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E. J. Whitten Legends Game

Victoria
Sport	Australian rules football
Type	Charity event
First meeting	1996
Latest meeting	2019
Broadcasters	Seven Network (as at 2019)
Statistics
Most wins	Victoria (12)
Largest victory	All-Stars – 24 points (2015)
Largest goal scoring	Victoria, All-Stars – 275 points (2019)
Longest win streak	Victoria – 3 games (2012–2014)
Current win streak	Victoria – 1 game (2019)

The E. J. Whitten Legends Game was an annual charity all-star Australian rules football match played in Australia. Retired star players were reunited, along with selected non-footballing celebrities, in a State of Origin interstate game between Victoria and a composite side known as the All-Stars. The game was contested annually from 1996 to 2019 and played under Superules.

Originally a sporting contest attracting interest from spectators, in later years it became a form of sports entertainment. Despite increasing celebrity appearances, scripting and manipulated outcomes, increasing efforts to entertain a television audience were met by dwindling crowds and public interest.

History

E. J. "Ted" Whitten, a former Footscray Football Club player who died of prostate cancer in 1995, was regarded as one of the greatest-ever players of the game. He was also passionate about State of Origin football. With his enthusiasm and ability to keep in the media spotlight, Ted had kept State of Origin going for many years, and his emotional farewell at the Victoria vs South Australia game at the MCG in 1995 has persisted as an enduring symbol of not only State of Origin passion but Australian rules football in general. Shortly after his death, the concept was brought into question, and the last such game was played in 1999.

When he died, his son, Ted Whitten Jr., launched a foundation for research into prostate cancer, and the Legends Game raises money for the foundation.

The first-ever Legends Match was played at the Western Oval, home of the Footscray/Western Bulldogs, EJ Whitten's club. Most of the games have been televised free-to-air in Victoria and South Australia. Due to popularity of the event, later games were moved to bigger venues. Since 2003, the game has been held at Docklands Stadium.

In 2007, the organisers included female participants for the first time: Daisy Pearce and Shannon McFerran of the Victorian Women's Football League. Since then, it has become one of few high-profile mixed-gender-friendly events.

In February 2016, it was announced that the Seven Network had secured the rights to televise this match for the next five years; in addition, the match was moved to the football-free weekend between the final round of the premiership season and the first week of the finals series.

In 2018, the match was played at Adelaide Oval. This was the first game played in Adelaide since 1999.

In 2019, the match was contested under the AFLX format—a high-scoring format played on a rugby-sized field—and was played at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

The match was not held in 2020–2021 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and since 2022 there has been no indication that the match will return in the future.

Financial controversy

On average, the foundation was raising A$1.2 million per year for the five years prior to 2016, for a total of more than A$13.5 million by 2019, but it was alleged in court that most of the money raised was being exhausted on expenses during much of this period. For example, in the 2015/16 financial year, the foundation raised A$1.3 million but were only $125,883 in net profit for the year. Worse still, it was determined that Baker Smith Management, who were in charge of running the foundation, were found to have only profited less than $100,000 per year during this 5-year period, and Baker Smith Management's contract was subsequently not renewed.

Highlights

The game itself is a tongue-in-cheek affair, with games often involving non-football-related celebrities such as the comedy duo Hamish & Andy; the comedian Russell Gilbert, known in the games for his comical on-field antics; and the fictional character Bryan "Strauchanie" Strauchan, played by Peter Helliar. The game is frequently manipulated by the players, timekeepers, and field umpires in order to make for an exciting conclusion. Because of this, the average winning margin is only 7 points, including 5 draws, and official betting is disallowed.

The series has featured many memorable highlights over the years, including Stauchanie's various antics, usually involving staging for a free kick; a 75-metre barrel from Jimmy Bartel that resulted in a 10-point super goal; Jonathan Brown kicking a difficult pocket goal after the siren due to the umpire "not hearing the siren" (possibly a reference to sirengate); Anthony Rocca turning back the clock with a massive torpedo goal from inside the centre square; Russell Gilbert changing his guernsey to the opposite team's late in the game to score a goal for the other team (which became a running gag); Derek Kickett kicking the ball over his head from the right forward pocket for an unlikely goal; and Craig Hutchison's so-called "greatest goal in AFL history" in 2011 that involved selling candy to a mooning Ryan Fitzgerald before kicking a banana goal from nearly 40 metres out, which has since garnered more than 1.8 million views on YouTube alone.

Match results

Wins: All-Stars: 11, Victoria: 12, Draws: 1 (4 drawn at the final siren, of which kick-offs decided 3)

Biggest Win: All-Stars by 24 points in 2015.

Highest Score: All-Stars and Victoria (275), both in 2019.

Lowest Score: All-Stars and Victoria (38), both in the drawn 2000 match.

Most Man of the Matches: John Platten 2 (All-Stars), Matthew Lloyd 2 (Victoria)

References

1. South Australia’s Abbey Holmes is happy to tackle the blokes in EJ Whitten Legends match by Scott Walsh for Adelaide Now 14 June 2014
2. Guthrie, Ben (16 February 2016). "Channel Seven, AFL unite to broadcast EJ Whitten Legends Game". Australian Football League. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
3. X, Mr (31 August 2016). "EJ Whitten Legends Game teams announced" (PDF). Australian Football League. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
4. Gaskin, Lee (31 August 2018). "All Stars get revenge in legendary style". AFL Media. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
5. "Get ready for 'EJX': Legends game gets new format and new home". Australian Football League. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
6. Cherny, Daniel (9 August 2022). "EJ Whitten Legends match will not go ahead in 2022". Code Sports. News Corporation Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
7. "EJ Whitten Legends Game forced to be canned again as Hall of Fame details emerge". Fox Sports. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
8. "EJ Whitten Legends find new home at AAMI Park". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
9. Hatch, Patrick (4 March 2017). "Sacked EJ Whitten Foundation boss sues charity". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
10. Pierik, Mark Hawthorne and Jon (16 February 2016). "Channel Seven secures rights to EJ Whitten Legends game". The Age. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
11. AFL - EJ Whitten Legends Game No.1: Strauchanie goals | Facebook, retrieved 17 September 2021
12. BEST AND FUNNIEST MOMENTS - AFL EJ Whitten Matches, 20 October 2020, retrieved 17 September 2021
13. BEST AND FUNNIEST MOMENTS - AFL EJ Whitten Matches, 20 October 2020, retrieved 17 September 2021
14. EJ Whitten Foundation - E.J. Legends Game Memorable Moments No. 3 - A. Rocca Torp | Facebook, retrieved 17 September 2021
15. Russell Gilbert EJ Legends game 2015, 30 June 2015, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 17 September 2021
16. BEST AND FUNNIEST MOMENTS - AFL EJ Whitten Matches, 20 October 2020, retrieved 17 September 2021
17. GREATEST GOAL IN AFL HISTORY, 6 July 2011, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 17 September 2021
18. EJ Whitten Legends Game : EJ Whittens Legend Game Archived 15 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
19. "Record Breaking Crowd at the Ray White EJ Whitten Legends Game". Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
20. Fevola lights up Legends game | AFL | Fox Sports

External links

• E. J. Whitten Legends Game official website
• Ray White Group official website

• Cancer fundraisers
• All-star games
• Australian rules football games
• Annual sporting events in Australia
• Australian rules football competitions in Australia
• Seven Sport