Sunday’s game between Collingwood and Essendon will mark the 27th ANZAC Day match.
Since the first game in 1995, the game has become one of Australia’s biggest national sporting events.
The coming together of the two teams, as well as the broader community, allows everyone to pay tribute to all servicemen and women of Australia and to acknowledge their courage, sacrifice, endurance and mateship.
Collingwood’s 2021 ANZAC Day guernsey features sprigs of rosemary which is traditionally worn as a symbol of remembrance on ANZAC or Remembrance Day. Rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, where the original Anzacs served in World War I.
At the conclusion of Sunday’s game, the ANZAC Day Medal will be presented to the player who best exemplifies the ANZAC Spirit - skill, courage, self-sacrifice, teamwork and fair play.
This year, the game will hold extra significance for Collingwood’s oldest living player Ray Jones who will toss the coin for the game. The 95-year-old played a total of 22 games for Collingwood between 1946-48 under Jock McHale. He served with the Royal Australian Navy from 1943-45 and was aboard the cruiser HMAS Australia during the Philippines Campaign.
Vice Captain of the Collingwood Wheelchair Football Team, Brett Newman will present the footballs to the umpires pre-game. Newman served with the Australian Army from 1999 to 2012 in operations in East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Afghanistan.
You can show your appreciation by donating to the ANZAC Appeal here.
