Hawthorn v Essendon (2004 AFL season)
| 2004 AFL premiership season | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 5 June 2004 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | MCG | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 42,682 | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Network Ten | |||||||||||||||
In round 11, 2004, an Australian Football League (AFL) home-and-away match between Hawthorn and Essendon took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which later became known by the unofficial title of the Line in the Sand match.
A number of incidents in the third quarter led to fights breaking out all over the ground, eventually turning into a five-minute melee involving almost 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.