Carlton and St Kilda gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance on Thursday to acknowledge 100 days until the ANZAC Day Centenary clash in Wellington, New Zealand.
The Round Four AFL match on Saturday, April 25 will honour two past players killed on the first day of the Gallipoli battle – Fenley McDonald (Carlton) and Claude Crowl (St Kilda).
Both men are believed to have died on April 25, 1915 when the ANZACs first stormed the beach at Gallipoli. Their bodies were never found.
Speaking to SEN, Carlton CEO Steven Trigg said the attachment that football has to ANZAC Day has left him "speechless".
"With the myriad of other stories that surround football's involvement with the conflict…it's such a humbling thing for us to be involved in (on) that day," said Trigg.
"I think it's just wonderful for our Club, (and) for our tribe to be involved in."
With just six weeks remaining until the Blues' kick off their AFL NAB Challenge campaign against West Coast, Trigg so far said Carlton's pre-season has been successful.
"Genuinely there is a really positive tone about the way that our training is going," Trigg said.
"The numbers on the track (compared), to this time last year, I'm told reliably that there were 20 plus bouts of surgery – meaning that we had 12 or 14 players off the track at this time last year…so training is going really well."
Five months into his new appointment at Visy Park, Trigg said he's thoroughly enjoying his new home.
"I'm loving it," said Trigg.
"The reach of Carlton – the breadth of support is probably beyond what I thought…it's extraordinary.
"A really central part of what we are trying to do is bringing people back inside the tent, if you like…Because there is such wonderful support, if we can get it right, then the Club can grow again, and grow very quickly."
