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, including a dominant record over Hawthorn.

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"[1] 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 "[not] stand for any physical stuff that [Essendon] will try to put over you" and to "fly the flag for yourself".

[2] Within the first two minutes of the third quarter, Mark Williams kicked Hawthorn's sixth goal of the match to cut Essendon's lead to 26 points.

Hawthorn's Richie Vandenberg and Lance Picioane were particularly active, and Essendon's Adam McPhee, Mark Johnson and Justin Murphy were keen to respond.

[1] As Winderlich continued off the ground in the arms of trainers, he was struck by Campbell Brown of Hawthorn, an act which was described by Essendon forward Matthew Lloyd after the match as "one of the most disgusting things I've seen on a football field".

[5] A few follow-up scuffles occurred, but Essendon regained composure and hit back hard on the scoreboard, kicking nine of the next ten goals to extend the three-quarter time lead to 74 points.

[10] The fines total distributed was the most from a single match in VFL/AFL history, and was described by tribunal chairman Brian Collis QC as bringing "football into disrepute".

The clubs have maintained a strong rivalry, but only one match has turned particularly violent since: in the final round of the 2009 season, with the two sides battling for eighth place on the ladder, a brawl was sparked by a head-high shirtfront from Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd on Hawthorn midfielder Brad Sewell at the start of the third quarter, which was to be the turning point in the match.