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From April to December the allied forces held on till the order came from London for the withdrawal. On 19 December the Australians and New Zealanders embarked on the ships of a convoy instructed to take them to Egypt. By then 7,600 Australians and nearly 2,500 New Zealanders had been killed; 19,000 Australians and 5,000 New Zealanders were wounded. The French casualties were as high as those of the ANZACs, the name adopted for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, and the British lost nearly three times as many. The grand design of a swift end to the war in the Middle East ended in a military disaster. The soldiers, if not the people to whom they belonged, were in part apotheosised by the ashes of defeat, for from that year (1915) the landing at Gallipoli became ANZAC Day. For some it symbolised the noblest aspirations of the people. For others it was the bond of those who had been through the fiery furnace and been uplifted by it, not beyond good and evil, but beyond the mean, the petty, the trivial and the unworthy.
(From A Short History of Australia by Manning Clark)
During the inter-war period, football began to achieve unprecedented popularity, a popularity that was manifest in increasing media coverage. Robert Pascoe points out, for instance, that "it was not until the 1920s that newspaper accounts of Australian Rules began to take over the pages of Melbourne's dailies" (see footnote 1). One possible reason for this was that the war which had so pre-occupied people's energies and attention was still such a vivid memory, and the parallels between sport and warfare are there for all to see:
This new interest in football coincided with the popularisation of the ANZAC myth. Sports journalists began to construct more elaborate metaphors of football, especially around the theme of battle. The widespread ANZAC values percolated through this coverage: individual players became heroes of battle, just as the common foot soldier was seen to have won the day through particular acts of courage and tenacity. (See footnote 2)
ANZAC Day was commemorated in parts of Australia from as early as 1916, but it was not until 1927 that it was observed as a holiday and day of remembrance throughout the country. For many years, the playing of organised sport on ANZAC Day was frowned upon or even prohibited, but in 1960 the VFL programmed two fixtures on the day after the state government decreed that sport could be played on ANZAC Day, providing it commenced no earlier than 2.00pm. The first ever VFL ANZAC Day matches saw Melbourne defeat St Kilda by 4 goals, and Fitzroy overcome Carlton by 7 points.
In South Australia, the rules governing the playing of sport had long been less stringent than in Victoria, and the first ever ANZAC Day match took place in 1949, when West Torrens 12.15 (87) downed Sturt 7.13 (55). Over the years, the ANZAC Day fixture came traditionally to involve a re-match between the previous season's grand finalists, and would often attract the largest non-finals attendance of the season.
The now traditional Collingwood-Essendon ANZAC Day fixture commenced in 1995. The two clubs were chosen by the AFL to contest the fixture because they had developed a uniquely torrid long term rivalry, and because they were the best supported Victorian-based clubs in the competition.
With only a couple of minutes left in the game, Bomber fans celebrate what they believe to be the game's match-winning goal, kicked by James Hird. Their joy was to be short-lived, however, as moments later the best player afield, Saverio Rocca, was to square the ledger with his 9th major of the afternoon.
Unbeaten Essendon are rated 2-1 on by the bookies, with the winless Magpies rated at 11-8. The match gets underway in mild, clear conditions, with an air temperature of 18ºC, and a slight breeze favouring the Punt Road end of the ground, to which the Bombers are kicking in the opening term.
The match is watched by a huge crowd of 94,825, more people than had watched the previous year's grand final (93,860), and more indeed than the 93,670 who would watch the 1995 grand final between Carlton and Geelong.
3 mins Gavin Wanganeen gathers the ball at right centre wing for Essendon, and sends a high, speculative kick towards centre half forward where a large pack of players somehow conspire to miss the ball entirely. Running on to the ball at the rear of the pack, Sean Denham has time to prop, pick out Gary O'Donnell in space about 15 metres closer to goal, and find him with a low drop punt just before being pushed over from the side. O'Donnell's languid looking left foot kick sails straight through the middle. Essendon 1.0; Collingwood 0.0
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Michael Symons - click to enlarge. |
6 mins Sav Rocca, having spilled an easy chest mark moments earlier, soars high above Duncan Fletcher to take a veritable screamer, sending the Essendon man crashing awkwardly to earth. From around 40 metres out, directly in front, the big Collingwood spearhead makes no mistake to level the scores. Collingwood 1.0; Essendon 1.0 8 mins Shane Kerrison clears from half back left to just within the magpies' attacking fifty. Soaring high over a huge pack of players, Sav Rocca goes within an ace of pulling down his second screamer in a matter of minutes, but the ball is jarred loose. First on it is Gavin Brown, whose quick handball frees Paul Williams. Eluding the flailing grasp of Bomber wingman Michael Long, Williams is forced out wide, but his high left foot snap shot from 50 metres out almost on the boundary never deviates. Collingwood 2.0; Essendon 1.0 10 mins James Hird, at half back left for Essendon, gets boot to ball under pressure and sends it high towards the front edge of the centre square. Kerrison gets high off the ground to spoil Young's attempt to mark, but the ball only travels as far as Mark Mercuri, who runs on, taking a bounce, before firing home from just inside fifty. Collingwood 2.1; Essendon 2.0 |
12 mins James Hird, having marked at half forward left, right on 50 metres, kicks high and true to recapture the lead for his side. Essendon 3.0; Collingwood 2.1
13 mins The Bombers, who at this stage in the game are noticeably quicker and more decisive than their opponents, maneuver the ball skillfully down the right hand side of the ground in a move which culminates in Rick Olarenshaw's high, probing kick from half forward right into the teeth of the goal square. Peter Somerville, in front, gets both hands to the ball, but then is sent clattering to earth by John Hassell, forcing him to lose his grip on the ball. The umpire, however, comes to Somerville's aid by ruling that Hassell's attentions had been illicit, and from the resultant free, taken at point blank range, the big ruckman-forward effortlessly steers the ball home. Essendon 4.0; Collingwood 2.1
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14 mins Collingwood win the ball out of the centre from the ensuing centre bounce. Williams, in a central position near the fifty metre arc, collects under pressure and, with his back to goal, handballs quickly into space towards half forward right. Anticipating perfectly, Nathan Buckley sprints onto the ball and embarks on a twenty metre dash, bouncing once, before coolly registering full points. Essendon 4.0; Collingwood 3.1 16 mins Collingwood effect the most fluent move of the match so far as Damien Monkhorst, at half back left, feeds off by hand to Craig Kelly, who in turn feeds Buckley. Buckley's high, floating, cross-field handball bounces in space and is run onto by Mick McGuane, who handballs to Michael Christian, whose low, spearing drop punt hits a fast leading Sav Rocca on the chest just inside fifty almost before you can blink. Rocca's high, booming kick from a 45 degree angle to the right of goal starts well to the left but veers back sharply at the decisive moment to bring the teams level. Collingwood 4.1; Essendon 4.1 23 mins Michael Symons, twenty metres from goal, almost straight in front, attempts to mark, but is bundled to the ground by Shane Watson, and is awarded a free kick. Despite being so close to goal he elicits a chorus of boos, hisses and catcalls from the Magpie fraternity by going back fully twenty-metres from the mark - just as he had done a couple of minutes earlier, when his eventual kick missed everything - before running in and prodding a tentative-looking kick marginally over the heads of the waiting goal line pack for a major score. Essendon 5.3; Collingwood 4.1 |
Paul Williams - click to enlarge. |
25 mins The umpire bounces the ball on Essendon's right half forward flank. Both ruckmen completely miss the ball which bounces into the hands of Hird, who quickly handballs to Mercuri near the boundary. Mercuri's kick across the face of goal bounces once before being gathered up by Symons, who manages to snap truly across his body moments before being sent crashing to the turf by Watson. Essendon 6.3; Collingwood 4.1
With the MCG's phone system having crashed, both coaches have moved from their coaching boxes in the grandstand to the boundary line dug-outs.
27 mins The Magpies' first attacking foray in eleven minutes yields a goal as Damien Monkhorst, having received a free kick near the centre of the ground, kicks long towards centre half forward. As has happened on several occasions already, the ball eludes the waiting back, and waiting, unmarked, at the rear is Brett James, who has the easiest of tasks to run in towards goal and send a low, stabbing kick through for full points. Essendon 6.4; Collingwood 5.1
29 mins Dermott Brereton marks near Collingwood's half forward left boundary before carefully steering a kick into the left forward pocket where Rocca uses his body well to get in front of Fletcher, and mark strongly overhead. Making light of the 60 degree angle his kick is precision itself to bring the 'Pies to within 3 points moments before the siren sounds for quarter time. QUARTER TIME: Essendon 6.4 (40); Collingwood 6.1 (37)
3 mins A ball up takes place just outside Essendon's goal square. The tap is won by Monkhorst, whereupon a scrimmage ensues, with players from both sides scrambling desperately after the ball on hands and knees. Monkhorst is returning to the Collingwood side today after a two week suspension, and so far has probably been the dominant player on the ground, but on this occasion he is cast in the role of villain, for as the ball pops loose, instead of grabbing it, he elects to tap it in-field, along the ground, straight into the hands of Ché Cockatoo-Collins. The Bomber half forward, who thus far has scarcely been sighted, cannot believe his good fortune, and from 15 metres out directly in front, under no appreciable pressure, he is never going to miss. (Cockatoo-Collins had been a late inclusion in Essendon's team, so late in fact that the club had been fined $1,500 for departing from its announced line-up after the official deadline for making such alterations had elapsed.) Essendon 7.4; Collingwood 6.1
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Ché Cockatoo-Collins - click to enlarge. |
4 mins Collingwood's reply is almost immediate as Leigh Walker, who had completely failed to touch the leather in the opening term, dives headlong through a pack of players at centre half forward to take a mark of inspirational courage, before kicking truly to elicit the biggest roar of the match so far from the Magpie faithful. Essendon 7.4; Collingwood 7.1 6 mins Fletcher, who has been shifted onto the forward lines by Sheedy after struggling to cope with the superior weight and strength of Sav Rocca in the opening term, collects the ball some twenty metres ahead of centre, and sends an ugly looking tumble punt deep into the right forward pocket. The ball looks certain to cross the boundary line, but Symons, showing great desperation, just manages to spoon it back into play, right into the waiting arms of O'Donnell, who quickly relays it back to Symons on the one-two. Spotting Mercuri leading into space near centre half forward, Symons hits that player on the chest with a low, left foot pass, and Mercuri duly fulfills his end of the deal by kicking straight to restore Essendon's 9 point advantage. Essendon 8.4; Collingwood 7.1 |
28 mins Essendon dominate play for most of the remainder of the quarter, but manage to register only behinds until Dustin Fletcher coolly goals after marking Michael Long's crisp pass at the true centre half forward position. The half time siren then sounds before the umpires are able to re-start the game. HALF TIME: Essendon 9.7 (61); Collingwood 7.3 (45)
3 mins McGuane collects a loose ball at half forward right, just outside 50 metres, and kicks long in the direction of the goal square. Brereton briefly manages to get his hands to the ball but it drops free and is collected by Sav Rocca. Despite being immediately flung to ground by Darcy, Rocca just manages to get his left boot to the ball and send it scudding through the goal square and across the goal line for full points. Essendon 9.7; Collingwood 8.4
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5 mins Christian brings the ball back into play after an Essendon behind and finds Buckley at centre half back. Buckley plays on quickly with a spearing pass to McGuane just ahead of centre and McGuane has enough space in front of him to enable him to run to within fifty and fire home with minimal difficulty. Essendon 9.8; Collingwood 9.4 6 mins Essendon's reply is swift. Straight from the centre they force the ball forward courtesy of Fraser whose high clearing kick towards the goal square is punched towards the boundary by Kelly, only for Cockatoo-Collins to intercept and throw the ball onto his boot in one fluent and telling movement that elicits two flags from the goal umpire. Essendon 10.8; Collingwood 9.4 9 mins Both teams are now giving it their all as Buckley, on right centre wing, launches a long kick in the centre half forward direction which spills off hands in the path of Brett James. Despite being more than 20 metres from goal, James decides not to pick up the ball but to soccer it goal wards. After travelling a wayward, staccato trajectory, the ball narrowly evades the left upright to bounce over the line for a goal. Essendon 10.8; Collingwood 10.4 12 mins Collingwood's Monkhorst and Essendon's Long contest a ball-up at half forward right whereupon the umpire picks out a free kick to the much bigger Magpie ruckman. His centering kick floats high in the air allowing Sav Rocca to hurtle out from the goal square, a good three metres ahead of his direct opponent Darcy, and mark overhead on the second grab. He kicks truly to put to 'Pies in front for the first time since early in the opening term. Collingwood 11.4; Essendon 10.8 13 mins Brett James is once again first upon the ball as it tumbles off hands near centre half forward. He just has time to throw the ball onto his boot and steer it through for a goal before being sent crashing to the turf. Collingwood 12.4; Essendon 10.8 19 mins The Bombers, having been under the pump for the better part of quarter of an hour, re-assert themselves after Hird marks near the centre of the ground and feeds off a quick handball to Olarenshaw. The Essendon on baller, who has displayed an unfortunate tendency to run too far with the ball this afternoon, takes just one bounce this time before propping, looking up, and hitting Dustin Fletcher on the chest after spotting that player leading fast into space near centre half forward. The ever reliable Fletcher is calmness personified as he drills the ball home to reduce the margin to just 2 points. Collingwood 12.6; Essendon 11.10 |
Yet another Sav Rocca grab |
22 mins Dermot Brereton takes a diving mark at half forward left, just inside fifty, and, after taking an age looking around for a passing option, elects to go for goal, to consummate success, and a deafening roar from the Collingwood hordes behind the goals. Collingwood 13.7; Essendon 11.10
26 mins Paul Williams marks the ball on left centre wing and plays on quickly with a high, speculative kick in the direction of centre half forward where, yet again, Rocca manages to out-maneuver Darcy to take a solid, if tow grab, mark. From forty metres out directly in front he makes no mistake. Collingwood 14.7; Essendon 11.10
Fletcher's behind from a kick after the siren reduces the margin at the last change to 14 points. THREE QUARTER TIME: Collingwood 14.7 (91); Essendon 11.11 (77)
6 mins Collingwood, having dominated the early exchanges in the final term without converting, finally manage a routine major score courtesy of Sav Rocca who routinely fires home after gratefully accepting Gavin Brown's pass at centre half forward. Collingwood 15.9; Essendon 11.11
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Scott Burns - click to enlarge. |
9 mins Somerville puts Essendon right back in contention when he goals from point blank range after strongly marking Cockatoo-Collins' attempted snap from 40 metres out directly in front. Collingwood 15.9; Essendon 12.12 11 mins Monkhorst wins a tap at a boundary throw-in midway between half forward right and the right forward pocket for Essendon. However, Michael Long snares the ball, and is able to squeeze out a quick handball to Joe Misiti a split second before being flung to the turf. Misiti's high centering kick floats over and then to the rear of the goal square and is marked strongly on the chest by Barry Young, who effortlessly goals. Collingwood 15.9; Essendon 13.13 13 mins Ché Cockatoo-Collins coolly drills the ball home after using opponent John Hassell as a veritable step ladder to take the mark of the day at centre half forward. The opportunity had arisen after Collingwood defender Scott Burns had booted the ball out of bounds on the full whilst under intense pressure endeavouring to clear the ball deep in the left back pocket. Ricky Olarenshaw had taken the resultant free kick, giving the ball plenty of air to allow Cockatoo-Collins all the time he needed to run in from half forward left and time his soaring jump to perfection. Collingwood 15.9; Essendon 14.13 |
15 mins Amidst deafening crowd noise, Misiti's booming kick from bang on 50 metres is off target to the left to reduce the margin to a solitary point. Collingwood 15.9; Essendon 14.14
16 mins Scores are level after O'Connor's set shot from 45 metres out on a 45 degree angle to the right of goal narrowly misses to the left. Collingwood 15.9; Essendon 14.15
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18 mins Olarenshaw who, according to the TV commentary team is probably at his absolute limit in terms of distance, never looks like missing as he drills the ball home almost at post height having marking just inside fifty directly in front. Essendon 15.15; Collingwood 15.9 23 mins After successfully 'staging' for a free kick at centre half forward, Rocca registers his 8th goal of the afternoon to put the Magpies back on level terms. Collingwood 16.9; Essendon 15.15 24 mins As O'Connor provides the perfect shepherd on Christian deep in the left forward pocket for Essendon, James Hird, who has been more or less blanketed by Gavin Crosisca all afternoon, makes optimum use of the space provided to snatch up the ball, wheel around almost in slow motion onto his right boot, and snap truly. Essendon 16.15; Collingwood 16.9 28 mins Almost inevitably, it is Sav Rocca who squares the ledger, his mark and goal from 25 metres out directly in front ending a four minute period of intense forward pressure from the Magpies. Collingwood 17.9; Collingwood 16.15 |
Mark Mercuri - click to enlarge. |
30 mins With fifteen seconds left to play, Nathan Buckley gallops through the centre of the ground, bouncing the ball once, and almost reaching the fifty metre arc, whereupon, instead of taking a long shot for goal, he elects to try to pick out Sav Rocca at centre half forward. Rocca, not surprisingly, has three men on him at this stage in the match, and gets nowhere near the ball, which is hurriedly cleared by the Bombers. The final siren sounds moments later. Final score: Collingwood 17.9 (111); Essendon 16.15 (111)
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Pts | |
| Collingwood | 6.1 | 7.3 | 14.7 | 17.9 | 111 |
| Essendon | 6.4 | 9.7 | 11.11 | 16.15 | 111 |
BEST - Collingwood: Rocca, Crosisca, Buckley, B.James, McGuane, Williams Essendon: Misiti, Cockatoo-Collins, Olarenshaw, Long, Symons, O'Donnell
GOALS - Collingwood: Rocca 9; B.James 3; Brerton, Buckley, McGuane, Walker, Williams Essendon: Cockatoo-Collins 3; Fletcher, Mercuri, Somerville, Symons 2; Hird, Misiti, O'Donnell, Olarenshaw, Young
ATTENDANCE: 94,825 at the MCG
The Collingwood 'brains trust', coach Leigh Matthews (left) with runner, and his eventual successor in the post, Tony Shaw.
'The Herald Sun' called it "one of the most enthralling matches in memory" and "two hours of pulsating theatre", noting that "while the premiership may be the ultimate prize in football, home and away matches have a habit of upstaging grand finals for their intensity, passion and relentless pursuit of victory" (see footnote 3). So emotional were Collingwood's players and match staff after the game that coach Leigh Matthews allowed them to indulge themselves in a rendition of the club song, normally reserved for celebrating wins. "You deserve it," he remarked. "We didn't win completely outright, Essendon won, too. You can say we both lost or we both won, you can please yourself. We'll go with we both won" (see footnote 4).
Matthews' words may have made little sense, but they somehow served as the perfect postscript to a day on which emotions overrode logic, and, for two hours or so, a trivial ball game acted as a focus for the sentiments and aspirations of a nation. Moreover, on a day which commemorates, as much as anything else, heroic failure, it was archly fitting that there were no victors.
An hour before the game Matthews had grouped his players in the centre circle. It was as much a point about focus as anything else.
As the Essendon players left the field after the game, the Collingwood players again congregated in the centre circle.
The day might have started and finished in the same place for Collingwood both in locality and on the scoreboard, but at the end of the experience they were a long way advanced. (See footnote 5)
(Nathan) Buckley said the Collingwood players came together at the centre circle before and after the game to help develop team spirit. "Win, lose or draw we wanted to go back to the centre circle and be able to look each other in the eye," he said. ".....the 21 blokes who were out there, to say we had a go. We were able to do that." (See footnote 6)
And the final word:
As trite as it sounds, it was football that took the points. (See footnote 7)
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1. The Winter Game by Robert Pascoe, page 92. Return to Main Text
2. Ibid., page 92. Return to Main Text
3. 'Herald Sun', 26/4/95. Return to Main Text
4. 'The Australian', 26/4/95, page 32. Return to Main Text
5. Ibid., page 32. Return to Main Text
6. 'Herald Sun', 26/4/05, page 2. Return to Main Text
7. 'The Age', 26/4/05, page 30. Return to Main Text
