E. J. Whitten Legends Game

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. Soon after his death, the popularity of interstate football waned, 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.

On average, the event was raising A$1.2 million revenue per year for the five years prior to 2016, with in the order of $100,000 profit for the foundation. In 2016, the Seven Network secured the rights to televise the match from 2016 to 2020, and 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 from 2022 to 2024, there was no indication that the match would return in the future.

The game returned as the Four 'N Twenty Legends Game for Prostate Cancer, in a similar format to previous years. The game saw a series-record attendance of 31,320 and led to the hospitalisation of comedian Dave Hughes after he was physically targeted by other players and suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung.

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 Strauchanie'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 1.9 million views on YouTube alone.

Match results

Wins: All-Stars: 11, Victoria: 13, 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

References

1. [https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/south-australias-abbey-holmes-is-happy-to-tackle-the-blokes-in-ej-whitten-legends-match/news-story/7cd15cb2772f9c1936dbb95cbd2d1f34 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. Hatch, Patrick. (2017-03-04). "Sacked EJ Whitten Foundation boss sues charity".
3. Pierik, Mark Hawthorne and Jon. (2016-02-16). "Channel Seven secures rights to EJ Whitten Legends game".
4. Guthrie, Ben. (16 February 2016). "Channel Seven, AFL unite to broadcast EJ Whitten Legends Game". [[Australian Football League]].
5. X, Mr. (31 August 2016). "EJ Whitten Legends Game teams announced". [[Australian Football League]].
6. (31 August 2018). "All Stars get revenge in legendary style". AFL Media.
7. (25 July 2019). "Get ready for 'EJX': Legends game gets new format and new home". [[Australian Football League]].
8. (9 August 2022). "EJ Whitten Legends match will not go ahead in 2022". News Corporation Australia.
9. "Cyril Rioli and Gary Ablett Jnr return to footy". SEN.
10. (2025-08-29). "'He couldn't breathe': Dave Hughes ends up in hospital after AFL Legends game". ABC News.
11. "AFL - EJ Whitten Legends Game No.1: Strauchanie goals {{!}} Facebook".
12. (20 October 2020). "BEST AND FUNNIEST MOMENTS - AFL EJ Whitten Matches".
13. (20 October 2020). "BEST AND FUNNIEST MOMENTS - AFL EJ Whitten Matches".
14. "EJ Whitten Foundation - E.J. Legends Game Memorable Moments No. 3 - A. Rocca Torp {{!}} Facebook".
15. (30 June 2015). "Russell Gilbert EJ Legends game 2015".
16. (20 October 2020). "BEST AND FUNNIEST MOMENTS - AFL EJ Whitten Matches".
17. (6 July 2011). "GREATEST GOAL IN AFL HISTORY".
18. [http://www.ejwhittenlegendsgame.com.au/home.asp EJ Whitten Legends Game : EJ Whittens Legend Game] {{webarchive. link. (15 June 2007)
19. "Record Breaking Crowd at the Ray White EJ Whitten Legends Game".
20. [http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/the-brendan-fevola-show-returns-to-melbourne-as-the-fallen-star-lights-up-the-ej-whitten-legends-game/story-e6frf3e3-1226416329951 Fevola lights up Legends game. AFL. Fox Sports]
21. (2025-08-28). "Cyril Rioli’s unthinkable pre-game gesture floors greats: ‘Really?’".