Ageless warrior Steele Sidebottom trumps Daicos brothers for Anzac Medal in Collingwood's big win
Collingwood have marched to their sixth consecutive victory with a hard-fought 41-point victory over Essendon in the traditional Anzac Day blockbuster at the MCG.
The Pies jumped the Bombers early before a four-goal blitz in the second term had the Dons back in the hunt by half-time.
Essendon hit the front in the third quarter, but Collingwood quickly regrouped to run away with it in the end.
The Magpies were brilliantly led by first-time skipper Nick Daicos, who racked up 32 touches, seven tackles and 11 clearances, while brother Josh was also influential with 36 possessions and nine marks.
Ageless warrior Scott Pendlebury was typically composed with 31 touches and veteran forward Jamie Elliott kicked five brilliant goals up forward.
But they were all trumped for the Anzac Medal by Steele Sidebottom, who wound back the clock with a ridiculous 15 clearances among 36 touches.
It's the second time the 34-year-old has won the medal with his first coming way back in 2016.
'It's such a special day for our country and for us to represent the AFL world on this day means a lot,' he said.
Sidebottom polled a perfect 12 votes from the judges to beat out Elliott (seven) and Josh Daicos (five), while Nick failed to poll a vote.
Essendon captain Zach Merrett was once again among his side's best with 23 touches and six tackles, while Sam Durham kicked two goals from the midfield.
Nate Caddy and Peter Wright worked tirelessly up forward and finished with two goals apiece.
After falling behind early in the third quarter, Collingwood kicked 10 of the next 12 goals to ensure they would again finish the round on top of the ladder following their sixth-straight win.
It was Collingwood's fourth-straight Anzac Day win, but the result could come at a cost after key forward Daniel McStay was subbed off with a left knee issue.
McStay appeared to suffer a heavy knock in a marking contest in the third quarter to the same knee he had reconstructed at the end of 2023.
After causing Essendon nightmares for years, Jamie Elliott was the leading goal-kicker on the ground with five.
Elliott, who kicked a famous match-winner after-the-siren to beat Essendon in 2022, snared four goals in the second-half, including the sealer with 10 minutes remaining.
Collingwood stormed out of the blocks, with their 15-point lead at quarter-time belying their dominance across the ground.
The Magpies pushed their advantage to 27 points early in the second term, before Essendon slammed through six of the next seven goals to take the lead in the third quarter.
But the ladder-leaders lifted again with five of the next six goals to take a comfortable 24-point buffer into the final change.
Going into the game rank outsiders, Essendon had periods when they threatened to put themselves in position for an unlikely victory.
Sam Durham kicked two goals in a minute in the second quarter, while Zach Reid continued his breakout season with another outstanding performance down back.
Jack Crisp made it through his 244th consecutive match unscathed, setting him up to break the late Jim Stynes' record for most VFL/AFL games in succession when Collingwood battle Geelong next Saturday night.
In an inconvenience for both teams in the second-half, power was off on the bench and communication up to the coach's box was limited.
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