The 34-year-old Collingwood stalwart etched his name in history as the oldest recipient of the prestigious Anzac Medal, dominating Essendon from the midfield in the Magpies' commanding 16.11 (107) to 10.6 (66) victory over the Bombers.
Sidebottom dominated the post-match best-on-ground votes — a remarkable nine years since his previous win — amassing an impressive 34 disposals and a commanding game-high 15 clearances.
A man for the big stage, Sidebottom said in the post-game press conference that it all boiled down to preparation.
And he has no plans to relinquish his spot to the younger brigade, so long as he continues to propel the Pies forward.
“I’d like to think I don’t attack it any differently than I do any other game,” Sidebottom said.
“Clearly there’s a big focus on (Anzac Day) and everyone wants to perform on the big stage, but I think it all starts before we get here.
“Fly (Craig McRae) talked about training hard and things like that and I think that’s where I set myself to get up and perform.
“I guess while we’re still performing it makes the job harder for the younger blokes to take our spot, but at the end of the day, we’re not going to be there forever.
“While I’ve still got it I’ll keep doing my best.”
Sidebottom also picked up a perfect 10 votes in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award for his performance at a rain-soaked MCG, drawing him level with Nick Daicos at the top of the leaderboard with 34.
Euroa’s Jamie Elliott was another in the running for the Anzac Medal after booting five goals and, in doing so, notched a special piece of Collingwood history.
Elliott’s third major ticked him past 300 career goals, becoming only the 15th player in the Pies’ storied history to pass the milestone.
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