Investigations Officer Mark Scott spent an arduous two days looking into the alleged incident.

Broadbent knew he had been hit hard with an elbow. "What else is going to cause my head to nearly come off, I didn’t see any freight trains on the field," he responded sarcastically to Scott, and repeatedly accused Evans. "He was the only Essendon player near my head," he complained, even though he admitted he did not see Evans make contact.

Scott asked whether it was possible he had been hit by a team-mate.

"Look," Broadbent replied angrily, "it’s possible, but I put it straight to Bluey. Why would he lie, he knows I’d just put it down to an accident. He swears it’s Evans."

Bluey McLaren was indignant (a little too indignant, Scott thought) when interviewed. "It wasn’t me. And if Broady says it was that hot-shot pretty boy, then I believe him. Anyway, he was the only Essendon player within striking distance".

Scott was impressed with Evans during their interview at AFL Headquarters. The handsome young man seemed genuinely surprised to be the target of media vitriol and an AFL investigation.

"I swear, I didn’t hit him, not even by accident." Scott played the video in slow motion.

"Stop it there," Evans said, pointing to the screen. "See, I’m off balance, that’s why my elbow’s in the air." He rolled up his sleeve and showed Evans the bruise. "That’s where my other elbow hit the ground when I fell. I'm telling you, mate, it was Bluey McLaren."

The next morning Scott presented a verbal report to the General manager. "I don’t think he did it."

"Look at this," the General Manager said. He punched the remote control on his desk and the scene, now well-known to both men, appeared on the screen. But this time the angle was different, the camera on the other side of the ground. "It’s from Footy Cable," he said referring to a pay TV channel.

From this angle, with only a few players obscuring the scene, Evans’s elbow appears to move across Broadbent’s head, and he did not seem to be off-balance.

"Where’s Bluey McLaren?" Scott asked.

The General Manager paused. "It’s not clear from this angle."

Scott sighed. "It’s hard to know, but I’d have to recommend it goes to the Tribunal. They can sort out the evidence."

"I agree."

That afternoon Essendon received a faxed copy of the Notice of Report and details of the charge: "For misconduct in that player Shawn Evans did strike player Craig Broadbent in the head."