Here we are again. The most keenly anticipated home-and-away match on the AFL calendar, a home game, too. So what can Essendon bring to the table this Anzac Day?

Much the same as the past three weeks would be nice. For the Bombers, in wins over Melbourne, Brisbane and North Melbourne, have put together some of the best patches of football they’ve played in years.

Collingwood, however, presents a tougher challenge, and not just because of the pride involved in performance on such a special occasion in front of the biggest MCG crowd of the season.

The Magpies, like the Bombers, have tapped into a rich vein of form, and their 62-point win over Brisbane on the road last week was their best performance of the season.

They will be a great test of just how far Essendon has come over the past month and of how far it may go by the end of this season. To that end, here are five key questions to the result of a bona fide blockbuster.

1. Why are we playing so much better now than in the first two rounds?

There’s some obvious reasons. A huge factor has been team leaders like Zach Merrett, Dyson Heppell and David Zaharakis taking the bit between the teeth and showing some real on-field leadership. But balance is another.

Teams can tread a fine line striking the right balance between an offensive and defensive focus. Put all the eggs in one basket and the other can become dangerously light on. And so does one often work hand-in-hand with the other. Essendon has played with greater freedom and fluency the last three weeks. But much of that is due to better defensive efforts around the ball as well as harder defensive running.

The result has been obvious on the scoreboard. Between the end of rounds two and five, the Dons’ contested ball ranking on the differentials has climbed from 17^th to seventh, and their tackle ranking 13^th to third. The spike in uncontested ball hasn’t been as great, but better forcing of turnovers has created easier disposal under less pressure, with consequent cleaner delivery inside 50 making conversion easier. Proof? Essendon’s marks inside 50 ranking has gone from last to eighth and its goals per inside 50 ranking from 17^th to second. That says it all.

2. The forward line has been very potent. How do we keep it ticking over?

More of the same. Good work at the contest midfield, opening the game up on the outside and allowing quick, clean delivery inside 50. And once it’s there, getting good spread from the key targets.

To that end, the work of Mitch Brown in the past two games can’t be overstated. He’s covered a mile of territory as a hit-up leading target, chipped in with goals, and dragged opposing key backmen out of the way. With Joe Daniher back on the scene, there’s real balance, mobility and depth about this attack, good marking power in Joe, Brown and Jake Stringer, great defensive pressure from Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Mark Baguley, and real class from Orazio Fantasia.

One haul of 20 goals and two of 17 each is proof enough how well the forward group is now functioning - all three tallies more than the Dons had managed in 28 of their previous 30 games.

3. How do we curb Collingwood’s midfield?

Not easily. The Magpies boast a long roll-call of on-ball talent - Adam Treloar, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom, Dayne Beams and Taylor Adams just the headliners.

Tom Phillips, Travis Varcoe, Jordan De Goey are also effective when thrown into the centre-square mix, with others making cameo appearances. That’s quality and quantity. The Pies are ranked second for disposals, first on the differentials for contested possession, and are strong defensively, ranked high on differentials for tackles.

Adam Treloar, who won last year's Anzac Day Medal, will need to be closely watched on Thursday. (Photo: AFL Media)

One potential area ripe for exploitation, however, is at the stoppages, where Brodie Grundy has dominated the ruck, but Collingwood hasn’t necessarily capitalised on that work with clearance wins. Essendon will need, as it has received the last three weeks, top-notch contributions from three men in particular - Dylan Shiel, Zach Merrett and Dyson Heppell. The returns from injury of Devon Smith and David Zaharakis are obviously crucial, both on the inside and outside of the game.

4. Is there a key player in this match that hasn’t been talked about much?

There is. And his name is Patrick Ambrose. Most opposition fans (and perhaps even a few Bombers) wouldn’t recognise him if they bumped into him in the street, but the athletically gifted and deceptively strong defender has been a pivotal part of Essendon’s last three wins, getting the better of opposition key forwards the calibre of Melbourne pair Tom McDonald and Sam Weideman, Brisbane rising star Eric Hipwood and on Good Friday, North Melbourne’s Ben Brown. He’s had a great start to the season and looms as critical to the Dons’ defensive planning for a number of reasons.

Patrick Ambrose is in a rich vein of form. (Photo: AFL Media)

Collingwood has a range of forward types, so Ambrose’s capacity to play on taller or shorter opponents offers necessary flexibility. But recently, his ability to shut down a key-position-size forward has enabled both Cale Hooker and Michael Hurley to play more attacking, rebounding games - a key to the scoring the Bombers have been able to generate coming out of defence.

On that score, it’s Collingwood’s dangerous Brody Mihocek who looms as the most obvious match-up, but with the flexibility to switch to a smaller type such as Jordan De Goey or Jaidyn Stephenson should they get out of hand.

5. We’re due to start winning a few of these big games, aren’t we?

Certainly are. Overall, the Anzac Day record stands 14 wins to Collingwood, nine to Essendon, with the one draw of course that unforgettable first clash back in 1995. But the tide of late has been pretty one-way traffic - the Pies having won seven of the last nine Anzac Day jousts, the Bombers’ sole victories since the famous ‘David Zaharakis Game’ of 2009 coming two years ago and in 2013.

Last year was a particularly disappointing affair, the Pies steadily asserting their superiority and 10 goals up before a couple of ‘junk time’ goals made things only slightly more respectable.

The Bombers haven’t generally been at their best in front of the biggest crowds in recent times, either. Since the start of 2015, Essendon has played before crowds of 70,000-plus nine times, also including the Dreamtime at the ‘G and a season opener against Hawthorn two years ago, and won only two. Given the form Collingwood is currently in, and a sell-out MCG audience, victory here would remove any last scepticism about Essendon’s credentials in 2019.

You can read more of Rohan Connolly’s work at his FOOTYOLOGY website.

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