Saturday 11 May will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Richard Pratt Cup as the Blues and Pies battle it out on the MCG to raise awareness for prostate cancer in Australia.

In 2009, the Pratt Foundation and both Carlton and Collingwood hosted the inaugural fixture in honour of the late Richard Pratt, who lost his battle with prostate cancer earlier that year.

Pratt was a former player, committeeman, major donor and president of the Carlton Football Club.


Carlton and Collingwood will battle it out for the 10th Richard Pratt Cup on Saturday. (Photo: Carlton Media)

The match is played in honour of Pratt but also to highlight the importance of early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

A key feature of the match is the 30-second applause pre game, recognising that one male in Australia is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 30 minutes.

To this point, there are no proven measures to prevent prostate cancer, with early detection and treatment significantly improving Australian males’ chances of beating prostate cancer.

The statistics for Australian men are eye-opening.

Prostate cancer facts

- Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in men in Australia
- 48 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each day in Australia
- 17,728 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed in Australia last year
- Tragically, each year in Australia, close to 3,500 men die of prostate cancer - equal to the number of women who die from breast cancer annually. 

The Pratt Foundation established a fellowship in 2011, aiming to identify significantly improved treatment for sufferers of prostate cancer.

Every year since, the foundation has committed $100,000 to an individual applicant who is conducting translational research in prostate cancer with the match-raising funds going towards the fellowship.

This will be the 10th match for the Richard Pratt Cup, since the first game in 2009. There was no match in 2017 as Carlton didn’t host the Pies due to the fixture.