Essendon VFL defender Tyler Sellers is making inroads into a second chance in the AFL after a stellar 2026 campaign, with multiple clubs showing serious interest ahead of the off-season.
Sellers' inspired move from inside forward 50 to the backline for the Bombers in 2026 has resulted in a career-best campaign, earning VFL Team of the Year honours as well as helping the club make a preliminary final.
The 24-year-old told Zero Hanger of his intention to return to the AFL after a brief stint with North Melbourne, and how the change in position came about.
"Definitely do (want to play AFL)," Sellers said.
"It's something that I've always wanted to do, and now that I feel like I'm really confident in how I'm playing my footy and really enjoying my role as a backman, now I'm really flourishing and intercepting. I would love to get back there, and any club to pick me up would be amazing.
"I've almost cemented my role down back this year because last year I was doing a bit of forward, a bit of back, and it was good to get a little bit of exposure playing down back last year.
"I played a few games last year playing down back, just because we picked up (Liam) McMahon and Archie May and a few of these guys in the mid-season draft, and there wasn't really a spot for me up forward, to be honest. So (Essendon VFL coach Cameron Joyce) decided, 'Why don't we try him down back?'
"And I think that gave me a little bit of confidence that I could do it this year, and I played a couple of good games where I had a few good in-step games and took a few good marks and things like that.
"I think the first couple of games I struggled to adapt a little bit and just know exactly what I wanted to get out of my role and how to really dominate the position. But I feel like since Round 3 onwards, I've really grown into the role, and Joycey gives me confidence to peel off and intercept and go for my marks."
There's a litany of AFL clubs in the market for an attacking key defender, with the Bombers, Western Bulldogs, Adelaide and Gold Coast assessing their options as they head into the trade and free agency period.
The Bulldogs are into Crows tall Jordon Butts, while North Melbourne has been linked to Nick Murray. Suns defender Charlie Ballard is another name to watch this off-season.
Sellers spent 12 months at the Kangaroos before he joined the Bombers' VFL outfit, playing two games under Alastair Clarkson.
The 24-year-old dominated for Old Scotch in the VAFA, earning him an SSP selection ahead of the 2024 season.
Despite the short stay at Arden Street, Sellers was grateful for the experience, and the feedback which helped his footballing.
"They were pretty rewarding years in all honesty," he said.
"(Tom) Lynch, he made me feel right at home straight away, and like he just gave me confidence to do my thing and just attack the ball in the air and kick goals. And then he gave me confidence to go into AFL preseason over the summer, which was pretty daunting at the time, but I took it head-on and ended up with an early spot, which was really cool, over the moon.
"When I initially left school, I probably wasn't thinking about even playing VFL, let alone AFL. It had always been the dream when I was a kid, but I never really thought it was possible, or even something I wanted to do."
Sellers was part of a struggling North Melbourne side that won three games in the AFL, and the two matches he featured in were heavy losses to Geelong (75 points) and Hawthorn (45 points).
"I think I struggled to find the footy and struggled to play in that team when everyone was so low in confidence," he said.
"And I think it just took a little while for my confidence to really build back after that. And whilst I did play a few good games in the back end of the year in the VFL, it just killed a little bit of my confidence then, which is something that I've definitely regained and gone into now as my role as a defender.
Tyler Sellers from downtown 💥
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— VFL / VFLW (@VFL) September 5, 2026
"From Clarko and a few of the messages when I was departing the club was just building a little bit more of my endurance tank, which I definitely feel like I've done, and putting on a little bit more size so I can compete against some bigger bodies.
"It was also the fact that Jack Darling was coming across. Luke Parker was coming across at the time, and they just said that they needed to bring in a few more mature bodies, older heads, to kind of steer the club back on the right path, and just a few people that have been part of successful organisations."
Sellers further enhanced his AFL comeback with a dominant performance in the Preliminary Final loss to Box Hill on Saturday. He gathered 27 possessions and 12 marks.
With his confidence restored and his role down back now firmly established, Sellers appears closer than ever to earning the AFL opportunity he has been chasing since his brief stint at North Melbourne.
