When Paul Kelly marked 20m out from goal late in the third quarter of Saturday's match between Sydney and Essendon, the Bombers hopes of victory appeared to be in tatters. Sydney led by 27 points and a Kelly goal would have put them 33-points up with less than a minute to play in the quarter. Blake Caracella stood on the mark as Kelly lined up for what appeared a very simple shot for goal. Kelly took a couple of tentative steps towards what seemed certain to be a goal - what followed almost certainly changed the course of the match.

Kelly got far too close to Caracella and his kick for goal was miraculously smothered. The ball rebounded from the Essendon defence and a Barnard pass found Adam Ramanauskas who goaled from 40m out. Instead of facing a 33-point defecit, Essendon was confronted with a 21-point margin going into the last quarter. It was a two-goal swing that almost certainly changed the result of the match and just maybe the course of season 2001.

A 33-point defecit would probably have been too much for the Bombers to overcome in the last quarter, particularly given the fact Essendon had only been able to manufacture four goals in almost three quarters of football. But more importantly it ensured essendon didn't lose three games in succession - a result that have certainly dented the players' confidence. And it would also have given Brisbane a sniff of top spot on the ladder. As it is, the Bombers are now one game and a healthy percentage clear on top.

None of that was crossing the mind of Caracella as he stood on the mark before the fateful Kelly kick. ""You never really imagine that you are going to smother a kick for goal when they are so close in. It is pretty rare - you basically just throw the arms up and hope something goes wrong,"" Caracella said. ""I thought as he was coming in to kick that he was getting very close to the mark and I thought I might have been a bit of a chance to get something on it. For us to rebound and kick a goal was great.""

""In the context of the match it was important. It gave us a real lift going into the final quarter. If we had been six goals down it would have been a tough ask. Everyone believed we could win the match and things clicked for us late in the quarter. Hopefully it will be the turning point after a flat couple of weeks,"" Caracella said.