Essendon v Collingwood - Anzac Day preview | Strategy 2026 with Brenton Sanderson (23.04.26)

the biggest crowd of the weekend's going to be at the MCG for Essendon and Collingwood,

which takes on a layer of intrigue because the bombers have had 10 good quarters.

Yeah, they have.

And I spoke before about the importance of players enjoying their environment and smiling.

And I'm really close with a teacher that I'll work with who's a mad bombers fan.

He goes to all their training sessions, goes to all their games.

He said to me over and gather around when they trained at Sturt in the captain's run

the day before the game.

And notice the difference that the players seem to be enjoying training that was smiling,

but you know, this is on the back of four losses.

So it just feels like they're playing with more purpose now.

They're getting more inside 50s.

And that's on the back of, I think, controlling the tempo of the game a lot more.

They took 139 marks against Melbourne and 98 marks against Gold Coast.

But they're winning clearance again.

So they won clearance by eight against the suns and eight against Melbourne.

They lost clearance by double digits in those first four games of the season.

So parishes stepped up, saddest looks better, Corwell's being good.

And the move of McGraw and Sid, his leadership, is really showing through, I think, in that

last sort of two and a half games.

But they're scoring from stoppage now.

They're scoring from turnover.

And they're scoring from the front half has doubled in those last ten quarters that

they've played.

So the intensity is back, the defensive systems back, and they've got their contestant

clearance work going so much better.

So some really positive signs in that last two and a half game block for the bombers.

Colin would found a way to win late against the blues, but the butt that sits over them.

How far off are you capturing their best form?

I still think there's a fair way to go.

And I did, I mean, that last quarter was sensational.

And you can take that momentum through to this week for sure.

But I mean, they are, they have changed their game style.

They're taking a lot more marks.

And that hasn't been a Craig McCray coaching philosophy.

They're averaging 110 marks per game now.

But when you look at their numbers, they're still quite low in offense.

So 17th, they're ranked in offense, 16th in marks per inside 50, 17th in goals per

inside 50.

They can't score from stoppage, bottom two.

And they can't score from the back half, bottom two.

Which is being Craig McCray's, you know, his real stamp, his game plan has been that

running gun that tagged the game on, moved the ball fast.

And unfortunately, even though their numbers are OK, they're defensively not as dominant

as what they have been.

So they're bottom six from scoring from the front half.

They're not getting those front half turnovers.

And they're bottom six in conceding inside 50.

So the game's been in the back half.

So they're not at their dominant best calling with this.

I think despite that great win last week, we need to see and return to some of those, you

know, metrics that we're accustomed to seeing for, for prize if they're going to return

to the top four.

If you're on the tools as McGraw going everywhere, Nick Deicos does.

Yeah, it seems like that's the obvious one.

And the reality is, you can't stop Deicos.

You can only influence his impact on the game.

So his first tactic, he's got to be so disciplined with his body positioning at stoppage.

You can play him from behind and push him under, but we know that he thrives when he gets

separation and receiving the ball in space.

So McGraw's got to make sure around stoppage and clearance that he denies any clean exits.

And in the open field, he's got to wait, he's got to take away any time and space.

That's his biggest weapon, Deicos.

If you can give him some space, we see how good his decision-making is under pressure.

But if he's under no pressure, he never misses a target.

So yeah, McGraw's got to play him super close.

He's got a pressure in before he gets the ball.

It's not just tackling.

And then he's got to force him wide.

He's got to keep him out of the corridor.

Make sure the possessions that he gets are in the back half.

Just keep him outside of, um, handball receive lanes.

Make sure any handles he receives are those backwards one.

Yeah, every possession that Nick Deicos has has got to be a low impact one.

So he might get the ball, um, preferably it's in the back half and wide.

We just can't give him the corridor access in any front half.

But it's a massive job for, uh, for their, for their captain.

And he'll be relying on a lot of team defense and help from his, from his, from his bombers teammates.

If he does it successfully in essence and win, he'll win the medal.

Oh, for sure, for sure.

Yeah. And that's, and that's the thing.

He's, if, if they can squeeze, um, Deicos early and not give him the ball,

and not, not find a way to get in the ball, goes a long way to the bombers winning.

All right.

You know, I love a checklist.

So what will McCrae's game plan be to beat the bombers?

Uh, number one, if I'm Craig McCrae, I'm squeezing Essendon's ball movement early.

So take away those mark chains.

I mentioned how they've gone back to a more of a, more of a possession game in the last two games.

So get the game in a contest as early as you can.

So get that sort of high, aggressive forward press going, force Essendon wide, slow and predictable.

And I think if Essendon are forced to kick long down the line early in this game,

that's a little mini win for Collingwood.

So get the ball out of their hands.

Make him force them, force them kick him, um, long to, to a contest up.

I've mentioned it all this season.

Collingwood's weakness has been winning effective clearance.

So McCrae must develop a strategy to prevent Essendon getting on top in this phase of the game.

So there's only one clearance is head to head once this season Collingwood.

So that's one of his biggest challenges this week is how can they get on top around stoppage and clearance?

And if they can win contest a possession and not get beaten in clearance,

disrupt Essendon's kick and mark game, I think the Pies can win.

And what will Brad Scott need to implement to see the ballers victorious?

I'm not sure if this is the right way for Brad Scott.

It is a risky one, but to take away Collingwood's turnover game,

you've got to protect the ball with your offense.

So take lower risk kicks, exiting D50,

limit those risky corridor ball use options and get really strong numbers around the contest.

So slow the game down when you need to,

play a controlled possession game at the right times,

and just know when to speed up against Collingwood.

So that really controlled a ball use,

it can work in patches against Collingwood,

but it just can't play with reckless speed against Collingwood,

because I think that plays into their favor.

Talked about limiting day cost influence.

He was a bit of a one-man show late last week.

So yeah, I just think Collingwood can be really lethal

when the ball turns over and the field opens up.

So as long as Scott can get really strong structure behind the ball,

have his wingers and mids working back defensively

to force Collingwood into a low scoring game,

and then just snap into defense

without immediate pressure on turnover.

I think that will provide Essendon with a win as well.

It's an interesting dynamic, isn't it,

because they've been working on dynamic ball movement,

and they've said it, and they couldn't get it to happen early in the season,

and they've just got dynamic ball movement at home,

and then you have to measure it, is that the right way?

Yeah, exactly the right game.

Exactly right, and it just feels like this game won't be a shootout.

It just feels like it's going to be an arm wrestle.

I think we'll still see scoring bursts and momentum at different times,

and that might decide the game,

but it's who can execute in critical moments.

That's been the case in this game for years.

It feels like both teams have got a legitimate claim

as to why they should win,

but yeah, clearance, squash from stoppage,

who forces the opposition in terms of stakes

in dangerous parts of the ground,

that might be what determines the winner.

When you're weak at clearance,

like Collingwood is at the moment,

is that drills at training?

Yeah, it's getting your best players around the footy,

the cleaner ground level explosive out of contest,

but then you've got to try and find to get a,

you can take a numerical advantage in there.

So put an extra one in, push your wing in,

push your fat side, wing in, bring a forward up and in,

which means you've got the extra number,

but then that gives you a minus one somewhere.

That gives you a minus one outside of the contest as well.

So I think previously sides that have been weak at clearance,

you don't have to win clearance to still score,

and I think back to Jolong,

when, even when I was coaching there,

when we used to lose clearance,

but you had so much talent behind the ball,

you would lose 20, 30 metres, but gain 150,

because you had those explosive ball users off halfback

that could win that contest post clearance.

So yeah, it's not the end of the world

if you don't win clearance,

but you've got to win the next possession post clearance.

That's, I guess, the most important thing for a coach.

All right, which way are you leaning?

I like the pies still in this one,

but yeah, to the bombers fans,

it's been really fun to watch them

the last two and a half games.

I saw them live in Adelaide.

They were great last week.

They were brave against the suns.

So yeah, this will be closer than what people think.

Oh, as I said,

Hurricane Bombers fans think they're going to win this.

Yes, yeah.

And I think Cunningwood fans think they're going to win this.

So, but yeah, I've just got,

I've got the pies winning this one just.