1. Bombers live on
After Adelaide demolished Greater Western Sydney earlier in the day and Gold Coast upset Collingwood, Essendon desperately needed to beat Port Adelaide to keep its finals chances alive. And win they did. The Bombers were cleaner with the football for the most part in tricky conditions and their intensity around the contest was top notch. They were made to withstand a fierce challenge from the home side, but came out on top with a memorable victory that drew them level with the Crows just a win out of the eight.
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2. Red hot tackling on cold night
Essendon's tackling went a long way to winning it the game on Saturday, out-tackling the Power 93-62. Port handballed profusely despite the slippery football, but the Bombers' pressure meant possession was rarely easily won. This was particularly relevant in the dying seconds when, rather than simply kicking the ball inside 50, Port sought to handball to a player with time and space – such a scenario never eventuated and the Bombers held on.
3. Chappy and Gray resume rivalry
Bombers veteran Paul Chapman was reported in the opening term for striking Power star Robbie Gray, after the pair were involved in a heated stoush. What began as a few jumper punches escalated slightly and, despite Gray giving as good as he got, Chapman might find himself in a touch of trouble. It was an altercation that has history too. Chapman missed Geelong's 2012 preliminary final against Hawthorn after being suspended for a head high hit on – yep, you guessed it – Gray.
4. Power slide
With North Melbourne upsetting Hawthorn on Friday night, the Power entered Saturday night's clash with the opportunity to wrestle back control of top spot. Despite Essendon's advantage throughout the match, the Power's late charge looked like it would give the home side the four points it needed to reclaim its status as the competition's highest-ranked unit. But its third loss in four games will see Port drop to third if the Sydney Swans can beat West Coast. And with just a few percent separating it from Fremantle – its place in the top four is now also shaky.
5. Make some noise
Channel Seven was so impressed at the volume of Port's crowd earlier in the season they hired the services of Adelaide acoustic consultants Marshall Day to officially measure the crowd noise on Saturday night. The official record for an outdoor sporting stadium was set by NFL side the Seattle Seahawks late last year, when the crowd reached 137.6dBA. A cold, wintry night in Adelaide didn't deter 46,786 spectators from attending the match – but the peak reading of 109.1dBA fell a long way short of the Seahawks' record.
WATCH: Power fans show off their pre-game passion
