At the risk of removing the dignity from the occasion of the night I wonder what others think of what looked to be a blatant leg pull on Cameron Bruce late in the game which went unnoticed by the umpires. Had Bruce been rewarded with the free, the Bombers would almost certainly not have kicked their 18th goal and therefore they would probably have run out of time for victory.

Was that a free kick or what?

HELLLLLLLO???????? of course it was.

I have just got home from the game, and i m glad someone has brought this up. We may have contributed to our loss, but it make smy stomach churn to know those maggots in the yellow jerseys had just as much to do with that result.

There is nothing worse than having to travel home in packed train full of smug Bomber supporters, who don't even realise thay just got way with another win, not due to their own talent.

I dont normally like to look at the maggots for a raz...but !!.. either a trip is a trip...or its just [censored] !!

also ...why wasnt Hird given a second 50 as he continued to hassle after the first one.. that was as blatant as anythingIever seen !! But golden boy gets a way with it.. should have been a shot almost in the sqaure !!!

big free kick right there, even the bombers player noticed it

Clear free kick. For Christ's sake, there were Bomber fans all around me saying it was a free. It pretty much determined the path of the game. Shocking decision.

Free kick in my books, no doubt about it. I couldn't believe that it wasn't called, especially when Bater was done for holding the ball when his bounce happened to be an inch ahead of him after Davey tried to pinch his underwear.

One of the worst, most blatant , OBVIOUS decisions i have ever seen.

He was right there

I bet it was Margetts, he hates us, that guy

One of the worst, most blatant , OBVIOUS decisions i have ever seen.

He was right there

I bet it was Margetts, he hates us, that guy

do we expect anything less against the scum...fruitcake(lloyd)..hungry(lucas) and hird had 4 fres each..we had 18 for the ngiht...sums it all up

do we expect anything less against the scum...fruitcake(lloyd)..hungry(lucas) and hird had 4 fres each..we had 18 for the ngiht...sums it all up

Fruitcake Lloyd?????

Dont you mean - Bicardi Breezer Lloyd? lol

If you go to the 14 minute mark of the last quarter Bizzell misjudges the bounce of the ball. i believe this cost us more than any other play. It was very predictable that the ball would bounce over his head but he just ran at the ball at 100%. Cost us a goal, momentum and arguably the 4 points.

Nathan brown dragging it in and not getting it out was also costly as well as the obvious misses on goal from robbo and neitz.

haphazard bouncing balls will... bounce badly...everytime..lol.. but thats what an oval ball does.!!

missed goals are always hurtfull...but the intent is well meaning..

dragging the ball in, costing a free at a very crucial and pivotal moment of the game...is just DUMB !!

I agree with all above. There were some other clangers by the umpires but I thought there were some really dumb things done by some of our players. Our skipper should not have had those kicks for goal in the last quarter – the body compensates for a sore knee in ways that would not allow him to kick straight easily – someone should have run past for a hand pass. Also McLean screwing up in front of their goal was s shocker. I reckon he’s been really off lately. And I think (changing the topic a bit) his comments about the team’s performance earlier in the season (which were applauded by some) were as off as Robbo’s & the skipper’s’ supporting ND a few weeks ago. Gob smackingly indiscrete. Back to the game, there was also a centre clearance in the last quarter that somebody kicked in a mad panic without looking that went straight to a Dons player – I think it was TJ who otherwise played a great game. Some of these mistakes I would expect from inexperienced players. Very disappointing. I’m so sick of seeing Dons beat us after we’ve been leading.

Oh jesus christ all of u. The umps were sh** yes but there were decisions that should have been paid to essendon and wornt. We should have kicked straight. We should have been a contest in the 1st quarter. Nathen Brown shouldnt have kicked it back at the goals. But its the umps again. They made a mistake yes, but the importance of frees was even by match end. When will you learn WE COST OURSELVES THE GAME I just...well im speachless, people on here will never ever learn

Nathan Brown kicking the point made no difference. We had the chance to seal the game early in the term and missed easy shots.

We seem incapable of holding onto the ball at the end of the game also.

It pretty much determined the path of the game.

Sorry, no.

Shocker as it was, our own p^ss-weak efforts at defence determined the path of the game.

A replay of the Kangaroos finish earlier this year.

Why oh why can't we hold on to a lead?

If the tables were turned, and we were storming home from behind, and got a dodgy free, and a goal ... does anyone believe the bumbers would have rolled over and died for us?

No, we lost it when we didn't finish them off when we had a chance in the last quarter.

Oh jesus christ all of u. The umps were sh** yes but there were decisions that should have been paid to essendon and wornt. We should have kicked straight. We should have been a contest in the 1st quarter. Nathen Brown shouldnt have kicked it back at the goals. But its the umps again. They made a mistake yes, but the importance of frees was even by match end. When will you learn WE COST OURSELVES THE GAME I just...well im speachless, people on here will never ever learn

Yes you are quite right we did cost ourselves the game, but I feel the umpires have certainly given Essendon a leg up in several matches this season ie How does an umpire miss a out of bounds by at least a metre against Sydney and then they score a goal. I know I know that my head says they have extraordinary good luck, they have an incredible amount of good bounces too by the way but my heart says that we have been dudded by those filthy maggots and we are not the only team they give the shaft to.

When decsisions like that go against us and for Essendon it gives Essendon a momentum to think 'ok we can do no wrong'. Clear free kick

We could have finished the game in the last quarter, but missed multiple shots.

We completely dominated for much of the fourth, but simply didn't reflect that on the scoreboard.

*shrug

should have been a second 50 paid against essendon...the trip to bruce was there. mclean in the goalsquare-he was stupid, but watch the replay, he copped one across the face it should have been too high. there was another free given, to bizzell perhaps, in the last where an essendon player played on and kicked it, yet no 50 was paid. bizzell was pushed in the back at least twice by lucas, who was allowed to mark. what about the 'shepparding the mark' free payed in the 1st quarter? that was a joke, the player it was played against only had eyes for the ball...this happens 10 times every week but it doesnt get paid. and it was worth noting one time when green got bumped 35 metres off the ball, right in front of an umpire while he tried to make position. you cant sheppard more than 5 metres from the ball...

the game was riddled by umpiring mistakes. they are every week and i think its a disgrace. its not the first time this year that i believe umpires have cost us a game. and its not the first time essendon have had the benefit (see the out of bounds against sydney). yes we made a number of mistakes and had we played perfect we could've won, but i think we were robbed out of it

I think that two things are true - the umps are poor, and awful last night. We should have won anyway. We have to get so good that, despite everything being poor, our attitude and application do not falter and can carry the randomness of umpiring.

We have so far to go.

Was that a free kick or what?

I just rewatched the last quarter again after watching the entire match last night after getting home. It was pulling of the leg but there were other frees FOR ESSENDON that should have been paid. Brown tackled davey without the ball with 51 seconds left. There will always be insodents like this but they were ordinary yes, but the importance of the frees was evened at match end. I cant put this any clearly for you and if you still go on about it, it means you must be one opinioned.