Line in the Sand Match
| 2004 AFL Line in the sand match Round 11, 2004 Hawthorn v Essendon |
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| Date | 5 June 2004 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | MCG | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 42,682 | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Network Ten | |||||||||||||||
The line in the sand match is the unofficial title given to the round 11, 2004 match between Australian Football League (AFL) clubs Hawthorn and Essendon, which was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, 5 June 2004.
A number of incidents in the third quarter led to some fights breaking out all over the ground, eventually turning into a five-minute melee involving all players on the ground. Following the brawl, Essendon kicked fourteen goals to Hawthorn's six to record a 74-point win.
Eighteen players faced charges at the AFL Tribunal from the match on 8 and 9 June 2004, with record suspensions and fines handed out.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Hawthorn experienced a golden era, making every Grand Final from 1983 to 1989 and again in 1991, and were victorious on five occasions.
During this time, they came up against the Bombers on three occasions – 1983, 1984 and 1985. The Hawks comfortably won in 1983 and the Bombers followed up with back-to-back wins in 1984 and 1985. Throughout this decade, both clubs were known to play hard, attacking brands of football resulting in lots of biffs, bumps and brawls.
Essendon continued to intimidate opposition clubs in the 1990s and into the early years of the 21st century, resulting in more premiership success in 1993 and 2000, and a dominant era over Hawthorn. Essendon entered the match having won nine of the previous ten meetings between the two clubs, by an average margin of 39 points. They were also heavy favourites to win this match, having a 7–3 win–loss record for the season and were considered a top-four contender, while Hawthorn was bottom of the ladder with only two wins.
Hawthorn players were allegedly directed at half time, by club director Dermott Brereton who played for the Hawks during the 1980s and early 1990s, to "draw a line in the sand" and take a physical stand against the Bombers to make it clear that they would not take the intimidation any longer. Brereton denied the allegation but admitted to advising senior players "to stand up to any Essendon aggression".
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