(Ryan Withers is a BPL Citizen Journalist.)

The continued use of the ‘draw' in footy has never been so justified as it was on the weekend's clash between Carlton and Essendon, with the latter more than deserving the two-points that went their way.

In a game that seesawed in almost every quarter, the Bombers and Blues fought out one of the matches of the round to come away with a draw, the third such result this year. However, in the aftermath many in the media have already come out as advocates for change, with the idea of extra-time the most popular choice. Channel Ten commentator, Stephen Quartermain expressing his dislike of the current format straight after the result, which was in contrast from his co-commentator, Malcolm Blight. This idea for extra-time may seem to be a logical step for some who wish to eradicate the draw from the AFL, but when you look at how this match could have ended up, it just isn't fair.

After only 10 minutes of footy, the Bombers were dealt a cruel blow with two key players in Jason Winderlich and Courtney Dempsey going off the field permanently with ACL knee injuries, leaving the Dons with only two men on the bench, while the Blues remained unscathed by the erratic first term. In many areas of the game and especially in the final two terms, Essendon looked as though they were going to fade away to Carlton's incessant speed, but to the surprise of many continued to revive their chances. In a match played between two evenly talented sides in front of over 78,000, the result came out a draw, a result indicative of the afternoon's play.

Now some say that in every draw, there is a winner and a loser, and to an extent there is. If there was a winner out on the MCG on Saturday, it was most certainly Essendon. Essendon were two men down for the majority of the game and had at one stage 30 less rotations than Carlton due to the imbalance on the bench (130-100).

People will use this game as a clear discussion point for scrapping the draw (and to a lesser extent, the removal of the substitute rule), but had this game gone into extra time, the imbalance felt for 120 minutes surely would have overwhelmed the depleted Dons, robbing them of two deserved points.

The draw is a facet of our game that is more compelling that some in the community would have you believe. I imagine many Carlton supporters would have left the MCG wishing they'd had an added 10 minutes to finish off the job they should have in the regulation 120. However, like many of the finest elements of Australian Football, the value of the draw often goes unregistered by the majority of the media, who see it as a hindrance rather than a blessing. The draw brings excitement, energy and intrigue into seasons that may be lacking in some or all of these things.

After all, how more exciting will the final rounds of the year be when there is only 2 points defining the bottom four, the top eight or even the top two.