Collingwood defeated Essendon by 77 points this afternoon at the MCG.

Essendon, in truth, had battled admirably through the first half. Archie Roberts finished with 42 disposals and eight marks, while the kids showed a few glimpses here and there. But not for the first time, they were left dazed in Pendlebury's dust before then collapsing dramatically after half time.

With the adrenalin and emotion still pumping from the pre-match ceremony, the early stages were played at a breakneck speed that lent itself more to mistakes and turnovers than clean footy. But that wasn't to say the opening term didn't have its moments of brilliance.

There was Roan Steele's long-range bomb to kickstart the game, before De Goey and Will Hayes surged through contests to give Collingwood the first break. It took Essendon youngster Archer Day-Wicks to bring the early deficit back, with his own goal from distance and soaring mark providing a Bomber boost at the break.

When the Bombers did have their moments – Nate Caddy and Isaac Kako both produced fantastic efforts of their own at the other end – the Pies consistently found the response. Only more inaccurate kicking, they booted another seven behinds through the third quarter, stopped the margin being bigger.

Kids provide little Bomber boosts
Essendon had always seemed a step behind Collingwood on Saturday, and yet there were still a few glimpses to leave the Bombers faithful optimistic for the future. Almost all of them were provided by the kids. There was Archer Day-Wicks' long-range effort and his huge mark in the first term, Josh Caddy's super snap around the body in the third, then Isaac Kako's clever soccer off the ground to help stem the bleeding after half time. Archie Roberts was also prolific again, finishing with 42 disposals in defence.

ESSENDON              2.3    3.4    5.6         9.6 (60)
COLLINGWOOD       4.0    5.6    11.13     20.17 (137)
 
GOALS
Essendon: Caddy 3, Day-Wicks 2, Langford 2, Durham, Kako
Collingwood: De Goey 3, Steele 2, Anderson 2, McCreery 2, McStay 2, Elliott 2, Pendlebury 2, Schultz, Hayes, Lipinski, Crisp, Sidebottom
 
BEST
Essendon: Roberts, Merrett, Day-Wicks, El-Hawli
Collingwood: Pendlebury, De Goey, N.Daicos, Howe, Houston, Crisp, J.Daicos
 
INJURIES
Essendon: May (knee)
Collingwood: Nil
 
Crowd: 92,231 at the MCG