The Anzac Day match is an annual

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

match between Collingwood and

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

, two clubs in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

, held on

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

(25 April) at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

(MCG).

History of Australian rules football on Anzac Day

During many wars,

matches have been played overseas in places like northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

as a celebration of Australian culture and as a bonding exercise between soldiers. Despite this, League football was not played on Anzac Day for many years; in 1959, for example, when all VFL games were played on Saturday afternoons, Anzac Day also fell on a Saturday, and the entire round was postponed to the following Saturday. The first VFL matches played on Anzac Day occurred in 1960 after an Act of Parliament which lifted the previous restrictions on this activity. The Anzac Day Act required a donation of a portion of ticket sales to the RSL, so the RSL was active in encouraging the VFL to play on the day. The VFL was initially unenthusiastic, and on Anzac Day Tuesday in 1961 it scheduled smaller games at Windy Hill and

Punt Road Oval Punt Road Oval, also known as the Richmond Cricket Ground or known by naming rights sponsorship as the Swinburne Centre, is an Australian rules football ground and a former Cricket oval located within the Yarra Park precinct of East Melbourne, ...

for the day. The

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

attempted to capitalise on this, and with the RSL's support it moved a marquee match between rivals

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

and

Moorabbin Moorabbin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Moorabbin recorded a population of 6,287 at the . Most of the e ...

to the Melbourne Cricket Ground and put on a pre-match spectacle on a similar scale to that of the AFL's modern Anzac Day clash. The crowd of just under 14,000 was similar in size to the VFA's largest Sunday crowds at the time, but it still fell well short of the VFA's pre-match expectations; nevertheless, the match was a pioneer in the treatment of football on Anzac Day as a special occasion. In 1962 and 1967, instead of playing premiership matches on Anzac Day, the VFL arranged a representative match for Anzac Day between the Victorian team from the previous year's Interstate Carnival and a team representing the rest of the league. Both matches drew small crowds between 15,000 and 20,000. Eventually, the VFL did begin to play matches on Anzac Day. These games sometimes drew huge crowds. The 1975 –Essendon game attracted 77,770 fans to

VFL Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) is an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. The first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules football, for most of its history, its pur ...

, an Anzac Day record at the time; two years later, in 1977, and Collingwood drew 92,436 to the MCG. In 1986, the league used Anzac Day to attempt its first ever single-venue doubleheader. Held at the MCG, and played in the afternoon, followed after a 30-minute break by and in the evening under lights. Due to a total crowd of only 40,117 and various logistical problems, the League would not stage another single-venue doubleheader at any venue again until the establishment of the Gather Round in 2023. Through the years until the mid-1990s, it was common for at least two matches to be played on the Anzac Day public holiday.

History of Anzac Day match

The modern version of the Anzac Day match was conceived by then Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy while pottering in his garden in the mid-1990s. Sheedy, who had served two years in the army after being drafted to Richmond in 1969, thought back to the success of the Collingwood–Richmond game in 1977, and he considered how 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—as well as the then Victorian RSL President Bruce Ruxton, who was also a keen Collingwood supporter—and proposed his concept for a game which would honour the

Anzac spirit The ANZAC spirit or ANZAC legend is a concept which suggests that Australian and New Zealand soldiers possess shared characteristics, specifically the qualities those soldiers allegedly exemplified on the battlefields of World War I. These ...

. Despite their previous opposition to football on Anzac Day, Ruxton and the RSL agreed with Sheedy's proposal, as did the AFL. The first modern, specially scheduled Anzac Day match between Collingwood and Essendon was played on Tuesday, 25 April 1995 at the MCG. The Round 4 match received limited publicity, as there had previously been AFL matches played on 25 April, including Essendon, who had earned a 1-point win after trailing Melbourne by 47 points in the early stages of the final quarter in Round 6, 1992. Essendon had won its first three games of the season; however, Collingwood were without a victory at that point in the season. Soon after the Anzac Day march in the city, patrons flocked to the ground. Crowds outside the ground were so substantial at 12.30pm that Collingwood coach

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the ...

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 would-be gatecrashers attempted to gain admission into the stadium. Thousands of these people descended on nearby Fitzroy Gardens, where they listened to the match on

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

. Played on a sunny autumn day, both teams kicked six goals in the first quarter. 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 James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but he ...

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 Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

had an opportunity to score; however, he elected to kick to Rocca, who was cut off. Seconds later, the siren sounded; both teams' scores were 111. Roars from the 94,825-strong crowd during the match could easily be heard from a kilometre away, and the crowd remains the third-highest home-and-away crowd in VFL/AFL history. The 2023 Anzac Day match drew a crowd of 95,179, the second-biggest home-and-away crowd in AFL history, surpassed only by the 99,346 who attended the Collingwood–Melbourne

Queen's Birthday match Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", ...

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 Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

, and often selling out in advance. As a point of comparison, in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

, the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

and St. George Illawarra Dragons have played on Anzac Day since 2002, but generally without the increase in crowd numbers compared to other games as seen in the AFL. However, Anzac Day matches have been a regular part of the rugby league season for over 80 years. The

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

held broadcasting rights to the Collingwood–Essendon match from its inception in 1995 until 2001. Following this, the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

(2002–06) and

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

(2007–09, and 2011) had the broadcasting rights, with the Seven Network broadcasting it in 2010. From the 2012 season onwards, the Seven Network regained the broadcasting rights to the match. In recent years, other clubs and some sections of the media have lobbied for the game to be shared amongst all clubs, not just Collingwood and Essendon. Since 1996, one year after the team's inception,

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

has held the Len Hall Tribute Game, named in honour of Western Australia's last

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

veteran. This game is regularly held on Anzac Day as a Western Australian featured game. With Anzac Day falling on a Saturday in 2009, four games were scheduled for the day, yet the largest fixture (the MCG) continued to host Collingwood and Essendon at the exclusion of other clubs. Critics have argued that this venue fixture should be shared.

Meaning and significance

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 The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

. This ceremony includes the recognition of Australian War Veterans as well as a Flag Ceremony, including the playing of the "

Last Post The "Last Post" is a British and Commonwealth bugle call used at military funerals, and at ceremonies commemorating those who have died in war. Versions The "Last Post" is either an A or a B♭ bugle call, primarily within British infan ...

" and "

Australian National Anthem "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the Queen" as the of ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

-based journalist and former Australian

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

national representative player

Peter FitzSimons Peter John FitzSimons (born 29 June 1961) is an Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter. He is a former national representative rugby union player and was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement from 2015 to 20 ...

commented in the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' 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.

The Collingwood Football Club asserts:

The Anzac Day blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon has become one of our biggest national sporting events ... The Anzac Day match pays tribute to the sacrifice of the servicemen and women of Australia and celebrates the
Anzac spirit The ANZAC spirit or ANZAC legend is a concept which suggests that Australian and New Zealand soldiers possess shared characteristics, specifically the qualities those soldiers allegedly exemplified on the battlefields of World War I. These ...
– courage, sacrifice, endurance and mateship.

Collingwood's former president

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television and radio presenter, journalist, Australian Football League commentator and former TV executive. He is also an occasional ''Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosted C ...

has stated that "veterans will see the reason why they fought so hard for the Australian culture with two great tribes going at each other". Conversely, some commentators such as

Francis Leach Francis Leach (born 1968) is an Australian radio announcer, sports editor and journalist. Early life Leach grew up in Public housing, commission housing in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, Victoria, Broadmeadows. He attended secondary school ...

, Liz Porter, Chris Fotinopoulos and Ruby Murray have criticised the Australian Football League for the way it promotes the event, arguing that it has exploited the sacredness and solemnity of the Anzac story for the purpose of financial profit.Francis Leach
Anzac Day: when commemoration becomes commerce
''Crikey'' 22 April 2010.Liz Porter

''The Age'' 19 April 2009.Ruby Murray
The false nationalism of Anzac Day and football
, Eureka Street, 24 April 2009.Chris Fotinopoulos

''The Age'', 24 April 2005Chris Fotinopoulos

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 24 April 2009. According to Porter:

The commodification of "the Anzac spirit" as an AFL marketing device appears to have begun with the 1995 Essendon-Collingwood clash, after which a commemorative poster of the game was produced, bearing the words "Lest we forget". A solemn pledge was reborn as an advertising slogan.

Also the subject of criticism have been the comments often made in relation to the game by the AFL, sports journalists, media personalities, club officials, coaches and some sections of the media which conflate the Anzac spirit at Gallipoli with the fighting spirit on the football ground. In the opinion of Fotinopoulos, "the real meaning of Anzac Day has become distorted by slick marketing campaigns designed to pass footballers off as war heroes." These criticisms were highlighted in 2009 when Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse stated that his team had "let the Anzacs down" in losing the game, and that "Essendon showed true Anzac spirit, the reason why we play here."
''The Herald Sun'', 25 April 2005 Journalist Patrick Smith responded in ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' that this comparison between the game of football and the sadness and bravery of war "belittles and trivialises the suffering of the men and women which Anzac Day is set aside to remember and thank."Patrick Smith
For sale: one used coach – maintenance needed but great for kids
''The Australian'' 27 April 2009. In a subsequent article, Smith argued:

The AFL itself is in danger of manipulating Anzac Day. The commission is looking to play more games than the traditional Essendon-Collingwood match which had previously been set aside as the code's mark of respect. To play more matches around the country is to move uneasily close to a ratings and money-making tool. Given that bravery and commitment in war is acknowledged with medals, the AFL seeks to capitalise on that with awarding the Anzac Medal to the best player on Anzac Day. On reflection, that is bordering on tacky.Patrick Smith

''The Australian'' 27 October 2009.

The trophy awarded to the winning team each year has etched on it the names of football players who died during war, images of soldiers from the Australian Infantry Forces and the words "Lest We Forget". Furthermore, the cup is made from

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

on a base of ironbark that comes from an ammunition wagon used in service at

Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borde ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, whilst the bronze columns supporting the silver bowl incorporate metal salvaged from the

battlefields.

Anzac Medal

A best-on-ground player has been named for each of the Anzac Day clashes. Since 2000, the player in the match considered to best exemplify the

—skill, courage, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play—has been awarded the AFL Anzac Medal. This medal has been won three times by Collingwood games record holder and former captain Scott Pendlebury and retired Essendon legend (and former Essendon coach)

. In 2001, Collingwood's

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant (born 10 October 1946) is a retired English broadcaster, television personality, radio DJ and stand up comedian. He is best known for presenting the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and th ...

became the first—and so far ''only''—player to have won the medal despite playing in the losing team. Before the start of the 2011 Anzac Day match, the AFL presented retrospective Anzac Medals to their intended recipients for all of the matches prior to the introduction of the medal in 2000.

Match results

, - style=";background:#ccf;font-size: 110%" , , Year , Home Team , , Away Team , , Ground , Crowd , Result/Winner , , , , style="text-align:center;", , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''1'' , style="text-align: center;",

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Collingwood , 17.9 (111) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 16.15 (111) , rowspan="25",

, 94,825 , style="text-align:center;", Draw !0 !D , , Saverio Rocca* (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''2'' , style="text-align: center;",

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Essendon , 16.9 (105) , style="background:#cfc;", Collingwood icon

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 17.15 (117) , 87,549 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White 2px; text-align:center;" , !12 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White 2px; text-align:center;" , , Scott Russell* (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''3'' , style="text-align: center;",

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

Essendon , 10.10 (70) , style="background:#cfc;", Collingwood icon

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 14.15 (99) , 83,271 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !29 !L , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Damian Monkhurst* (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''4'' , style="text-align: center;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwood icon

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 15.18 (108) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 12.16 (88) , 81,542 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !20 !L , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Saverio Rocca* (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''5'' , style="text-align: center;",

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 15.18 (108) , Collingwood icon

Collingwood , 15.10 (100) , 73,118 , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !8 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Mark Mercuri* (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''6'' , style="text-align: center;",

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Collingwood , 15.10 (100) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 21.14 (140) , 88,390 , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !40 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , ,

(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''7'' , style="text-align: center;",

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 15.13 (103) , Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , 14.11 (95) , 83,905 , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !8 !W , ,

(Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''8'' , style="text-align: center;",

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 9.12 (66) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 4.9 (33) , 84,894 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !33 !L , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Mark McGough (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''9'' , style="text-align: center;",

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 23.9 (147) , Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , 12.9 (81) , 62,589^ , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !66 !L , ,

(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''10'' , style="text-align: center;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Collingwood , 11.13 (79) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 17.10 (112) , 57,294^ , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !33 !W , style="background:Red; color:Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , ,

(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''11'' , style="text-align: center;",

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 11.17 (83) , Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , 10.9 (69) , 70,033^ , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !14 !L , style="background:Red; color:Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , , Andrew Lovett (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''12'' , style="text-align: center;",

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 15.16 (106) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 12.17 (89) , 91,234 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !17 !W , style="background:Red; color:Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , , Ben Johnson (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''13'' , style="text-align: center;",

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Essendon , 11.13 (79) , style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 12.23 (95) , 90,508 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !16 !L , ,

Heath Shaw Heath Shaw (born 27 November 1985) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). Heath grew up in Diamond Creek and played ju ...

(Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''14'' , style="text-align: center;",

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 23.16 (154) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 12.9 (81) , 88,999 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !73 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Paul Medhurst (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''15'' , style="text-align: center;",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 13.15 (93) , Collingwood icon

Collingwood , 12.16 (88) , 84,829 , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !5 !L , , Paddy Ryder (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''16'' , style="text-align: center;",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 18.12 (120) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 8.7 (55) , 90,070 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !65 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Scott Pendlebury (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''17'' , style="text-align: center;",

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 11.11 (77) , Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , 16.11 (107) , 89,262 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !30 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Scott Pendlebury (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''18'' , style="text-align: center;",

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 11.14 (80) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 11.13 (79) , 86,932 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !1 !L , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Dane Swan (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''19'' , style="text-align: center;",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 18.13 (121) , Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , 10.15 (75) , 93,373 , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !46 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , ,

David Zaharakis David Zaharakis (born 21 February 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played 13 seasons for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Zaharakis attended Our Lady Help of Christia ...

(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''20'' , style="text-align: center;",

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 12.11 (83) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 8.12 (60) , 91,731 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !23 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Dane Swan (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''21'' , style="text-align: center;",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Essendon , 6.13 (49) , style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 9.15 (69) , 88,395 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !20 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Paul Seedsman (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''22'' , style="text-align: center;",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 22.10 (142) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 11.7 (73) , 85,082 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !69 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , ,

Steele Sidebottom Steele Sidebottom (born 2 January 1991) is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. He made the All-Australian team in 2018 and is a two-time Copeland ...

(Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''23'' , style="text-align: center;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 15.10 (100) , Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , 11.16 (82) , 87,685 , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !18 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Joe Daniher (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''24'' , style="text-align: center;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 14.17 (101) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 7.10 (52) , 91,440 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !49 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Adam Treloar (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''25'' , style="text-align: center;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Essendon , 10.9 (69) , style="background:#cfc;", Collingwood Football Club colours

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 10.13 (73) , 92,241 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !4 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Scott Pendlebury (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , , style="text-align: center;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

! colspan="11" ,

''No match played due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''26'' , style="text-align: center;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Collingwood , 13.7 (85) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 16.13 (109) , rowspan="5",

, 78,113^^ , style="background:Red; color: Black; border: Black; text-align:center;" , !24 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Darcy Parish (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''27'' , style="text-align: center;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Essendon , 12.10 (82) , style="background:#cfc;", Collingwood icon

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 15.3 (93) , 84,205 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !11 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Jack Ginnivan (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''28'' , style="text-align: center;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 13.12 (90) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 11.11 (77) , 95,179 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !13 !L , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Nick Daicos (Col) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''29'' , style="text-align: center;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Essendon , 12.13 (85) , Collingwood icon

Collingwood , 12.13 (85) , 93,644 , style="text-align:center;", Draw !0 !D , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , , Zach Merrett (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''30'' , style="text-align: center;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, style="background:#cfc;", Collingwoodsymbol

Collingwood , style="background:#cfc;", 16.11 (107) , Essendon Football Club colours

Essendon , 10.6 (66) , 92,044 , style="background:Black ; color: White; border: White; text-align:center;" , !41 !W , style="background:Black; color:White; border: White; text-align:center;" , ,

(Col) ''* Retrospective medals awarded in 2011, for games from 1995 to 1999, as the first official Anzac Medal was awarded in 2000.'' ''^ Capacity of ground reduced due to redevelopment for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.'' ''^^ Capacity of ground reduced due to the

.''

Other Anzac Day fixtures

Anzac eve

Melbourne vs. Richmond (2015–present)
On 30 October 2014, the AFL confirmed that

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

would host an Anzac eve night clash at the

starting from the 2015 season. As part of the pre-match ceremonies, a torch lit from the Eternal Flame at the

Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in ...

is carried to the ground, where it lights a cauldron on an MCG stage to burn for the duration of the match. Players from both sides, including coaches and officials, alongside returned servicemen and women, line up near the flame for the playing of the "

" and "

Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the King, God Save th ...

". The pre-match ceremony was developed by—and has the full support of—the RSL, the

, and the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi (27 February 1936 – 16 September 2023) was an Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the greatest and most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player ...

, whose father died at Tobruk during World War II in 1941, was the first person to light the cauldron. In 2017, the Anzac eve match drew a crowd of 85,657, the highest ever between the two clubs, ensuring the fixture was continued the following year. Until 2020, there was no official trophy for the winning team or player's medal for best on ground. Since 2021, the Frank 'Checker' Hughes medal has been awarded to the player judged best afield. AFL ANZAC Eve National Anthem 2023

, - style=";background:#ccf;font-size: 110%" , , Year , Home Team , , Away Team , , Ground , Crowd , Result/Winner , , , style="text-align:center;", , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''1'' , style="text-align: center;",

, Richmond , 6.15 (51) , style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 12.11 (83) , rowspan="5",

, 58,175 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 32 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", , Nathan Jones* (Mel) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''2'' , style="text-align: center;",

, style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne Football Club Colours

Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 20.9 (129) , Richmond , 14.12 (96) , 59,968 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 33 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Max Gawn Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A Ruckman (Australian rules football), ruckman, 209 cm tall and weighing 111 kg, Gaw ...

* (Mel) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''3'' , style="text-align: center;",

, style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 12.16 (88) , Melbourne Football Club Colours

Melbourne , 11.9 (75) , 85,657 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 13 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", , Jack Riewoldt* (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''4'' , style="text-align: center;",

Melbourne , 8.8 (56) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 15.12 (102) , 77,071 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 46 , , Kane Lambert* (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''5'' , style="text-align: center;",

, style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 12.13 (85) , Melbourne Football Club Colours

Melbourne , 6.6 (42) , 72,704 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 43 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Nick Vlastuin* (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , , style="text-align: center;",

! colspan="11" ,

''No match played due to the

, - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''6'' , style="text-align: center;",

, style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne Football Club Colours

Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 12.10 (82) , Richmond , 6.12 (48) , rowspan=5 ,

, 56,418 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 34 , , Christian Petracca (Mel) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''7'' , style="text-align: center;",

, Richmond , 8.6 (54) , style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 9.22 (76) , 70,334 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 22 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", , Clayton Oliver (Mel) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''8'' , style="text-align: center;",

, style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne Football Club Colours

Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 15.6 (96) , Richmond , 11.12 (78) , 83,985 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 18 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Jack Viney Jack Viney (born 13 April 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Viney is capable of contributing as both an inside ...

(Mel) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''9'' , style="text-align: center;",

, Richmond , 5.12 (42) , style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 13.7 (85) , 72,840 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 43 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ,

(Mel) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''10'' , style="text-align: center;",

, style="background:#cfc;", Melbourne Football Club Colours

Melbourne , style="background:#cfc;", 12.11 (83) , Richmond , style="text-align: center;", 9.9 (63) , 71,635 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ! 20 , bgcolor="#0F1131" div style="text-align: center;", ,

(Mel) Note:
Since 2021 the best player afield has been awarded the Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal. Names listed prior to this date refer to the player who received three Brownlow votes.

New Zealand match

St Kilda vs. various clubs (2013–2015)
The New Zealand ANZAC Day matches were held to commemorate the centenary of the forming of the ANZACs in 1913 through to the centenary of the Gallipoli landings in 1915. In 2013, and Sydney played an Anzac Day match in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in remembrance of the centenary of the forming of the ANZACs in 1913. This was the first AFL game ever played for premiership points outside Australia. The game was played between St Kilda and as a night game at

Westpac Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (commercially known as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situa ...

in New Zealand's capital,

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, in front of a crowd of 22,546. Sydney won the game by 16 points, scoring 11.13 (79) to St Kilda 9.9 (63), while the first New Zealand–awarded Anzac Medal went to Sydney's

Dan Hannebery Daniel Hannebery (born 24 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2009 to 2018 and for the St Kilda Football Club fr ...

. Before the game St Kilda captain

Nick Riewoldt Nicholas Fredrick Riewoldt ( ; born 17 October 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL draft. He was the ...

said "To play on Anzac Day in another country for the first time in the history of the sport is a momentous occasion and as a playing group we feel really privileged to be doing that...". The game was attended by the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023. The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

; Australian Minister for Sport, Kate Lundy; and the AFL chief executive,

Andrew Demetriou Andrew Demetriou (born 14 April 1961) is an Australian businessman, sports administrator, and former Australian rules football player who was chief executive officer (CEO) of the Australian Football League (AFL) up to June 2014. Demetriou play ...

. Key reflected on the significance of the Anzac relationship, commenting shortly before the game began on Australia's immediate assistance following the

Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region in the South Island, centred south-east of the centr ...

, and saying "The Anzac spirit is as alive today as it was in 1915". Key also used the occasion to raise the prospect of a New Zealand–based AFL team, saying at the official pre-match function "Let's get real. We've got to get a New Zealand side in the AFL.". While Demetriou would not comment further on Key's statements, he said he planned to chat to Key about it at a later date, and stated New Zealand was "unquestionably our fastest growth market outside Australia". The winning club received the "Simpson–Henderson Trophy", named in honour of Australian John Simpson Kirkpatrick and New Zealander Richard Alexander Henderson, both known for carrying wounded soldiers from World War I battlefields on donkeys. The New Zealand fixture was retained for the

and

seasons, with the Saints' opponents in those years being the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

and , respectively. However, the fixture was subsequently scrapped. , - style=";background:#ccf;font-size: 110%" , , Year , Home Team , , Away Team , , Ground , Crowd , Result/Winner , , style="text-align:center;", , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''1'' , style="text-align: center;",

St Kilda , 9.9 (63) , style="background:#cfc;", Sydney Football Club colours

Sydney , style="background:#cfc;", 11.13 (79) , rowspan="3",

Wellington Regional Stadium Wellington Regional Stadium (commercially known as Sky Stadium through naming rights) is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is . The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situ ...

, 22,546 , bgcolor="red" style="text-align: center;" div , ! 16 ,

(Syd) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''2'' , style="text-align: center;",

, St Kilda , 11.13 (79) , style="background:#cfc;", Brisbane , style="background:#cfc;", 12.10 (82) , 13,409 , bgcolor="#78184A" div style="text-align: center;", ! 3 ,

Leigh Montagna Leigh “Joey” Montagna (; born 2 November 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A two time All-Australian, Montagna finished his career 7 ...

* (StK) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 80%;" , ''3'' , style="text-align: center;",

, St Kilda , 12.9 (81) , style="background:#cfc;", Carlton , style="background:#cfc;", 18.13 (121) , 12,125 , bgcolor="#2B2E43" div style="text-align: center;", ! 40 , Marc Murphy* (Car)

Len Hall Tribute game

Fremantle vs. various clubs (1996–) The Len Hall game is named in tribute to the last Gallipoli veteran from Western Australia, Len Hall (1897–1999). Matches are either played on ANZAC Day itself or over that weekend during the same round. On March 24 2025, the Fremantle Dockers had announced a new best of ground medal, the Arthur Leggett Medal, named after Western Australia's last surviving World War II prisoner of war. The inaugural medal was awarded to Fremantle's Andrew Brayshaw after being voted Best on Ground in the club's 2025 Len Hall Tribute Match against the Adelaide Crows. ''* There was no match played in 2001 and 2002 because Fremantle played away in the Anzac Round in both of those years. ''^ Match played without crowd attendance, due to

COVID-19 restrictions During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

.'' Arthur Leggett Medalist The Arthur Leggett Medal has been awarded to the player deemed best on ground in the annual Len Hall Fixture since 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anzac Day clash Australian Football League games Australian Football League awards Australian Football League rivalries Collingwood Football Club Essendon Football Club Sports competitions in Melbourne 1995 establishments in Australia ANZAC (Australia)