It has been labelled the game of the season by some, the game of the decade by others. Some have even labelled it the best game in the history of Australian Rules Football. Whichever way you look at it, it was a magnificent game of football. It was two-hours of non-stop highlights - a record number of goals were scored and never beforee has a side returned from the seemingly impossible position the Bombers did. Essendon assistant coach Robert Shaw was as enthralled as anyone.

""I suppose when I look back it was a game of one side where one side deserved to win and the other refused to lose - that is probably the simplest way to look at it,"" Shaw said. ""I just found it a fantastic match to watch and I'm sure everyone at the ground was as enthralled as I was.""

From a coaching perspective Shaw said it was great to sit back and watch two of the masters go head-to-head - Kevin Sheedy and Denis Pagan. ""The preparation and the planning the Kangaroos had done was second to none and I think that was obvious in the first quarter - they were sensational. But then to see Kevin Sheedy plan, organise and engineer a comeback of that magnitude ... well what can you say - it was remarkable,"" Shaw said.

""The Kangaroos won the first quarter, we won the second quarter and then it just became a real slog to the finishing line. It was two proud club s going goal-for-goal to the death,"" Shaw said. ""There was some exceptional football played by both sides.""

Shaw praised the Essendon players for refusing to lie down. ""It was a great learning experience. For a team that was three games plus percentage clear on top it probably crossed their minds that today just wasn't their day. I think at 69-points down your mind has every right to turn it up,"" Shaw said.

""The fact they didn't lie down was the most significant thing for me. To overcome the mental obstacle of such a deficit sends out a very clear message that this club refuses to lie down even in the face of enormous oods. That was the most significant aspect of the whole game to my way of thinking,"" Shaw said.