ESSENDON 5.0 9.3 13.6 18.9 (117)
COLLINGWOOD 2.3 4.6 9.7 12.8 (80)
Goals: Essendon: O Fantasia 5 J Daniher 3 J Stewart 2 T Bellchambers 2 Z Merrett 2 A McDonald-Tipungwuti C Hooker D Zaharakis T Colyer. Collingwood: A Fasolo 4 J Elliott 3 B Reid J de Goey M Cox T Adams T Broomhead
Best: Essendon: Fantasia, Heppell, Zaharakis, Merrett, Hurley, Kelly, McGrath. Collingwood: Pendlebury, Elliott, Sidebottom, Crisp, Fasolo
Umpires: Scott Jeffery, Brett Rosebury, Nicholas Foot
Official Crowd: 63,537 at MCG
There can be no turning back from here. Eddie McGuire will return from overseas in coming days knowing that the most difficult decision of his near-two decade reign as Collingwood president is staring  him and his board squarely in the face. There can be no other conclusion after the Pies slumped to their fourth loss in a row, with their heaviest defeat of the season, a 37-point loss to traditional rivals Essendon marred by dire ball use and moments of serious ill-discipline. The Pies are mired in the bottom four with seven rounds to play, and the screws of Nathan Buckley's seemingly doomed coaching tenure are being tightened.
After two unacceptable finishes in a row, this was a badly needed win for the Bombers, whose finals hopes remain very much alive heading into a Friday night clash with top-eight aspirants St Kilda. Orazio Fantasia's finishing was telling, while Dyson Heppell, Zach Merrett and David Zaharakis ensured the Dons had the better of the midfield duel, and Michael Hurley played another rock-solid game in defence. But as long as Buckley's fate remains uncertain the Pies have to be the focus.
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Five-goals to Orazio Fantasia have helped Essendon stay in touch with the finals race, defeating Collingwood by 37-points at the MCG.
In many respects this was a classic Collingwood 2017 afternoon. It began with unwanted injury news: Jeremy Howe was a late withdrawal with a calf complaint. The Pies weren't without their moments during the game; that this was their heaviest defeat of the year shows they have been competitive. But yet again Collingwood couldn't find a winning tall forward, with Ben Reid and Mason Cox both beaten, and the Pies' disposal was too often disastrously bad.
Six days on from their stunning capitulation against Brisbane, Essendon picked up where they left off. Collingwood dominated the first 12 minutes of the game, kicking the game's first two goals. But just as was the case after their fast start against Hawthorn last weekend, it didn't last. The turning point was a pair of defensive turnovers from Brayden Maynard, whose clangers resulted in Essendon's first two goals. Despite being outplayed for most of the game to that point, the Dons had hit the lead by the 19-minute mark of the first quarter.
Buckley has spoken this year of the disheartening effect that wasted chances can have on a side, and that phenomenon seemed to again play out in front of his eyes. The highlights were many for the Bombers, but daring runs through the middle from teenager Andrew McGrath and Irishman Conor McKenna are worthy of mention, as were terrific finishes from Fantasia and James Stewart. Collingwood trailed by 27 points at half-time. With the exception of skipper Scott Pendlebury the Magpies looked bereft of class, with Adam Treloar's second term ball use almost defying belief.
Given the context for both sides, the third term was among the most engrossing quarters of the season. It began with a Cox goal, but thereafter things threatened to unravel for Collingwood.
Levi Greenwood gave away a soft 50-metre penalty to gift an easy goal to Cale Hooker, but that was nothing compared to his next moment of ill-discipline, a stray elbow to the jaw of Merrett that  sparked a melee and will almost certainly lead to a suspension for the tagger. Play continued with the backdrop of nearby wrestling, with Fantasia adding another goal, taking the margin to 33 points early in the quarter. For all the Pies' woes this year they had managed to avoid a thrashing, but with finals all but gone the cracks were spreading, and the prospect of a circuit-breaking blowout loomed large.
Daniher had a chance to extend the margin beyond six goals, but missed, and perhaps conscious of Essendon's recent fadeouts, the Pies hit back. Errors began creeping in for the Dons, and Collingwood kicked four of the next five goals, twice closing to within three goals.
It seemed to be happening again for the Bombers, but Merrett re-emerged from the rooms, and quickly made a difference with his accurate disposal. Daniher kicked a steadier shortly before three-quarter time, and Merrett burst from the middle to sink a long-range major inside the first minute of the final quarter. Fantasia added a fifth before Daniher kicked his second, and suddenly the margin was 42 points. Not even Essendon were going to lose from there.
VOTES
O. Fantasia (Ess) 8
D. Heppell (Ess) 8
D. Zaharakis (Ess) 8
Z. Merrett (Ess) 8
M. Hurley (Ess) 8
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