1. Merrett at the MRP's mercy
When your team is on the march and pushing for a finals berth, you don't want to be missing football. Orazio Fantasia won't have a choice in the coming weeks after suffering a suspected high-grade hamstring injury in the first quarter, but Zach Merrett will only have himself to blame if he doesn't line up against Adelaide on Saturday night. In what can only be described as a brain fade, Merrett swung his left arm into Lachie Plowman's stomach in the second quarter as the players cleared a stoppage, and made clear and solid contact with his fist. The impact wasn't hard but the action obvious, which leaves him at the mercy of Monday's match review panel. The incident rattled Merrett – who is the Bombers' leading disposals and clearance winner this season – as he ended with 26 possessions and was down on his usual level of involvement. At best, he faces a fine or a minor suspension, which would not be ideal for a team with a bit still to prove in the final three games of the regular season.

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2. Lost concentration = lost opportunities
It wasn't just Merrett who forgot himself on Saturday. Conor McKenna got caught up in a second quarter scuffle with Matthew Wright, and will be thanking his lucky stars a wild, flying right fist directed as the forward's face missed its mark. And, Joe Daniher – who also missed a few chances to put distance on the Coleman Medal field with 3.2 after a promising start before Liam Jones got on top of him – flattened Blaine Boekhorst with late contact after the Blue marked in the third term. Both will be okay as far as match review panel repercussions are concerned, but they were incidents that summed up the Bombers' mentality for much of the game. They didn't play like a team with top-eight aspirations; they played like one that already had the four points in the bag. They won, but barely, and it could have been a serious percentage booster and not a nail-biting steal if they'd maintained their concentration.  

3. There's life in the Blues yet
We've heard all week the baby Blues are tired, and they looked utterly exhausted in the first quarter when the Bombers assembled a quarter-time lead of 22 points. But, to their credit, they rallied with a clear determination to put a six-game losing streak behind them. Liam Jones was terrific against Joe Daniher, even though the Bombers' forward kicked three goals, and Sam Docherty picked up where he left off in round three with another influential game. Sam Petrevski-Seton also impressed, while Dale Thomas took seven marks and Kade Simpson eight. They didn't win but they came mighty close, and they showed Blues' fans there's still reason to come to the footy with three games left.

4. Kreuzer cool despite Paddy whack
The Carlton ruckman was a massive talking point this week after unwittingly being the other party in the incident that may cost Patrick Dangerfield the Brownlow Medal. The Blues' medical report stated Matthew Kreuzer suffered "mild concussion" when caught up in that tackle last Saturday night and would have tests throughout the week to determine his availability. He was named, played, and did well against the Bombers to finish with 38 hit-outs, seven tackles, eight clearances and 15 disposals, and narrowly in front of Tom Bellchambers. He even snuck into space at the 14-minute mark of the third quarter to mark and goal, which gave the Blues their first lead of the afternoon.

5. Gibbs fights back but Watson quiet
Having seen what a tag on Bryce Gibbs can deliver over the past fortnight, the Bombers followed suit. Gibbs' influence has been down thanks to the close attention of Tom Rockliff and Scott Selwood over the past two rounds, and it was Essendon's David Myers who was given the task of replicating that feat. It was a loose tag around the ground with Myers free to win his own ball, which he did for 22 disposals, but he tightened up at stoppages. Gibbs finished with 29 overall but didn't really get going until the third quarter. It was a different story for veteran Jobe Watson, who struggled to get out of first gear and spent plenty of time on the bench. He had 11 touches but wasn't really noticeable in what is firming as the tail end of his career.