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SUNDAY'S Melbourne-Essendon clash at the MCG had more than just the four points at stake.

Following one of the most challenging weeks in the Essendon's history, the football world was waiting to see if the Bombers could cope without injured skipper Jobe Watson and, more significantly, if they could cope with the latest alarming turn in the ASADA investigation that has hung over the club for 16 months.

The Bombers' initial response on Sunday suggested their players could again put their concerns about possible ASADA bans to one side like they did for the first two-thirds of last season.

Essendon had the first 14 inside 50s on Sunday and kept the Demons from entering their forward 50 until the 15-minute mark of the first term.

And despite struggling to score against the ultra-defensive game-plan of Paul Roos' men, the Bombers seemed ready to give the club a much-needed lift when they got out to a 33-point lead early in the third term.

That they ultimately went down by one point in the dying seconds after first-year Demon Christian Salem coolly converted from 25m was not due to a lack of endeavour or spirit.

Watch the last two minutes from Sunday's MCG thriller

David Zaharakis, reportedly not one of the 34 Essendon players to receive a show-cause notice last Thursday, threatened to reprise his 2009 Anzac Day heroics when he kicked two goals in two minutes to put Essendon back in front late in the game.

Watson is going to be missed in every game he is sidelined but his greatest strength is at the clearances and the Bombers won that count convincingly, 40-26.

One game is not enough evidence to judge whether the Bombers' season will unravel as ASADA proceeds with its case against the club for the alleged use of the peptide thymosin beta 4 during 2012.

But the loss certainly hurts the Bombers' final chances. A win would have lifted them into the eight on percentage but they now remain stuck in ninth, one game behind North Melbourne and Gold Coast.

Perhaps, though, we are underselling Melbourne.

Yes, they can make scoring seem harder than quantum physics at times but the Demons have found a far steelier edge under Roos.

Co-skipper Nathan Jones has kept producing this year but he is now getting far more midfield support from the likes of Bernie Vince, Dom Tyson, Jack Viney and Daniel Cross.

Forward Cameron Pedersen has revived his career under Roos, while Jack Watts and James Frawley, often in a new role up forward, seem to be enjoying their football for the first time in years.

A triumph over quantum physics? Demons players celebrate their incredible win. Picture: AFL Media
Four wins from his first 12 games in charge is an encouraging return for Roos, and we can't help but feel things will only get better for the Demons now.

Who could begrudge long-suffering Dees fans that?

Collingwood's dip is a blip, not a terminal decline

You only had to look at the reaction of Nathan Buckley in the coach's box after the final siren to see how much Collingwood's loss to the Western Bulldogs hurt.

The Magpies coach sat with his hands behind his head, staring blankly into the distance.

Buckley was little doubt getting his head around the fact his team had just dropped four vital premiership points against a side that had defeated just Richmond, Greater Western Sydney and Melbourne this year.

And that in doing so, the Pies had slipped from fourth to sixth on the ladder.

WATCH: Collingwood v Western Bulldogs match highlights
If Buckley allowed his mind to skip forward to the Pies' next match, his mood would have not have got any better, with Hawthorn looming next Saturday at the MCG.

The Pies have lost their past five games to the reigning premier by an average margin of nearly 40 points, their last win coming in a 2011 preliminary final.

But as galling as the loss was for Buckley and the Magpies, when the season post-mortems are conducted it is more likely to be viewed as an inconvenient blip on the radar rather than a sign of larger problems.

Key midfielder Dayne Beams (corked calf) was a late withdrawal before Sunday's game and his presence was sorely missed around centre bounces and stoppages, where the Magpies were smashed 34-51.

Presumably, they will get Beams back next week and Steele Sidebottom a week after that for their round 15 clash with Carlton.

The only problem – and Buckley will still be getting his head around this – is that with six legitimate contenders circling this year's top-four spots, every game you drop jeopardises your chances of a finals double-chance.

Those losses sting even more when they come in games you fully expected to win.

A new role beckons for the Lion King

Questioning whether Jonathan Brown has played on too long has been more popular than politician-bashing this year.

No one could ever question the Brisbane Lions champion's heart, but Father Time has made the game's most destructive force in the noughties look decidedly mortal this year.

But Brown is above all a team man, so he was happy to play on, knowing that despite his diminished mobility he remained far and away the Lion's best target in attack.

But after Brown's sickening accidental collision with Greater Western Sydney defender Tomas Bugg on Saturday night, the Lion's on-field form is suddenly the least of anyone's concerns.

WATCH: Huge hit leaves the Lion King seeing stars
Fortunately, Brown did not emerge with another serious facial fracture like those he suffered in separate collisions with Fremantle's Luke McPharlin and teammate Mitch Clark during 2011, and with teammate Matt Maguire in the 2012 pre-season.

But watching the three-time premiership forward stagger off the Gabba on Saturday night heavily concussed, you couldn't help thinking it's time for Brown to put his long-term health first.

Even Brown admitted he was unsure if he had played his last game, even if he was leaning towards playing on.

Brown said, one way or the other, he would see out the season in some capacity with the Lions.

Perhaps he's best served to do so as an assistant coach.

That way he can remain a leader around the club and continue to impart his vast football knowledge to the Lions' youngsters, while not subjecting his battle-scarred body to any more batterings.

QUESTION TIME

Did the Power pass the pressure test?
Yes. Having beaten Fremantle, Hawthorn and Geelong this year, all at the 'Portress', they showed against the Swans that they belong among the competition's big boys.

It took an inspired five-goal second half from Lance Franklin – who, like only he can, was dobbing them from outside 50m off a couple of steps – to stop Port, who looked done at several stages during the game but just kept coming.

If not for a well-timed spoil from Reid in the dying seconds, the Power could have pinched the win.

Watch the last two minutes from Saturday night's thriller at the SCG
As relieved as the Swans would have been with their four-point victory, they now know the Power midfield is one of the few in the competition that can match them for pressure and run.

If a football season is a marathon, we've barely passed the halfway mark and teams like Hawthorn and Fremantle, who have been slowed by injuries to date, are still in the leading pack right behind the Swans and Port, while Geelong is hanging in there too.

The Power, who entered Saturday's game with a 10-1 record, face a tough run home that includes a return clash against the Swans at the Adelaide Oval in round 20 and away clashes with Collingwood (round 19), Gold Coast (round 21) and Freo (round 23).

But as the pace picks up towards the end of the season, don't be surprised if they are still leading the charge.

Have the Crows' forwards finally clicked?
Adelaide's forward line has been hit harder than most by player defections in recent years. First, Jack Gunston requested a trade to Hawthorn at the end of 2011 and then Kurt Tippett moved to the Sydney Swans a year later. That hurt the club in more ways than one - the Crows' efforts to rebuild their attack weren't helped by the 2012 and 2013 draft penalties they received in the wake of Tippett's departure.

But the Crows kicked a few goals in last year's player exchange period, snaring Eddie Betts from Carlton as a restricted free agent and Geelong premiership player James Podsiadly as a delisted free agent. Betts and Podsiadly were among the Crows' best players against North Melbourne on Saturday night. Betts kicked three goals, including a Goal-of-the-Year contender from the Adelaide Oval stands midway through the first quarter, while Podsiadly kicked two goals and took eight marks (two contested).

With Taylor Walker five games into his comeback from a knee reconstruction and Josh Jenkins continuing to develop as a marking threat, the Crows have reassembled an attack that can trouble any team.

WATCH: Has Eddie Betts booted Goal of the Year?


Nick Bowen: Picking the Roos' form swings this season has been harder than finding a Melbourne Cup winner. At times, they've looked like a top-four team, but as soon as you put your faith in them you get burned. But when you inevitably drop off them, you're odds-on to be burned just as badly. This column, for one, gives up.



NB: Too early to tell, but with Dean Cox rested from Saturday's game against Gold Coast, Scott Lycett certainly put his hand up against the Suns with 16 possessions, 18 hit-outs, six marks and one goal. You suspect Cox is probably still the Eagles' preferred partner for Nic Naitanui, but Lycett's finish to this season will probably be a factor in whether the six-time All Australian plays on in 2015.



NB: Greater Western Sydney needed to hit back hard after consecutive 100-point floggings from West Coast and Richmond in rounds eight and 10. Such performances in your third AFL season are not acceptable. The Giants' losses to Hawthorn and Essendon in the past two rounds were honourable and Saturday night's 45-point win over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba was the victory they had to have. It was their first away win and their biggest winning margin. Hopefully, it marks a turning point for the Giants.



NB: Brad Sewell was outstanding against the Blues on Friday night and, dodgy hamstrings permitting, should be part of the Hawks' tilt for back-to-back flags. This season has been one of opportunity for young Hawk midfielders such as Will Langford and Mitch Hallahan, but Sewell's 29 possessions against the Blues signalled the 30-year-old's not ready to step aside for Hawthorn's next generation just yet.



NB: Geez, sounds like your dinner was full of tough judges, Philip! Kernahan's stats read all right to me – 251 games, a club-record 738 goals and 226 games as captain. That said, fields don't come much tougher than the Blues' top five. Jesaulenko, Doull and Stephen Silvagni could all easily have finished runner-up to John Nicholls as the Blues' greatest player.



NB: Before Saturday's three-point loss to the Eagles, the Suns had only been part of two games decided by 18 points or fewer this season and won both of them – over Richmond in round one and Melbourne in round five. What really hurt them against the Eagles was their poor first three quarters. When you trail by 35 points with a quarter to go, even blistering six-goal final terms tend not to save you.

Twitter: @afl_nick

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