ANZAC Day at the MCG without Kevin Sheedy today will be like the chocolate factory without Willy Wonka.

If that might seem to diminish the dignity of this occasion, it was the deposed Essendon coach's ability to combine Barnum and Bailey atmosphere with heartfelt patriotism that helped turn a match between Collingwood and Essendon coincidentally fixtured on Anzac Day 1995 into the biggest event - as opposed to biggest game - outside the finals.

This year, without Sheedy putting on his Sergeant Schultz helmet or reciting some typically obscure message gleaned from events on ancient battlefields, not merely to inspire his team but to heighten the sense of occasion, the build-up has been only what you would expect for a mere game of footy.

Collingwood say they are sore after consecutive six day breaks. Essendon say the Pies are foxing. Doubtless both teams are excited and somewhat daunted by the prospect of standing in eerie silence before 95,000 fans. But without Sheedy there is no one to remind us why it means so much.

Add the fact that Essendon are in a rebuilding phase under new coach Matthew Knights and Collingwood has made a disappointing start to the season after blowing last-quarter leads against Brisbane and North Melbourne, and the so-called blockbuster is only the fourth or fifth most attractive game of the round - let alone the season.

No James Hird either. That at least should make it easier to resist those inappropriate analogies. For Hird an exception was made because, in the way he threw himself recklessly into the fray while winning three Anzac Day medals, he really was the man you would want beside you in the trenches.

Also on the sidelines - a continent away, commentating on the Fremantle-Geelong match - is another Anzac Day match legend, Nathan Buckley. Long forgotten is the fact the retired Magpie great might have ruined the result that helped entrench the rivalry, the pulsating 1995 draw, had he launched a long kick toward an unguarded goal in the dying seconds rather than trying to pass to rampant full-forward Saverio Rocca. That was a full decade before opposing fans finally stopped bemoaning Buckley's supposed selfishness.

Of the original line-ups, only Essendon's elastic full-back Dustin Fletcher and Collingwood skipper Scott Burns - absent through injury today - are still playing. Which, after 13 years, might give some credence to the annual lament of supporters of other Melbourne clubs who crave a share of the Anzac Day limelight. Particularly with the AFL deciding that Anzac Day would be commemorated only once in each state rather than at every game.

A deterrent to change has been that few other clubs could be guaranteed to fill the MCG regardless of their positions on the ladder. Significantly, Collingwood helped start the Anzac Day tradition during the most lamentable period of their history (1995-2000) when, on aesthetics alone, the black and white should have struggled to attract families and best mates.

While there are theatregoers, the atmosphere on Anzac Day has the frenzy of a preliminary final - much better than a grand final because so many committed club supporters can get a ticket. There are certainly not enough neutrals to expand the crowd of 23,427 for this year's North Melbourne-Melbourne match into blockbuster proportions.

The regeneration of Carlton, whose fickle fans are returning, might provide an argument for change. Anzac Day is the one stage Chris Judd cannot grace. Hawthorn fans also note that a crowd of 92,935 once filled VFL Park to overflowing for a match against Collingwood in 1981. If that many for Dermott Brereton, surely for Buddy Franklin too.

The AFL has no plans to change the fixture - unless, perhaps, Western Sydney or the Gold Coast need a promotional leg-up. That the next two Anzac Days will fall on Saturday and Sunday will ensure other clubs get to hear the Last Post anyway.

Today's instalment of the Collingwood-Essendon epic will tell a tale. Does the occasion retain its grandeur without Sheedy and the peerless heroics of stalwarts Hird and Buckley?

Already the occasion is different in one way. Sheedy has tipped Collingwood.