Round 22, 2005
Essendon vs Melbourne
Sunday 28 August
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 55,016
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Essendon | 4.1 | 7.5 | 9.7 | 12.13.85 |
| Melbourne | 1.3 | 7.8 | 11.14 | 13.17.95 |
Melbourne win by 10 points
Goalkickers: Russell Robertson 4, Brad Green 3, Nathan Brown 1, Aaron Davey 1, Ben Holland 1, Travis Johnstone 1, Shannon Motlop 1, Adem Yze 1
Brownlow votes:
1 - Travis Johnstone
Milestones:
Last MFC game
Steven Armstrong
Having dragged themselves back into finals contention with two thrilling wins in as many weeks, the equation was simple. Beat the Bombers and jump into the finals. The Bulldogs had won on the Friday night and Port Adelaide on Saturday, leaving them waiting for the result of Melbourne against the 13th place Essendon.
Having come through two tough matches in two weeks, the demons were jumped in the first quarter and the lowly Bombers took a 16 point lead into the first change. Melbourne took the lead in the second term, and extended it at the last change but were unable to shake the Bombers off. With the Bulldogs players watching on nervously, Essendon kept threatening to cause a boilover and end Melbourne's season.
With the game still in the balance deep into the last quarter, and the Bombers having closed from 19 points to within a goal, a speculative Robertson snap bounced truly and tipped the Bulldogs out of the finals race.
Essendon could very well have won - their last five scoring shots were behinds - but in the end Melbourne got the result they wanted.
Daniel Bell suffered an ankle injury.
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Age - 28/08/2005