Clearance carnage
The clearance count was telling across the afternoon. The Bombers had three more in the first quarter and 10 more at half-time, but they'd blown the difference out to 19 by the final change. By the end of the match, they'd won the count 44 to 28 with Sam Lonergan leading the charge with eight, followed by Jobe Watson and Jake Melksham with six each and David Zaharakis and Heath Hocking five apiece.

The highs and lows of football
Essendon forward Stewart Crameri exploded early with four first-quarter goals, which saw Daniel Merrett moved off him in the second quarter in favour of Matt Maguire. But, after the Bomber's impressive start, he faded in the middle part of the game before he sustained what appeared to be a serious left knee injury at the start of the fourth. He collapsed to the turf after a Merrett tackle and was helped off, but tried to prove his fitness with a few boundary line run-throughs before the doctors called time on his day and iced him up.

Stanton's revenge
Brent Stanton was taken to the cleaners on Anzac Day by Collingwood defender Martin Clarke, who was playing in a tagging role for the first time. On Saturday afternoon, the Bombers' midfielder had nine touches in the second quarter and didn't slow down in the second half. He ended the game with an afternoon-high of 39, after touching the ball just 13 times last week. He also topped his performance with eight tackles and six inside 50s.

Another week, another job
Heath Hocking added Simon Black to the list of A-grade midfielders he's lined up on this season, having already played on the likes of Scott Pendlebury, Chris Judd and Gary Ablett. He was on top early, restricting Black to five disposals (four of which were handballs) in the first quarter, but the class of the Brownlow medallist came out after the first break. By half-time, Black had collected 13 touches. By the final siren, he'd had 27, but his usual effectiveness was down.

Fletcher's flyers
The Essendon veteran, whose 37th birthday this Monday was celebrated early with a commemorative banner pre-match and the playing of Happy Birthday after the final siren, thrilled the crowd with a pair of thundering torpedos. The first came in the second quarter from full-back and landed flush in the centre square, and the second - demanded by the crowd in the third term - was launched towards the Bombers' goals and travelled nearly 70m but drifted off line for no score.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs