sport news Is football cashing in on Anzac Day? Calls for The Last Post to be AXED from ... trends now
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There are calls for the iconic rendition of The Last Post to be scrapped from AFL matches because it has become a 'gimmick' that is losing its value.
Old rivals Collingwood and Essendon have dueled in the annual Anzac Day match at the MCG since 1995.
It was the brainchild of then Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy who had also served in the Australian Army during his playing days for Richmond.
The first match attracted 94,825 footy fans, a figure that remains the second-highest home-and-away crowd in VFL/AFL history.
It is a fixture that is regularly sold out well in advance and an iconic moment on the AFL calendar.
The annual AFL Anzac Day match between Essendon and Collingwood has been a fixture since 1995 after former Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy suggested it
The Last Post bugle call has become an iconic part of the commemoration for fallen soldiers before the AFL Anzac Day match
Since 1995, the commemorations and playing of The Last Post has expanded to all AFL matches played across the round
However since 1995, the Anzac Day match has expanded to become an Anzac Round, with teams all paying tribute to fallen soldiers in rituals before every game of the round.
It has also expanded to the NRL, with the Sydney Roosters and the St. George Illawarra Dragons playing for the Anzac Day Cup since 2002.
The New Zealand Warriors and Melbourne Storm have also played on Anzac Day since 2009 with the exception of 2015 when the Kiwis hosted the Gold Coast Titans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings.
Before each of these games in the AFL and the NRL, The Last Post bugle call
