James Jordon has spent most of the early part of the 2026 season in the defensive half forward role where he has been for most of his career, but last week he was called upon to tag Harley Reid despite the game quickly descending into a procession. The oppo today in Gold Coast has a lot more star mids to counter, and the man they call the Padlock will probably be asked to go to Touk Miller - who was tagged last week - or Noah Anderson. He starts on a HFF to join mids and leave his opponent loose; a dangerous tactic that won't happen every week.
James Jordon has spent most of the early part of the 2026 season in the defensive half forward role where he has been for most of his career, but last week he was called upon to tag Harley Reid despite the game quickly descending into a procession. The oppo today in Gold Coast has a lot more star mids to counter, and the man they call the Padlock will probably be asked to go to Touk Miller - who was tagged last week - or Noah Anderson. He starts on a HFF to join mids and leave his opponent loose; a dangerous tactic that won't happen every week.
James Jordon remains in a lot of fantasy sides post-bye, with some choosing to keep him as an M9 for bench cover, and others struggling to upgrade elsewhere and leaving him to last. His role starts on a wing and roams across midfield both inside and out, making good use of the rising tide of the Melbourne midfield to get involved in link play to pleasing effect. As a first-year player at the age of 20 he has more stamina than the average 18-year-old, and he is still capable of producing startable scores late in his debut campaign. Nevertheless, he is not an best-22 fantasy keeper quite yet.
Cross the giver Jordon
Renowned for his elite skills throughout his junior career, James Jordon enjoyed a successful debut season at Casey. An average ball winner at all levels so far, the Dee won't garner draft interest prior to debut.
Rare air for Jordon
From being cut from Sandringham's squad at the start of last year, James Jordon vaulted into draft calculations after joining Oakleigh from Caulfield Grammar. He averaged 15 touches across seven TAC Cup games. From that small sample size, it appears Jordon is going to spend a fair bit of time at VFL level as he works on his accumulation skills. He looks to be a project player at this early stage, so leave him be.
