ANZAC Day footy, Moore than just a game

Most Australians honour ANZAC Day with traditional morning ceremonies. But for 95,179 live fans and over 1 million watching on TV chose to honour ANZAC Day differently (Inside 7, 2023).

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In the second highest attended game of the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season, fans chose to tune into the annual ANZAC Day game this year between Collingwood and Essendon.

After trailing Essendon by 28 points in the third quarter, Collingwood scored seven goals to win in the most improbable of circumstances.

The Rising Star of 2021, Nick Daicos, provided a stellar performance, gathering 40 disposals and two goals to secure the win for Collingwood and the ANZAC Day medal for his own performance.

Fans were engrossed for the duration of the game, however before any sirens sounded to start the game, the AFL provided a traditional service of their own for fans.

Collingwood have developed a habit of coming back when the situation looks most dire, recording their 14th victory of under 15 points, in just their last 22 games.

After accepting the Simpson-Henderson Trophy, honouring both an Australian and a New Zealand ANZAC who fought in the war, Darcy Moore, 27 presented a speech to fans as the captain of the winning team.

"No matter whether you wear the black and white stripes or the red sash, this game is about so much more than the four points," Moore said.

After honouring the ANZACs, Moore ended his speech saying: "it's a real honour for us to run out here and play our game in honour of you and your service. So to the families of those who have served, thank you so much."

The pre-match ceremony also honoured families and the fallen with the Last Post, a minute's silence, and performances of both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems.

Despite an enthralling contest between the teams, it was the gravity of ANZAC Day, the AFL's pre-match ceremony and Darcy Moore's post-match speech that conveyed that sport was the second most important thing that occurred on April 25th, 2023.