James Hird has given Essendon supporters many memorable moments over his 13-year career with the Bombers. But Saturday night’s performance was something special and one many Bomber supporters will remember for years to come. The skipper was inspirational and his 15 possession and two goal last term were the difference between the two sides.

""Obviously you know when you get a bit of the ball. But when the game is over and you win or lose by a long way you have more of an idea of what you stats you have. But when the game is as tense as that and on the line you really have no idea and you don’t really care,"" Hird said.

""It is more about trying to win the game of footy. When I came off and had 15 touches it was great, but the most important thing was to have an influence and win the game.""

The Eagles peg backed Essendon’s eight-goal start and only one point separated the two teams at the final change. The stage was set for an exciting last quarter and that is exactly what was delivered. The game was finished at a ferocious pace. Ten goals were scored and the lead changed hands nine times and scores were level on three occasions.

""Barnsey told us there was a minute to go after Adkins got the goal. We knew we had 50 seconds to get it down there. We got the ball out of the centre and kicked it long. When Marc Bullen handballed me the ball all I could think of was to get rid of it as quick as I could because I didn’t want the ball to be on my boot when the siren went,"" Hird said.

Hird has been outstanding in the Bombers’ last two matches and was pleased the team posted its first win on the board on the weekend after successive losses. ""I think I am getting plenty of the ball and playing good football, but whether it is as well as I have played. You look at 2000 and you can’t do much more than that from a team perspective and a personal perspective, so it would be hard to top that. I have been happy with my form in the last two and a half games. The first half against Port was pretty ordinary but the last two games have been good,"" he said.

""Physically and fitness wise I am probably back to where I was before my foot injury. What a lot of people don’t understand is that when you have a long-term injury your fitness doesn’t come back in one or two years. It takes three or four years to get back to that fitness. I feel that after three or four pre-seasons since my foot my fitness is back to where it used to even though I am a bit older and it takes me longer to recover.""