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The spirit and emotion of ANZAC Day has helped fuel one of the great sporting traditions of Australia.

The ANZAC Day blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon has become one of our biggest national sporting events.

Over the past thirteen years the ANZAC Day clash between the Magpies and the Bombers at the famous MCG has become the biggest club match in Australia’s biggest national sport - second only to the AFL Grand Final.

Over 90,000 people attend the ANZAC Day blockbusters and each year millions watch on television.

This year’s blockbuster will be the 14th annual clash between the two clubs since the tradition began with the memorable 1995 drawn match played in front of 94,825.That first match still represents the second biggest home and away crowd in AFL history, behind the 99,346 fans that saw the 1958 Queen’s Birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne at the MCG.

This year the match is again a sell out and over 90,000 are expected to celebrate this great tradition.

Collingwood won the first three ANZAC Day clashes after the draw, and then Essendon edged ahead, but Collingwood’s has won the previous two ANZAC Day matches and the rivalry now stands at six victories each.

The ANZAC Day match pays tribute to the sacrifice of the servicemen and women of Australia and celebrates the ANZAC spirit – courage, sacrifice, endurance and mateship.

This year’s match recognises the 90th Anniversary of the End of World War 1 and the Battle of Villers- Brentonneux. 

The traditional Veteran’s Motorcade will take place prior to the observance ceremony and the commencement of the game.

Pre-match program
Collingwood Football Club, in association with the AFL and the MCC, will present special pre-match program of activities and entertainment. 

This year’s pre match will feature:

• The Australian Navy Band
• The RAN Band
• Australia’s biggest recording star of the 1960’s and Vietnam Veteran, Normie Rowe performing “Living Underneath the Southern Cross.”  
• Golden Guitar winner Adam Harvey performing “Missing Heroes.”
• One of Australia’s leading recording artists, Wendy Matthews, singing “Forever Young.”
• Army Red Berets Parachute Display
• Motorcade of ANZAC Veterans
• Observance Ceremony
• Catafalque Guard slow march, flags are lowered to half-mast
• Major General David McLachlan recites “The Ode” 
• One minutes Silence
• Last Post
• Reveille
• National Anthem

The match will begin at 2.40pm.

Presentation of footballs
Representatives from Collingwood and Essendon will present the footballs to the umpires on the MCG.

Collingwood is delighted that Gordon Coventry will represent the club. The Coventry family is one of the great Collingwood families.  Gordon is son of Syd Coventry, the nephew of Gordon Coventry and the brother of Hugh, all former players.  Hugh Coventry was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for deeds accomplished in aerial flight. Gordon’s other brother Jack is also a returned serviceman.

Clayton Nattier will present the match day ball on behalf of Essendon. Mr Nattier flew with the United States Army Air Corps, flying over 16 missions from 1943 to 1944 and was shot down on his 16 mission spending the remainder of the war as a POW at Stalag I. Mr Nattier is attending the Dick Reynolds luncheon which this year celebrates VFL players who were in the RAAF.

Coin toss
11 year old Thomas McGowan will toss the coin before the start of the match. Thomas is the grand nephew of Thomas McGowan (after whom he is named).  Thomas McGowan Snr perished with the sinking of the HMAS Sydney in 1941. The wreck of the HMAS Sydney was discovered on the 17 March 2008 off the coast of Western Australia.

Collingwood President’s Function - Kevin Sheedy/Allan McAlister presentation
Collingwood President Eddie McGuire will make special presentations to former Essendon
coach Kevin Sheedy and former Collingwood president Allan McAlister at the Collingwood President’s Luncheon to acknowledge and celebrate their contribution in establishing the ANZAC Day match as one of the great traditions of Australian sport. Vanessa Amorosi and Normie Row will also perform at the luncheon.

Motorcade of ANZAC veterans
A  Veteran’s Motorcade prior to the commencement of the game will honour returned veterans and representatives from WW1, WW2, the War Widows Guild, Army Nurses, Rats of Tobruk, Vietnam, Iraq and the East Timor Peacekeepers. 

Lexus Australia has kindly provided the Lexus Sports Coupe SC 430 for the ANZAC Day motorcade. The Lexus SC 430 is the Lexus “state of the art” luxury convertible.

RSL collection
A collection for the Returned & Services League will be held at the match. One hundred and twenty volunteers from the RSL will collect at the gates prior to the beginning of the match.

ANZAC Day trophy
A presentation of the ANZAC Day Trophy will be made on the field at the conclusion of the match.

The President of the Victorian RSL, Vietnam Veteran Major General David McLachlan, will present the trophy to the Captain of the winning team.

The trophy comprises a silver bowl, which is supported by four bronze columns and a central glass pillar. The glass pillar has images of servicemen and footballers and is etched with the names of all VFL footballers that gave their lives on active service.

The wooden footing of the trophy comes from an ironbark plank, part of an ammunition wagon, which saw service in Villers-Brentonneux in France. The bronze columns incorporate metal salvaged from Gallipoli battlefields. The trophy has a value of over $25,000.

The trophy and ANZAC Medal were kindly donated to the RSL by UNIBIC, makers of ANZAC Biscuits. 

ANZAC Medal
A presentation of the ANZAC Day Medal will be made on the field at the conclusion of the match.

The ANZAC Medal is awarded to the player in the match who best exemplifies the ANZAC Spirit - skill, courage, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play.

The medal is an engraved bronze disk, incorporating battlefield metal, surrounding a glass centre into which is set an image of the RSL badge.