Essendon have broken their Anzac Day AFL drought, downing Collingwood by 18 points in an MCG thriller.

The Bombers led by nine points at three-quarter time and surged out of the gates in the final term to claim a 15.10 (100) to 11.16 (82) victory in front of 87,685 fans.

It will taste extra sweet for the Bombers, who had lost six of the past seven Anzac Day meetings.

Spearhead Joe Daniher shook off a wayward start to finish with three goals and 16 touches and was rewarded with the Anzac Day Medal.

Essendon seized the early momentum, with Daniher snapping around his body in the opening minutes to put them ahead.

With steady showers making for greasy conditions, the Bombers looked to push the ball forward quickly and were rewarded with a three-goal lead at quarter-time.

The Pies had a clear mission heading into the game: to improve their quality of inside-50s, with the addition of Daniel Wells designed to help rectify their wayward ball movement.

Wells was barely sighted in the first quarter but didn’t take long to lift, gathering nine disposals and five clearances in the second term.

He wasn’t alone – prime movers Adam Treloar, Steele Sidebottom and Taylor Adams were all prolific as the Magpies fought to even up the contested possession count.

But the Pies again struggled to make it count on the scoreboard, kicking five straight behinds before Treloar found space in traffic and snapped a classy goal to cut the margin to three points at halftime.

The Bombers had similar problems, with Daniher failing to capitalise on his dominance of Collingwood youngster Henry Schade.

Essendon’s pressure around the ball slipped during the third term as the Mapgies hit the scoreboard through Wells and Jamie Elliott.

And when Adams hit up an unmarked Darcy Moore in the square for an easy goal midway through the quarter, the Pies led for the first time.

But Daniher provided the response, surging out of the middle and kicking a monster goal from 60m out.

Daniher was again in the thick of the action moments later, running down the wing and setting up Josh Green for goal.

The Magpies trailed by nine points at the final break and were undoubtedly still in the contest but Essendon came out firing, with goals to Green, Orazio Fantasia and Cale Hooker extending their lead.

Fittingly, it was Daniher who sealed the victory with a sweet running goal after Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti ran down Will Hoskin-Elliott for a holding the ball free kick.