Magpies dominate with record-breaking 77-point win over Bombers
Updated ,first published
After the pomp of football’s pre-match Anzac Day ceremony, Essendon fans waved their scarves with the force of an army, beyond hope of causing an upset on the game’s biggest home and away stage. Just over two hours later, it was they who left the MCG dejected.
Collingwood’s 77-point win marked the largest Anzac Day margin between the two clubs; It’s a sign of just how far the Bombers are from mid-table mediocrity, let alone anything truly.
The game, which started out competitively enough, turned into a procession.
Finally, he was celebrating the Magpies veterans who provided valuable service to the black and whites. Chief among them was favorite son Scott Pendlebury, whose 43rd and final elimination of the day was a career-best in game 431, bringing the loudest cheers outside after the national anthems.
“Every time we watched him perform, [we’re] Collingwood coach Craig McRae said: “We are in awe and, like all our loyal fans, delighted that he scored that late goal.” “It’s great to be a part of it.”
It is the fourth time Pendlebury has won the medal, which recognizes the player who best exemplifies the Anzac spirit through skill, courage, sacrifice, teamwork and fair play. He brought others into the game and maintained his own when the game required composure.
The medal winner could easily have been Nick Daicos, whose 42-possession game led to four downs.
The idea that the Magpies of 2026 are either Daicos or busts, while not discredited, has gained steam as the superstar in Brisbane becomes the latest in a string of recent withdrawals.
Pendlebury’s absence was lost in the filming following that game. The 38-year-old remains as important to the Pies as their best player, Daicos; especially because of the value he brings with his experience and calming presence. Particularly in last week’s win against Carlton, the Pies were at their worst in the second term, with Pendlebury getting a massage on the bench.
It was a major setback for the Dons, who received a brutal reminder of where they sat in the pecking order after three weeks of encouraging displays.
The Bombers were most threatening when they could bounce half back with quick hands, but once McRae removed chaos from their arsenal, there was nothing left for them to rely on.
They brought with them the effort that allowed courage in the beginning. The one-to-one striking-to-handling ratio in the first half reflected their readiness to manage the ball. The half-time score of 3.4 was a measure of both the Dons’ steals at inopportune times and the difficulty of executing such a plan against the Magpies.
What mattered was that the Bombers were at least organized at halftime, but they soon looked like the mess they made in March, when coach Brad Scott was on the hot seat for weeks before the autumn leaves turned red.
Archer Day-Wicks was an unlikely scene-stealer. The 19-year-old scored one of his best goals of the season in front of the Essendon fans in the Shane Warne Stand, scoring two of his side’s three goals in the first half.
The Pies’ play was an eyesore, but the beauty lay in the scoreboard. Two of the four goals came from fierce strikes that sailed out from centre, the other from defensive Ben McKay’s screamer – the kind of mistake that leaves the culprit wishing a hole would swallow them immediately.
McKay, a whipping boy for Bombers fans, groaned knowingly when he punched Sherrin rather than take what would arguably have been a sign of defensive tackle in the final term.
The run-and-gun style that had the red-black crowd excited early on turned into a passing memory after the quarter as the Pies pressed to close down the field. There were nine hot-handed plays in a passage on the members’ wing, all to equally pressured targets. Just when it looked like the Dons had found a way out, a fumble spoiled the game.
Scott said his young players, two-thirds of whom had played fewer games overall than Pendlebury, were unable to handle the big stage, while McRae and Pendlebury were matched only by the grand final in terms of pressure and intensity.
“This is incredibly frustrating because [it’s] It’s a really big day and a big event and the opportunity to play in games like this, where there aren’t bigger games, bigger crowds, apart from the finals. [or a] “It’s a bigger stage that creates big moments,” Scott said.
“And time and time again, we couldn’t handle those moments. We couldn’t handle that situation. We couldn’t handle the pressure from Collingwood. And worse, we couldn’t rise to the occasion under perceived pressure that wasn’t even there.”
The slower pace of the second quarter gave Collingwood control of the game, but counterintuitively this did not suit their forward line, which thrives on space and fast ball movement.
Scott’s challenge was to devise a secondary plan that did not rely on finding non-existent holes to pressure the Pies.
Scott’s hand was weak; it lacked aces, kings and queens. Even if Father Time catches them all in this matchup, they still belong to McRae.
The Bombers, who broke apart in the 9th-20th openings of the center, abandoned the area, requiring them to rush through the entire black-and-white zone from the defense.
Collingwood aren’t the same team they were at the start of McRae’s tenure, but their defense is as tight as a drum.
Essendon’s goals in the third quarter came from individual brilliance. Nate Caddy broke the team rules of every club in the country by turning and burning Sam Durham by throwing him over his shoulder. Isaac Kako intercepted a rare handball from Steele Sidebottom to the feet of ruckman Darcy Cameron; this ball allowed Queen Mary’s return circle to sneak past the Bombers’ goal from 20 meters out.
That Kako and Caddy are the future of the Dons is consolation to the Bombers faithful, many of whom left the gates midway through the final quarter, but the short-term future is bleak.
No matter how gray and old Collingwood is, its veterans are still talented. Their recruits may not have Essendon’s high draft rating, but they aren’t expected to do that much.
Take mature-age player Angus Anderson, who was selected 57th overall in last year’s draft. With 14 disposals and two goals, he made more of an impact than Essendon’s prized first-round trio of Jacob Farrow, Sullivan Robey and Dyson Sharp. The same was true for Roan Steele, who was bought mid-season last year, and his reward for fulfilling his primary role of covering wide was 18 touches and two goals.
The Magpies leave Anzac Day with their first ton in 16 games (since last July) and renewed hope that they can be more than just a nuisance this year. For the Dons, reality hurts.
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