A crowd in excess of 6,000 watched the AFL exhibition match between Sydney and Essendon at the North Sydney Oval. In warm and humid conditions, the game was effectively a hit-out for the rising stars of each club, with Nathan Lovett-Murray, Kepler Bradley and David Hille featuring for Essendon.

The Bombers' Matthew Lloyd was the star of the first half, winning the battle with Jason Saddington. Lloyd kicked four goals and set up Essendon's match-winning lead.

For the Swans, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Amon Buchanan and Heath James looked very exciting, and a whole raft of youngsters made solid contributions, including Sean Dempster, Luke Ablett, Jarrad McVeigh, Scott McGlone, and Nick Malceski.

The Bombers' defensive experiment with veteran champion Mark Mercuri started very shakily as young Swans' forward Amon Buchanan gave him the run around, kicking two goals in the first quarter.

Heath James soon showed why Sydney has persisted with him after playing only seven matches in five years due to injury. He kicked two goals early in the second quarter, and teamed well with Roberts-Thomson in the forward line. Unfortunately, James suffered a shoulder injury that may force him out of next week's Wizard Cup match against Carlton.

Sydney: 3.2 5.3 7.6 10.9 (69)
Essendon 5.2 8.4 10.7 12.8 (80)
Goals:
Sydney: Buchanan 2, James 2, McVeigh 2, McGlone 2, Roberts-Thomson, Malceski.
Essendon: Lloyd 4, Lovett-Murray 2, Hille 2, Watson, Walsh, Cartledge, Lovett.
Best:
Sydney: Buchanan, McVeigh, James, McGlone, Roberts-Thomson, Malceski.
Essendon: Lloyd, Lovett-Murray, Mercuri, Richards, Bradley, Hille.
Injuries:
Sydney: Schauble (calf), James (shoulder).
Essendon: nil
Reports: nil
Crowd: 6,204 at North Sydney Oval.