This weekend, Gold Coast Football Club plays an Anzac weekend away game against North Melbourne-aligned Werribee Tigers in Melbourne.

The following day, the entire playing group will attend the traditional Anzac Day fixture between age-old rivals Essendon and Collingwood.

GCFC Senior Coach Guy McKenna says the Anzac occasion represents an important opportunity for players to reflect on their lives and to remember an important part of Australia’s history.

“Sometimes people like to talk about sacrifice in the context of what the boys have to give up to pursue a career as a footballer. But nothing they do compares to the sacrifices of the people we remember on Anzac Day. Footballers don’t make sacrifices. They make choices. But many of us have fathers or grandfathers who made genuine sacrifices and in some cases made the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good of their country.”

He says players have an opportunity to honour the occasion by giving their all.

“I know we are only playing football here, but I think Anzac weekend football is [the players’] way of saluting some pretty special community members who’ve given an extraordinary amount.”

McKenna is no stranger to football on Anzac Day. During his lengthy stretch as an assistant coach under Mick Malthouse at Collingwood, he experienced five Anzac Day clashes.

“Mick was very much a student of war history and was very quick to use analogies to describe the sort of effort he expected,” McKenna says. “Mates working for mates for a common objective. Making sure everyone understood their specific role and that if they didn’t play their role to the letter the whole machine would grind to a halt. Without a ruckman, we won’t have a stoppage structure, and without a stoppage structure, we won’t win the ball. Without midfielders at the ruckman’s feet, the ruckman’s effort will be wasted. That sort of thing.”

He says the rivalry that existed between the two clubs was a huge motivational factor at first. It’s understandable, too. A marquee event. A 90,000 plus crowd at the MCG. Two old, proud and competitive clubs.

But, he says, over time the overt emotion of the occasion gave way to a more reflective motivation to do well.

“In the end you want to do well for your team mates and you want your effort to salute the memories of those fallen and the spirit of the day. Doing your absolute best is how you want to respect the tradition of the occasion.”