IN the words of Kevin Sheedy himself, come up with 50 ideas and there will be a few gems somewhere along the line. Sheeds has come up with some weird and wonderful ideas during his time in football, but Anzac Day may just be the jewel in the crown. In 1994 Sheedy picked up the phone, rang the Collingwood Football Club and said ""Let’s make Anzac Day our own"". And so a magnificent football tradition was born.

The tradition began in Round 4, 1995 – the inaugural match and arguably the best of them all. Collingwood went into the final break holding a 14-point lead, largely thanks to the work of Sav Rocca who finished with nine goals for the game. The match however was drawn after a stirring last quarter fight-back from the Bombers.

The Magpies won the next three Anzac Day encounters before Essendon finally prevailed, winning the 1999 clash by eight-points. It was then Essendon’s turn to dominate Anzac Day – it to strung three wins on end together. After nine games, the ledger stands at four wins apiece with one drawn match.

The Anzac Day clashes have traditionally been close – the average margin between the two sides has been 24 points. Four games have been decided by two goals or less. The blowout result came last year when Essendon won by 66 points although Collingwood’s win the previous season was just as convincing winning by 33 point in atrocious conditions.

Anzac Day has also become a day for debuts. In the first four clashes, Essendon had a debutant in each game. Che-Cockatoo-Collins (1995), Scott Lucas (1996), Matthew Banks (1997) and Dean Solomon (1998) all played in the red and black for the first time. Jason Wilde (1995) and Craig Jacotine (1999) have been first timers for the Magpies.

Anzac day results
1995: Essendon (111) Collingwood (111)
1996: Collingwood (117) d Essendon (105)
1997: Collingwood (99) d Essendon (70)
1998: Collingwood (108) d Essendon (88)
1999: Essendon (108) d Collingwood (100)
2000: Essendon (140) d Collingwood (100)
2001: Essendon (103) d Collingwood (95)
2002: Collingwood (66) d Essendon (33)
2003: Essendon (147) d Collingwood (66)

Sunday 25th April, 2004 will mark the 10th Anniversary of the now famous Essendon v Collingwood Anzac Day clashes at the MCG. The Bombers are hoping to increase its number of wins to five.