As is the case with most top of the ladder clashes, the opening at the Gabba was fierce but also fairly scrappy with both sides unwilling to give the other an even break. It ended up being Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis who opened the scoring with a brilliant boundary line set-shot. The Bombers followed soon after though with a typically couragous effort from Damien Peverill resulting in a Joe Misiti major. The Lion midfield were beginning to assert their dominance with Simon Black and Nigel Lappin getting plenty of posession, but it was Essendon skipper James Hird who responded when it mattered with a clever snap under pressure. Matthew Lloyd followed soon after to peg the quarter-time deficit back to two points.