ANZAC Day and the AFL
Australian Rules football matches have long been played overseas during war times in places like northern Africa and Vietnam as a celebration of Australian culture and as a bonding exercise between soldiers.
But AFL football was not played on ANZAC Day for many years and in 1959, for example, when all VFL games were played on Saturday afternoons, and ANZAC Day also fell on a Saturday, the entire round was postponed to the following Saturday.
The first VFL matches played on ANZAC Day occurred the next year after an Act of Parliament which lifted the previous restrictions on this activity.
Over the years these games sometimes drew huge crowds, with the 1975 Carlton versus Essendon game attracting 77,770 fans to VFL Park, a then record for the day, while two years later Richmond and Collingwood drew 92,436 to the MCG.
In 1986 the league used ANZAC Day to attempt its first ever doubleheader. Held at the MCG, Melbourne and Sydney played in the afternoon, followed after a 30-minute break by North Melbourne and Geelong in the evening under lights.
Through the years until the mid-1990s, it was common for at least two matches to be played on the ANZAC Day public holiday.
The modern version of the ANZAC Day clash was conceived by then Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy while pottering in his garden in the mid-90s.
Sheedy, who had done two years service in the army after being drafted to Richmond in 1969, thought back to the success of the Collingwood–Richmond game in 1977, and considered how the football on ANZAC Day could pay suitable tribute to those who had served their country.
Sheedy organised a meeting with officials from Essendon and Collingwood, and the then Victorian Returned and Services League (RSL) President Bruce Ruxton, who was also a keen Collingwood supporter, and proposed his concept for the match day and game which would honour the ANZAC spirit.
Despite their previous opposition to football on ANZAC Day, Ruxton and the RSL agreed with Sheedy’s proposal, as did the AFL.
The first annual ANZAC Day match between Collingwood and Essendon was played on Tuesday April 25, 1995 at the MCG. The round-four match received limited publicity as there had already been AFL matches played on ANZAC Day. Essendon had won its first three games of the season, however, Collingwood were without a victory.
Soon after the ANZAC Day march in the city, patrons flocked to the ground. Crowds outside the ground were so substantial at 12.30 pm, that Collingwood coach Leigh Matthews thought the gates to the ground must have still been locked.
When the gates were closed at 1.30 pm—still 40 minutes before the start of the match—20,000 additional people had to be dispersed by mounted police, while they attempted to gain admission into the stadium. Thousands of these people descended to the nearby Fitzroy Gardens, where they listened to the match on radio.
Played on a sunny autumn day, both teams kicked six goals in the first quarter. Before a three-goal-to-one second quarter helped Essendon lead by 16-points at half-time. However, the momentum swayed in the third-quarter, when Collingwood kicked seven-goals-to-two, giving them a 14-point lead at the break.
Essendon started strongly in the final term, and when James Hird snapped a goal late in the quarter, he gave his team a six point advantage. Saverio ‘Sav’ Rocca leapt and took one of the marks of the year in the forward-line soon after. At the 28-minute mark he capitalised by kicking the goal and levelling the scores. With just seconds left, Nathan Buckley had an opportunity to score; however, he elected to kick to Rocca, who was cut off.
Seconds later, the siren sounded with both teams on 111. Roars from the 94,825 crowd during the match could easily be heard from a kilometre away; and the crowd remains the second-highest home and away crowd in VFL/AFL history, surpassed only by the 99,346 who attended the Collingwood–Melbourne Queen’s Birthday clash in 1958.
Today, this game is often considered the biggest match of the AFL season outside of the finals, sometimes drawing bigger crowds than all but the Grand Final, and often selling out in advance.
For many people the clash may be their closest involvement with ANZAC Day remembrance services. Before the match, a special Anzac Day service is held at the MCG. This ceremony includes the recognition of Australian War Veterans as well as a Flag Ceremony, including the playing of the Last Post and Australian National Anthem.
Sydney based journalist and former Australian rugby national representative player Peter FitzSimons commented in the Sydney Morning Herald of the 2008 game that he had: “…rarely seen something so impressive in the world of sport. As they played the Last Post and the national anthem, the 100,000-strong crowd uttered not a peep, whispered not a murmur. The atmosphere was electric and the general mood in the air one of reverence for the diggers and anticipation of the game to come…Somewhere, someone has done a superb job organising that landmark day in Australian sport.”
2013 will see the AFL take a game for Premiership points outside of Australia for the first time. In a fitting partnership, St Kilda will play the Sydney Swans this ANZAC Day in Wellington in New Zealand.
Sydney Swans Chief Executive Andrew Ireland said the club was excited to be part of the first international AFL game played for premiership points.
“This will be a historic match for the AFL competition and it is exciting that the Club can be a part of it,” Mr Ireland said.
“Never before has a premiership season match been played overseas, so this is a really unique opportunity.
“ANZAC Day is a hugely significant day for both Australia and New Zealand, and to be playing Australia’s game on New Zealand soil will be a great tribute.”
AFL clubs around Sydney next week will also pay tribute to our fallen diggers in a series of local matches and events to mark ANZAC Day.
The Western Suburbs Magpies and Balmain Dockers will be reigniting their friendly rivalry at their annual clash, the only match of the competition played on ANZAC Day every year.
Picken Oval is set to be a hub of activity on the day, with perennial classic Two-Up and screening of the live Collingwood v Essendon game running alongside the main match in the
afternoon.
On Saturday April 27 UNSW/Eastern Suburbs will also be hosting their own ANZAC tribute in partnership with Bondi Junction RSL before their premier division game against North Shore.
Veterans, players and fans will come together for an official service, and Bulldogs and Stingrays players and officials will also wear black arm bands during play.
