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NRL match officials gained a greater appreciation of ANZAC Day after participating in a parade with veterans and touring a museum displaying membership badges to the exclusive “Caterpillar Club”.

The NRL’s elite officiating squad took part in the parade and a commemoration ceremony at RSL Lifecare’s Narrabeen ANZAC Village before visiting the museum and playing lawn bowls with veterans of World War II and more recent conflicts.

“Some of the referees would have links to service but for those who don’t I think the opportunity to meet the veterans and hear how much of a significant role their sacrifice played in our nation’s history would help them understand why ANZAC Round is a bit different to other rounds,” RSL Lifecare GM of Veterans Services, Justin Donnelly, said.

“A lot of the residents have essentially lived the experiences that we are commemorating. You have got veterans who are 100-plus years old, and you can only imagine some of the things they have gone through in their service.”

NRL match officials took part in a parade and commemoration at RSL Lifecare ANZAC Village in Narrabeen ahead of ANZAC Round.
NRL match officials took part in a parade and commemoration at RSL Lifecare ANZAC Village in Narrabeen ahead of ANZAC Round.

Residents of the ANZAC Village have created a museum which contains items from their personal collections, including a "Caterpillar Club" membership awarded to service personnel who successfully returned after being trapped behind enemy lines.

“The museum is curated mostly from all the stuff of current and former residents of the village," Donnelly said.

“There is a display called 'The Caterpillar Club', and it has this tiny little pin of a caterpillar that you were only awarded if your aircraft was shot down in enemy territory and you were able to crawl your way back.

“It is like a step back in time because these people have walked the walk, and their stuff is on display for everyone to see and understand.”

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The Inspiring Story of Lance Corporal Spencer Walklate

NRL match officials have developed a relationship with RSL Lifecare through leading referee Gerard Sutton, whose great grandfather was shot in the arm while fighting on the western front in WW1 and returned to the trenches as a stretcher bearer because he could no longer fire a rifle.

Sutton is a volunteer with RSL Lifecare's Spur Ranch equine program, which helps participants develop confidence, purpose and a sense of belonging through working with horses.

The officiating team gained an insight into the program's benefits during a visit to Spur Ranch in the lead up to last year's Anzac Round, while the NRL provided sponsorship for 10 veterans to experience a muster in Coonabarabran.

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Welcome to ANZAC Round 2025

“We are always looking in ANZAC Round for some touchstones to make a connection," said Sutton who wore his great grandfather's medals while driving a medical cart in the uniform of the Australian Light Horse brigade during the parade.

“We wear the jersey and experience the ceremonies on game day, so it is about getting that greater appreciation of what ANZAC Day means both historically and from a contemporary context by realising that there is a whole other generation of veterans.

“They aren’t necessarily old men from distant wars, we have got people from Afghanistan, Iraq and ongoing conflicts who are in our communities and need support.

NRL match officials at an ANZAC Day commemoration at RSL Lifecare's Spur Ranch.
NRL match officials at an ANZAC Day commemoration at RSL Lifecare's Spur Ranch.

“Within the ANZAC Village they also have Homes for Heroes, which is an outreach program that provides support and housing for veterans who would otherwise be homeless and be on the streets, and we were playing lawn bowls with some of those guys.

“It is a simple thing, but it was quite powerful for us to get that connection, so that you go into this weekend carrying a little bit more significance to it than you otherwise might.”

Rugby league’s connection with ANZAC Day includes former players who served in WWI and WWII, with the founding secretary of the NSWRL, Ted Larkin, among more than 8,000 Australians to lose their lives at Gallipoli.

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Get to know the NRL's Battlefields to Footy Fields program

The player-of-the-match in the annual ANZAC Day clash between Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra is awarded the Ashton-Collier Spirit of ANZAC Medal named after Dragons great Bill Collier and Roosters legend Ferris Ashton, who served in WWII.

The origins of State of Origin can be traced back to World War II as Australian troops in Papua New Guinea played a game between NSW and Queensland serviceman while waiting to return home after Japan’s surrender.

The trophy from the two-match series, made from a 120mm Japanese Naval shell casing with handles either side mounted on a three-tiered wooden base, resides in a Brisbane Army Museum.

“You have got that link to sport throughout our history so the way that the NRL actually takes the time and effort to commemorate a whole round for the ANZACs, and the jerseys that the teams come up with to showcase that, is something I get a personal kick out of as a veteran myself,” Donnelly said.

“There will often be the buglers and service personnel on the field too, so the presence of the match officials was genuinely appreciated and hopefully they got something out of it as well."