Round 6 – Collingwood v Essendon: The day the result of the game comes second.

By Caspar McLeod.
26/4/2021.

 

I was lucky enough to go to the Anzac Day clash between my beloved Bombers and Collingwood this year. I’ve been once more to one of these matches, the 2019 edition where a late Essendon comeback was not enough to overcome Collingwood’s first quarter domination.

 

I went to this game with a Collingwood supporting mate of mine I first met when we were little. I tried buying tickets earlier in the week, logged into the site 6 minutes after the tickets were released and they were gone. I thought that was going to be my only chance. Until the news came through the Victorian government was going to allow capacity to be at 85,000. I wasn’t going to miss my opportunity a second time.

 

My mate and I got caught on the staircase when the Anzac ceremony began. It is always such a humbling experience, hearing that Last Post play. My mind immediately went to Gallipoli, where my family and I back a few years ago walked amongst battlefields a century old. To those who read this who are fighting for this country or who have previously fought for this country, thank you for your service.

 

The game itself started off horribly. After Collingwood’s third goal in seemingly as many minutes, I got flashbacks to the 2019 game. I thought to myself that “this start is going to cost us”. Thankfully, it didn’t. Parish got us back into the game with a beautiful snap from about 45, and then his grunt work to win the next centre-clearance. AMT joined in on the act, and all of a sudden, we were dominating. But we kept missing. At one stage we were 2.4 and trailing. I was nervous again. “This inaccuracy is going to cost us”, I thought to myself.

 

At halftime, despite us threatening to break away, Collingwood kept on clawing their way back into the contest. We had six more scoring shots than them, though, at the major break and yet we led by only six behinds. My friend wasn’t happy with how Collingwood were playing, and I wasn’t happy with how we were kicking in front of the sticks.

 

Incredibly, despite us dominating general play, Collingwood snatched the lead back at the start of the last quarter. A goal within a minute of play starting, which was exactly how they started the first quarter. Thankfully we didn’t allow them to kick three in a row, otherwise that might have been too tough for us to overcome. Instead, AMT displayed his astounding football talent. Parish continued to have the ball on a string. He could have finished the game with 50 disposals, but 42 is still an impressive number. In the last quarter we prove too strong for the Pies as we record our first win on this day since 2017, and beat Collingwood for the second time in a row since 2017 too.

 

Interestingly enough, Essendon’s last five Anzac Day wins have each come four years apart: 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021. So, I guess that the next three Anzac Day’s won’t be so enjoyable from a football perspective for me, although you can pencil in an Essendon victory in 2025.

 

But this day is always about more than just footy. It’s about reflecting, giving thanks to those willing to sacrifice it all for the safety of others, and remembering. Today is truly the day when the result of the match comes second in terms of importance.

 

 

COLLINGWOOD    4.1     8.1      11.5        13.7 (85)
ESSENDON            4.4      8.7    11.10     16.13 (109) 

 

GOALS
Collingwood: Cameron 3, McCreery 3, C.Brown, Moore, Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Crisp, Ruscoe, Mihocek
Essendon: McDonald-Tipungwuti 5, Wright 2, Parish 2, Snelling 2, Phillips, Smith, Laverde, Redman, Stringer 

 

BEST
Collingwood: Crisp, Cameron, Pendlebury, Grundy, Quaynor, Daicos
Essendon: Parish, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Merrett, Heppell, Wright, Laverde, McGrath 

 

INJURIES
Collingwood: Nil
Essendon: Francis (ankle)

 

SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: T.Brown (unused)
Essendon: Zaharakis (replaced Francis)

 

Crowd: 78,113 at the MCG

 

 

The Tigers (Covid) Almanac 2020 will be published in the coming weeks. It will have all the usual features – a game by game account of the Tigers season – and will also include some of the best Almanac writing from the Covid winter.  Pre-order right now HERE

 

 

To return to the www.footyalmanac.com.au  home page click HERE

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help keep things ticking over please consider making your own contribution.

 

Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE
One-off financial contribution – CLICK HERE
Regular financial contribution (monthly EFT) – CLICK HERE