Updated ,first published
After the solemnity of football’s pre-game Anzac Day service, Essendon fans waved their scarves with the vigour of an army more than just hopeful of causing an upset on the game’s biggest home-and-away stage. Just over two hours later, they were the ones leaving the MCG upset.
Collingwood’s 77-point win marked the biggest Anzac Day margin between the two clubs, a sign of just how far the Bombers are away from even mid-table mediocrity, let alone anything of real substance.
A game that started competitively enough became a procession.
By the end, it was the Magpies celebrating their veterans, who have given sterling service to the black and white. Not least of those was favourite son Scott Pendlebury, whose 43rd and last disposal of the day marked a career-best tally in game No.431 and brought the loudest cheer outside that which followed the national anthems.
“Every time we watch him perform, [we’re] just in awe, and we’re all just so happy for him kicking that goal late, as were all our faithful fans,” Collingwood coach Craig McRae said. “It’s great to be part of this.”
Pendlebury was a worthy fourth-time winner of a medal that recognises the player who best exemplifies the Anzac spirit with skill, courage, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play. He brought others into the game, and when the game demanded composure, he kept his.
The medal winner could easily have been Nick Daicos, whose 42-possession game was blemished by four behinds.
The idea that the Magpies of 2026 are Daicos or bust, though not unsound, gained legs after their drubbing in Brisbane when the superstar was the latest of late withdrawals.
Lost in the takes after that game was Pendlebury’s absence. At the age of 38, he remains just as important to the Pies as their best player Daicos, not least because of the value he brings with his experience and calming presence. Notably in last week’s win over Carlton, the Pies were at their worst in the second term when Pendlebury was on the bench getting a rubdown.
This was a major setback for the Dons, who after three weeks of encouraging performances were given a brutal reminder of where they sit in the pecking order.
The Bombers were most threatening when they could bounce off half-back through quick hands, but once McRae took chaos out of their armoury, they had nothing to fall back on.
Early on, they brought effort, which allowed dare. A kick-to-handball ratio of one to one at half-time reflected their preparedness to run the ball. A half-time scoreline of 3.4 was a measure of both the Dons’ fumbles at inopportune times and the difficulty of pulling off such a plan against the Magpies.
Importantly, the Bombers were organised, at least to half-time, but they soon resembled the mess they dished up in March, when coach Brad Scott was in the hot seat for weeks before the autumn leaves had turned red.
Archer Day-Wicks was an unlikely scene stealer. The 19-year-old hauled in one of the marks of the season in front of the Essendon faithful in the Shane Warne Stand and booted two of his team’s three first-half goals.
The Pies’ play was an eyesore, but the beauty lay on the scoreboard. Two of their four goals came from scrappy surges out of the centre, another from a Ben McKay howler in defence – the sort of error that leaves the culprit wishing a sinkhole would immediately swallow them.
A whipping boy for Bombers fans, McKay drew knowing groans in the last term when he punched the Sherrin instead of taking what would have been an uncontested intercepting mark in defence.
The run-and-gun style that excited the red-and-black masses early became a fleeting memory after quarter-time when the Pies pressed up to shut down space. One passage on the members’ wing involved nine hot handballs, all to targets under just as much pressure. Just when it appeared the Dons had found a way through, a fumble unravelled the play.
Scott said his young players– two thirds of whom have played fewer games combined than Pendlebury – failed to handle the big stage, which McRae and Pendlebury said was only matched by that of the grand final in terms of pressure and intensity.
“It’s incredibly frustrating because [it’s] a really important day and big occasion, and an opportunity to play in games like that, where, outside of finals, you don’t get bigger games, bigger crowds, [or a] bigger stage, which creates big moments,” Scott said.
“And repeatedly, we weren’t able to handle those moments. We weren’t able to handle the occasion. We weren’t able to handle Collingwood’s pressure. And then, even worse, we weren’t able to stand up under perceived pressure that wasn’t even there.”
The slower tempo of the second quarter gave Collingwood control of the game, though counterintuitively, it did not suit their forward line, which thrives on space and quick ball movement.
The challenge for Scott was to engineer a secondary plan to pressure the Pies, one that did not rely on finding holes that do not exist.
Scott had a weak hand, void of aces, kings and queens. In this match-up, those still belong to McRae, even if Father Time catches up to all.
Smashed in the centre clearances 9-20, the Bombers ceded territory, requiring them to make their run from defence through the entire black-and-white zone.
Collingwood are not the side they were at the start of McRae’s tenure, but their defence is as tight as a drum.
In the third quarter, Essendon’s goals came through individual brilliance. Nate Caddy broke the team rules of every club in the land when he turned and burned Sam Durham to snap over his shoulder. Isaac Kako seized on a rare errant handball from Steele Sidebottom to the feet of ruckman Darcy Cameron, whose turning circle of the Queen Mary allowed the Bombers goal sneak to soccer it through from 20 metres out.
That Kako and Caddy are the Dons’ future brings solace to the Bombers faithful, many of whom were out the gates midway through the final quarter, but the short-term future is bleak.
As grey and old as Collingwood are, their veterans remain able. Their novices may lack the high draft rating of Essendon’s, but they are not expected to do as much.
Take Angus Anderson, a mature-age player taken at pick No.57 in last year’s draft. With 14 disposals and two goals, he had more impact than Essendon’s prized first-round trio of Jacob Farrow, Sullivan Robey and Dyson Sharp. Same with Roan Steele, a mid-season acquisition last year whose reward for performing his primary role of holding his width was 18 touches and two goals.
The Magpies leave Anzac Day with their first ton in 16 games (since last July) and the renewed hope that they can be more than nuisance value this year. For the Dons, reality bites.
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