1. Joey and Lindsay fly high
Joe Daniher put in a worthy nomination for mark of the year late in the third term, soaring over North talls Lachlan Hansen, Robbie Tarrant and Todd Goldstein to pluck a screamer. The Bomber spearhead got a nice ride on the back of Hansen and clutched the ball to his chest in a mark reminiscent of the one Richmond star Michael Roach took against Hawthorn in the late 1970s. Three minutes later, North small forward Lindsay Thomas tried to outdo Daniher. As Robbie Tarrant pumped the ball inside the Roos' forward 50, Thomas took a running leap on the back of Essendon defender Michael Hurley. It was an impressive effort, but not as jaw-dropping as Daniher's. Unfortunately, both players missed their shots on goal.

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2. Jack rises above the pack
North Melbourne vice-captain Jack Ziebell played one of the best games of his career against the Bombers on Friday night. Ziebell was bull-like at stoppages, winning a game-high 11 clearances, and in a game where both teams butchered the ball at times, his clean foot skills stood out. His bullet-like pass that set up a Drew Petrie goal at the three-minute mark of the second term, for instance, was brilliant. As he has increasingly done over the past two seasons, Ziebell made the Bombers pay on the scoreboard too, finishing with 2.2. Fittingly, he kicked the game-sealing goal late in the final term, when he streamed out of the middle and bounced one through from outside 50 metres.

3. McKernan's non-mark turns the tide
Former Crow Shaun McKernan looked set to put the exclamation mark on a clinical Essendon counter-attack at the 13-minute mark of the second term when he appeared to take a strong mark at the top of the Bombers' goalsquare in front of Sam Gibson. McKernan did not hold the ball to ground, but seemed to hold it for long enough. Unfortunately for Bombers fans, the umpires did not agree, and the Roos took full advantage. Todd Goldstein cleared the ball to the wing to start a coast-to-coast Roos' goal that was coolly converted by Brent Harvey from 25m. The goal put the Roos one point up – the first time they had led since seven-mark of the first quarter – and was the second of five consecutive North majors. 

4. Bombers' fast start
North had the edge in general play in the first quarter with its midfield holding sway at stoppages, but the Bombers' counter-attack and ability to convert ensured they were in control where it counts most – the scoreboard. The Roos kicked 2.6 for the quarter, with Jarrad Waite hitting the post twice and the usually clinical Shaun Higgins missing two shots in two minutes late in the quarter. By contrast, the Dons could not miss in front of the big sticks, with Travis Colyer and skipper Jobe Watson dead-eyes with two majors each in a super efficient 5.0 term. It gave Essendon a handy 12-point lead at the first break. 

5. Bomber strong response to WADA appeal
Essendon chairman Paul Little said before Friday night's game that the Bombers were determined not to take their eyes off the ball on the field during what promises to be a drawn-out anti-doping hearing in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Little said WADA's announcement that it would appeal the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal's decision clearing 34 past and present Bomber players had been a "body blow" for the club. But the Dons chairman said the club was determined to control what it could in "this time of uncertainty". The Bombers' brave performance on Friday night suggests that they will again be able to put the off-field anti-doping distractions to one side as they have done so often throughout this 27-month saga.