The 100th anniversary of the Anzacs. My brother and I both with defence force service, purchase tickets to our first AFL game together. We get seats on the fence, on the 50m line. The rain started and dispersed the less passionate but my brother and I arm in arm as the national anthem silences the stadium. The silence ends with the siren and the roar of the crowd shakes the stands, 95,000 people joined in applause and cheering for our countries anthem. The game starts, 3 minutes in, the ball comes to Jamie Elliot, he's chasing the ball, running along the boundary. My brother and I standing in our Anzac Day jerseys hanging on the fence, Elliot gets the ball, bombers defenders in hot pursuit, he steps out, lines up the sticks and kicks a miracle goal over the boundary line 50m out, 2m from where we are standing, screaming! What a way to kick off our first Anzac Day clash, first AFL game together and what was to us and many other veterans a day of mass celebration! I'll never forget the roar of the crowd on that moment!

Born into Collingwood at born after my father Alan, he took me to my first game when I was 4. I'm now 36 years old and a 30 year member. The bond we share supporting Collingwood is unbreakable even now when I've moved interstate. The memory that always sits with me is attending the 2023 Grand Final together. Our first premiership together in the flesh. He suffered a heart attack in September 2010 and couldn't attend the 2010 Grand Final with me. 2018 was our first Grand Final we attended together and we thought that would finally be our moment together but sadly we were left waiting. Dad had been to so many of our losing Grand Finals growing up and spent the 1990 Premiership at home with me as a one year old. As he was starting to reach his 70s I thought a premiership together might evade us but fortunately 2023 was our moment and it is something we'll both never forget. The embrace and tears on the final siren, a culmination of years of magic moments together, finally reaching the pinnacle together.

I did the Jamie Elliott celebration in Round 24 2023 against Essendon and ended up on the TV. Collingwood Twitter socials put me up and called it the "visual depiction of our 19th player". Pretty stoked to be a depiction of the 19th man!