Super-Flood

The match was played under the roof at Colonial Stadium, so conditions were still. The Bulldogs attacked first, the very first centre clearance ending with a mark to Matthew Robbins 10m from goal on an angle, which was missed badly for a behind; but they continued to attack and after goals to Nathan Brown and Steven Kolyniuk, the early lead was 13 points. With the super-flood in effect, Essendon struggled to generate early chances in the forward-line, and its first goal came when Stephen Alessio marked 80m from goal and Steven Kretiuk conceded a 50-metre penalty for knocking the ball away. The Bulldogs soon responded when Nathan Eagleton kicked a 50m set shot from a free kick, leading 3.1 (19) to 1.0 (6) halfway through the first quarter. Essendon's Damien Hardwick left the field with an ankle injury which kept him out for the rest of the game.[5]

Michael Long set up Essendon's next goal, intercepting a handpass at full stretch in the middle of the field before and running forward, the goal finished by Matthew Lloyd. The Bulldogs again responded, Tony Liberatore snapping a goal after roving a ball-up at full forward, before Lloyd kicked his second goal from a broken contest in the goal square. Dustin Fletcher, normally at full back but playing as a forward for much of the game, took a last shot from 60m which missed to the left. Dean Rioli also had two running shots which failed to score for Essendon in the first quarter, and at quarter time the Bulldogs led Essendon 4.1 (25) to 3.2 (20).[5]

Essendon took its first lead of the game early in the second quarter when Fletcher converted a set shot from 40m. Soon after, a hurried shot by Blake Caracella from 50m out fell in the Essendon goalsquare, and rolled through for a goal off Adam Ramanauskas's boot without Ramanauskas even appearing to notice. A more direct style of play led to another goal soon after, Joe Misiti converting a 45m set shot, and Essendon led by 13 points, having kicked five of the last six goals – prompting the commentary team to question the defensive tactics.[4] The Bulldogs scored next, Simon Garlick converting a 35m set shot after a mark. Essendon had a chance to respond after causing a turnover in its forward line, but Rioli's shot went out on the full. Fletcher then kicked his second goal of the quarter from a 60m set shot, restoring a 14 point advantage for Essendon.[5]

The Bulldogs then had the best of the final part of the quarter. After a behind to Brad Johnson and another to Jose Romero, Brad Johnson kicked the last two goals of the quarter to even the score. For the first, Liberatore made a goal-saving tacking against Darren Bewick on the centre wing, won the ball, and rebounded to Johnson; and for the second, an attacking effort by Paul Hudson and Trent Bartlett ended in Johnson's hands. Johnson had yet another chance, but his 50m set shot fell short for no score.[5] A few seconds before the half time siren, Essendon's John Barnes knocked Johnson down off the ball with a hip-and-shoulder to the head, sparking an all-in brawl before the players left the field for half time. With the scores tied at 7.3 (45) apiece, Wallace was pleased with the performance, and with the frustration that it was evidently causing the Essendon players.[4]

Essendon attacked from the first centre bounce, Gary Moorcroft having two early chances and managing one behind, and Jason Johnson kicking another. The teams traded behinds for a while, and Brad Johnson made a retaliatory strike to the back of John Barnes' head in a marking contest, although no further incident was sparked by it. The Bulldogs then kicked the first two goals of the quarter, Garlick winning a free kick in the forward pocket and Bartlett kicking a goal on a running rebound play, to open a ten point advantage after four consecutive goals.[5]

Thereafter, Essendon controlled the quarter. Fletcher kicked his third goal from a 45m set shot – the equal-most goals he ever kicked in a game over his 400-game career[6] – Bewick kicked a goal from a 40m set shot after a phase of passing play in the forwardline, Jason Johnson kicking his second goal after a mark in the goal square, and Justin Blumfield kicking a goal after a spectacular pack mark 40m from goal. At three quarter time, Essendon 11.7 (73) led the Bulldogs 9.4 (58) by 15 points.[5]

Essendon kicked the opening goal of the final quarter after Blumfield won a contested mark in the forward pocket and after another behind extended the margin to a game-high 22 points and had scored the last five goals of the game, but at this point the Bulldogs fought back. Wallace later commented that as the game had been played by Essendon winning the ball and attacking, while the Bulldogs stayed back in zone defense, this played into a fatigue advantage to the Bulldogs; while three injuries to Essendon players (Hardwick went off with an ankle injury in the first quarter, Dean Rioli went off with a shoulder injury in the final quarter and Jason Johnson had been hobbled for much of the game) also helped.[4] The Bulldogs then had the best of the final ten minutes of the game to fight back. Chris Grant kicked his first goal of the game straight out of a ruck contest, before Steven Kolyniuk kicked two goals to narrow the margin to just five points – the first coming when he took a kick on Trent Bartlett's behalf after he went off the ground with the blood rule after a strong mark just outside the goal square, and the second from his own mark. Several subsequent chances were then missed, with Paul Hudson kicking three behinds from the forward pockets (he kicked 0.4 for the game) and Brad Johnson hitting the post from a 40m set shot, narrowing the margin from five points to one.

With two minutes remaining and the margin one point, Nathan Eagleton took a wide angle set shot which went across the face of goal and fell in the right forward pocket, and in the ground contest that followed Essendon full back Dustin Fletcher accidentally toe-poked the ball out of bounds on the full; from the free kick, Grant ran around on the angle and kicked the goal to put the Bulldogs five points ahead. Essendon made one final attack towards its full forward Matthew Lloyd, but Bulldogs defender Matthew Croft won the contest. The Bulldogs rebounded from the ensuing contests, and the siren sounded as Rohan Smith marked in the Bulldogs' forward line; his after-the-siren kick extended the final margin to 11 points.[7] When the final siren sounded, Brad Johnson made a direct line to hurl abuse at John Barnes, before he and the other players shook hands in the usual way.[5]