Collingwood claimed Anzac Day honours over Essendon in the most dramatic finish to their annual showpiece clash since the famous draw that started it all back in 1995.

The Magpies led – but never by more than three goals – from early in the first quarter until late in the last, only for Bombers midfielder Brent Stanton to kick what looked like being the winner with just two minutes left on the clock.

But Collingwood would not be denied, with Jarryd Blair goaling at the other end 46 seconds later, although the black-and-white half of the 86,932-strong crowd had an anxious wait before his toe-poked effort received the all-clear from the video review official.

The one-point margin was the closest finish between the two arch-rivals on Anzac Day since the 1995 draw.

And the man who did more than anyone else to make sure that Collingwood claimed victory was Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan, who amassed a remarkable 42 possessions, six tackles and three goals to be acclaimed the obvious winner of the Anzac Medal.

The match represented something of a changing of the guard, marking the first time that neither Kevin Sheedy nor Mick Malthouse was present in the coaches’ boxes for this storied fixture.

Their places in the coaching hot seats are now occupied by James Hird and Nathan Buckley, who had previously saved many of their greatest on-field exploits for the biggest day on the AFL home-and-away calendar.

Buckley’s father was a Vietnam veteran, while Hird wrote in a column in the matchday AFL Record about growing up in Canberra in a house near the War Memorial.

With the 11.14 (80) to 11.13 (79) victory on a cold and at-times wet day, Collingwood improved their win-loss record to three-two, while the Bombers dropped their first game of 2012.

Collingwood have won six of the past seven Anzac Day encounters – but this was the toughest of the lot.