AFL: 7 Most Memorable Fights Of All Time

2. Hawthorne vs Essendon - Round 11, 2004

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLiR4faNtAI These two once again appear in this list, their infamous "Line in the Sand" was more famous for the clips of fights then it was for the football played that day. The name is drawn from a quote from former Hawthorn premiership player and noted hard man, Dermott Brereton, who was accused of telling the Hawthorn players to "draw a line in the sand" and take a stand against Essendon's physical aggression. While Brereton denies making the statement, he does admit to telling senior Hawthorn players to "stand up to any Essendon aggression". Not long into the third quarter, just after Hawthorn had kicked a goal, there were a few aggressive tackles, with the commentators noticing that the intensity had gone up, and that there was a growing tension between the players. It didn't take long for things to reach boiling point, as Essendon looked to rebound the ball out of their defense looking for Jason Winderlich, who was collected by a knee to the head from Hawthorn veteran Chance Bateman. The incident sparked brawls across the ground, with physios, trainers and runners looked to break up the brawl. This specific brawl has a few moments that stand out, including Vandenberg of Hawthorn losing it, two former team mates in Simon Beaumont and Justin Murphy swinging at each other, Campbell Brown hitting Winderlich as he was coming off the ground and Adam McPhee of Essendon with a bloodied eye being forcibly removed from the ground by the Essendon physio. The biggest part about this brawl is just how out of character it was, as brawls in football have died out since the use of fines instead of suspensions, and the general attempt by the AFL to stigmatize brawls, and stop them from occurring and being a part of football. In the end though, Essendon ran out comfortable winners by 74 points. In the aftermath of the game, 18 players were brought before the tribunal on 26 charges, 9 from Hawthorn, 9 from Essendon, a total of $70,700 were dolled out in fines to players.