The Power's percentage of 99.3 shows they're better than 15th suggests, yet, they're still 15th. Eventually, effort has to translate into four premiership points. They've been solid without getting the wins, so maybe that'll come with time.
Richmond
Stocks up: It was great to see Sam Lalor back running around on the MCG. Playing in his first game since Round 7, the big bodied midfielder had 14 disposals and a goal, but impacted the contest well with three centre clearances and four score involvements. On a grim day for Richmond, he was a shining light.
Stocks down: The Richmond fans are getting restless about Adem Yze's tenure at the Tigers, but what can we really be expecting from this side? He's been dealt a rough hand with injuries to key players and youngsters you'd prefer to be getting games into, and the reality is they're not going to be good. Sure, you could sack him, but Norm Smith and prime Clarko ain't squeezing much more out of this group. This is 'ride out the worst of the rebuild time', not 'sack the coach' time.
St Kilda
Stocks up: You can't fault the performance of Rowan Marshall, again, who stuffed the stat sheet against the Cats at GMHBA Stadium on Thursday night. The Saints ruck was easily his side's most impactful player, racking up 33 disposals, a mammoth 26 contested possessions, 12 clearances, 10 score involvements, and booting two goals. Was this his Geelong audition?
Stocks down: It was a bad night to be a St Kilda player, but a really bad night for those named Liam. Liam Ryan, Liam Henry, and Liam Stocker all had stinkers against Geelong, provided very little productive output and at times looked like liabilities. Speaking of down games, superstar midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera was well held by Oisin Mullin. His emotions began to spill out late in the game, too, yelling at umpires for missing what he thought to be potential free kicks, which wasn't a great look.
Sydney
Stocks up: Despite the loss to Adelaide, the form of Tom Papley is a positive takeaway for the Swans. Four goals from 24 disposals is a fantastic return for a small forward, and he had more to give given totaled 10 shots at goal on Friday night. The Swans (and Papley) will rue the missed opportunity.
Stocks down: This club's record against the top teams is now a serious concern. Sure, the Swans will finish the home and away season in a commanding spot, and might well earn the home qualifying final, but Dean Cox's side hasn't beaten any team this year we would consider flag contenders. The last month alone the Swans have lost to Brisbane, Fremantle, and now Adelaide. Worrying.
West Coast
Stocks up: You'd be comfortable buying stock in the direction of this West Coast group. Yes, the Eagles are still 16th with just four wins, but they pushed the in-form Lions all the way and, like several times this season, were far more competitive than many expected. More importantly, their exciting young core continues to improve each week, and it genuinely feels like Andrew McQualter has the club heading in the right direction.
Stocks down: Liam Baker has been handed a one-match ban for his high bump on Brisbane's Cam Rayner in the fourth quarter, a blow given he'll now miss Friday night's Derby clash against Freo unless he successfully overturns the charge. With Baker's leadership and toughness so important to this young side, it's far from ideal to lose him for one of their biggest games of the season.
Western Bulldogs
Stocks up: Just when we all thought Nick Daicos had sewn up this year's Brownlow Medal, Marcus Bontempelli goes and does that. It was a three-goal, 23-disposal masterclass from the Bulldogs skipper, who finished the afternoon as easily the highest-rated player on the ground. Bont's smarts, skills, vision, and leadership were all on display against the Suns. He might yet be the man to stop the Collingwood superstar on Brownlow night.
Stocks down: It was an important win for the Bulldogs, but the forward mix is still a little suspect. Jordan Croft tries hard but has too many games without any impact; it's his sixth outing this year without scoring a major. Yes, he's a development players, but for a side right in the September mix, they need to be getting more out of him.
