It is one of the most important fixtures for Fremantle and this year’s Len Hall Tribute Game has extra significance.
Saturday’s game is the 20th hosted by the club and coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.
It is named in honour of Gallipoli veteran Len Hall, the last surviving Western Australian to have stepped foot on the Turkish battlefield, until his death in 1999.
Len Hall lived to 101 but was just 19 when he boarded a ship headed for Turkey.
When he departed he was the same age as Freo youngsters Lachie Weller and Ed Langdon.
It is a daunting thought.
He was born on May 9 1897, remarkably – just a day after the first ever round of the VFL.
He was part of the infamous Battle of the Nek in which 879 diggers were killed, many by machine gunners positioned on the steep Turkish hilltops.
In 1917, he was part of the legendary charge by the Light Horse Brigade of the Desert Mounted Corps and in 1918 he rode with the iconic Lawrence of Arabia to help liberate Damascus.
The Len Hall Tribute Match is this Saturday 25 April at Domain Stadium with bounce down at 6.45pm.
