While Melbourne Cup Day provided Melbourne's masses with a labor-free day last Tuesday, the latest instalments of 'The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club' continued to run down the straight unimpeded.
Although episodes 3 and 4 of theย 'Fox Sports' aired docuseries charted the Dons' lean years of the 70s and early-80s, the latest pair were bookended by premiership glory for the famous old club.
Having taken an outsider's view of the sterling stills, snippets and stories of the past fortnight, I've once again poured through the record books and pondered another set of questions that arose across the series' penultimate week.
So, before the final set of chapters are aired and completed next week, here are another 10 queries that cropped up from the recount of Essendon's most recent golden age.
Was Michael Long's magic goal touched?
There's no denying his run, there's no denying his weave and there's no denying the contact he made, but given Stephen Silvagni's steadfast appeals, would Michael Long's goal in the 1993 grand final have passed the ARC's โrigorous' review system?
Given how iconic Long's effort continues to be, the romantic in me is glad that it was awarded six-points that afternoon, but as there is still an itch of contention that has lasted longer than 28-years, I feel obliged to scratch it.
With arguably the greatest full back of the 20th century outstretched and irate only inches in front of them, it's hard to imagine that any goal umpire in the contemporary era would be willing to conclusively call Long's effort a goal.
And having watched YouTube footage of the major on repeat, I'm still not sold on the final result, but the prevailing sentiment across the internet was that 'SOS' almost certainly had a point.
Given the Sherrin moves from Sean Denham's hand into the gutter of the Ponsford Stand with a speed that even Usain Bolt would be forced to tip his hat at, it's borderline impossible to come to a concrete decision.
However, when Channel 7's cameras rotated, the footage shows that Silvagni's slips effort that both slowed and deviated the ball probably should have been rewarded.
Yet, even if the goal review system was able to be called upon in 1993, I, like many, have zero confidence that anything other than the words โUmpire's Call' would have shown up on the big screen.
As someone that loves almost every one of the magic moments that are woven into the tapestry of our great game, I promise I'm going to cease seeking loose stitches in what is surely Long's magnum opus move.
But if an opportunity arose to speak with the man tasked with waiving the flags that afternoon, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be back picking and tearing at this fabric pretty quickly.
