The brainchild of then Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, the Anzac Day
match between Essendon and Collingwood has been contested
each year since 1995. Sheedy, who served in the
Australian Army, sought to launch the idea with the crucial
help of the RSL, including its President Bruce Ruxton,
and the AFL led by its then Chief Executive, Ross
Oakley. The RSL had some inital reluctance to the
idea, expressing concern that it may take the focus away
from existing ceremonies on the day, but with those
fears allayed, the RSL gave its approval and the Anzac Day
game has been a significant addition to the
existing remembrance ceremonies rather than taking away from
them.
The original Anzac Day match in 1995 drew a crowd of 94,825
the second-largest home-and-away crowd ever. Adding to
its significance, the 1995 match was a draw.
Additionally, it became a significant start in the AFL's moves
against racial vilification. During the last quarter,
Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst made a racist remark to
Essendon's Michael Long within earshot of Essendon's Che
Cockatoo-Collins. Long decided to take a stand and made a
report to the umpires. Both Long and Cockatoo-Collins
thoughts were of relatives progressing in the game and other
Indigenous players and they wanted to take action so that their
successors would not have to endure the same treatment.
The AFL was initially reluctant to act, but after persistent
pressure from Long, they established mediation which secured an
apology from Monkhorst and sowed the seeds of a
subsequent AFL campaign against racial vilification.
Every year the Anzac Day game sells out in advance, such is
its massive popularity. After such a memorable beginning,
the tradition was firmly established and both teams
fittingly regard this as the big occasion game it is, thereby
ensuring memorable hard-fought contests, as well as embracing
the memory of, and gratitude for, the supreme sacrifice made by
so many Australians in conflict.
