The teams were locked at 11.13 (79) on the final siren after a pulsating, magnificent final quarter of football.

The lead changed seven times throughout the match with both sides taking turns to hold the lead in the final quarter. Kade Simpson could have been the hero for Carlton with his brilliant three-bounce goal for the Blues with three minutes to go to put his side up by a point.

But he then turned villain inside the final minute, when, with the Blues milking the clock, he kicked out on the full after taking a mark. The Bombers rushed the ball forward where David Zaharakis snapped a point to level the scores.

Both teams will have considered themselves stiff not to win. The Blues could have gone further ahead at the 28-minute mark, after Simpson’s goal, when Jeff Garlett wound up to kick for the goal. But he was magnificently run-down by Dustin Fletcher – who turns 36 in a fortnight – to save the goal.

The Bombers’ effort was brave given that they lost two players in the first term. Jason Winderlich went down early in the first term, followed late in the same quarter by defender Courtenay Dempsey.

With just two on the bench, the Bombers could have been excused for fading, but they rebounded magnificently to secure two of the more famous premiership points in recent memory.