1995: The Draw
Joe Misiti (29), Ricky Olarenshaw (29) and Gary O’Donnell (28) were the major ball winners for the Bombers in the first Anzac Day clash with Collingwood in 1995.
Essendon led by 16 points at half time, but Collingwood hit back with seven goals to two in the third term.
The Bombers were down by 14 points at the last change before kicking five goals to three in the final quarter.
The match ended with the scores locked at 111 apiece.
Che Cockatoo-Collins kicked three goals for the Bombers.
1999: Bombers first win
It took until the fifth installment of the annual Anzac Day fixture for the Bombers to record their first win.
The Dons kicked seven goals to one in the first quarter, but the Pies chipped away at the deficit throughout the day.
In the end the Bombers got home by eight points with Matthew Lloyd kicking six goals and Scott Lucas three.
Mark Mercuri picked up 29 possessions and kicked two goals to win the Anzac Day medal.
2001: Barnard boots four as Hird stars
Just like in the Grand Final a few months earlier, Paul Barnard kicked four goals for the Bombers in an eight point win.
James Hird again showcased his brilliance with 24 possessions and a goal, but Chris Tarrant picked up the Anzac Day medal for his five goal performance.
The game was tight all day with little more than a goal separating the sides for much of the day, but two goals to one in the last quarter was enough for the Bombers to get home by eight points.
2003: Bombers big win
Essendon’s biggest Anzac Day win so far, came in 2003 when the Dons got home by 66 points.
Matthew Lloyd kicked six goals, Damian Cupido booted five and James Hird kicked five, collected 27 possessions and picked up the second of his three Anzac Day medals.
The Bombers kicked eight goals in the last term to runaway with the 11 goal win.
2009: Zaharakis, Zaharakis
The Bombers lost big man David Hille early with a knee injury, but that opened the door for Patrick Ryder to have one of his best games for the Club.
27 hit outs, 16 possessions, 13 tackles and a goal saw him win the Anzac Day medal.
The Bombers led by nine points at three quarter time, but the game looked to have slipped away when they fell almost three goals behind into time-on in the last quarter.
But as they had done throughout the day, the Dons rallied. And in the final seconds David Zaharakis kicked a memorable goal to get the side home in a thriller.
