For the passionate, the neutral and the novice, the Anzac Day clash is the must-see match of the AFL's home-and-away season.

Key points: Collingwood and Essendon have played in the Anzac Day match every year since 1995

Collingwood and Essendon have played in the Anzac Day match every year since 1995 Mick Malthouse, who coached Collingwood for 12 years, says every AFL team should get a turn in the fixture

Mick Malthouse, who coached Collingwood for 12 years, says every AFL team should get a turn in the fixture The AFL has played multiple games on Anzac Day in past years, but Magpies-Bombers is always the MCG headliner

And for most, it's more than a game of footy between the Pies and the Dons.

The draw of the annual event outweighs the contest and its combatants, as tens of thousands flock to the MCG to experience this revered sporting contest.

"To me it's not about a game, it's about an occasion," coaching legend Mick Malthouse said.

AFL coaching legend Mick Malthouse reflects upon the ANZAC Day matches at the MCG. ( ABC Grandstand: Damien Peck )

"It's about remembering why we have been elected to play on that day."

Although Aussie Rules football was previously played on April 25, the modern-day version of the Anzac Day match between Essendon and Collingwood first took place in 1995.

AFL great Kevin Sheedy, who coached the Bombers in that first game, was the mastermind behind the game's inception.

"The atmosphere for Anzac Day is a tick — if that — under a grand final," Malthouse, a three-time premiership coach, said.

No club has the 'right' to host the match

While the AFL now has a dedicated Anzac round, it is the match at the MCG — now in its 25th year — that remains the centrepiece.

Collingwood and Essendon players face each other ahead of the 2014 Anzac Day clash. ( AAP: Joe Castro )

And for the master tactician who led the Magpies on Anzac Day for more than a decade, the time has come for the fixture to be shared among all 18 AFL clubs.

"When the Last Post was played, it was very difficult to hold your head up and not shed a tear because it's just the most moving moment you'll have in any game of football," Malthouse said.

"I'd love every club to sample that, but that's up to the AFL."

But the AFL is a fan of convention.

Its persistence to start five consecutive seasons with Richmond and Carlton — an all-Victorian affair that has often produced a one-sided, lacklustre contest — is one example.

While the notion of staging a night grand final (as the NRL established) has resulted in a lot of talk but no action.

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On such a traditional day for all Australians, the former Magpies mentor knows his call to break with custom will not be popular with some.

"More's the pity that most clubs can't participate in it," Malthouse said.

"As the years go on, I look at it and I think I've been spoiled; I've had so many opportunities to coach on this day.

"I know some might not like this, but it's such a magnificent day, you'd love to see more sample it."

'It's such a privilege to play'

Currently, Essendon and Collingwood players are the privileged ones afforded the opportunity to show their "true worth".

The Magpies are the side most fans love to hate, while the Bombers were recently embroiled in a doping scandal that saw the club heavily sanctioned.

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Whether the game stays black and white, and red and black remains to be seen, but Malthouse said perspective is required when the future of the match is discussed.

"In my mind it is the most important day in our calendar, because it means so much — it's our DNA," Malthouse said.

"We're not the most important people on the day … and by remembering that you don't forget the occasion."

The game's statesman also said he's witnessed how the occasion has extended beyond the sporting environment.

"I'm sure the game has opened up a lot of eyes [for] the younger generation," Malthouse said.

"We need to be more aware of our past … the AFL game itself has certainly drawn more people to thinking about the day.

"That's a credit to the AFL."