Pride. Spirit. Courage.

Those three traits clearly permeated through the ranks of Australian troops when on the battlefields in major conflicts, starting with World War I.

Annually at this time we reflect on the sacrifices of service personnel through the last century. It’s impossible to truly visualise what they faced on the beaches of Gallipoli in the Great War, the jungles of New Guinea in WWII or Vietnam or more recently in the stifling heat and sand dunes of the middle east.

We have relied on grainy vision and of stories from diggers who did make it home, to get a sense of what it might have been like.

Of young men and women putting their lives on the line for their country. Venturing to places far flung, places they had never previously heard of, in the name of freedom.

Today, as a nation, we paused, reflected and acknowledged their bravery. We lined the streets of major cities and lauded those service personnel - or their descendants – as we paid respect for sacrifices made during ANZAC Day commemorations.

Across this round of fixtures in the AFL we also use our national code – Australian football – to draw inspiration from them.

Not that there is any comparison to the engagements on the Western Front or any other war time confrontation, but the game is committed to the on-going respect of those who gave their all. To ensure their legacy prevails.

A group of West Coast Eagles players and staff attended a dawn service at the Town of Victoria Park on Thursday morning and the entire squad was then privileged to hear from Lieutenant Colonel James McMahon, a former SAS commander and Deputy Chair of the Football Club.

Captain Liam Duggan, who laid a wreath at the Town of Victoria Park ceremony, talked of how poignant both of those interactions was and how the players might be able to carry some of those messages through to Sunday’s clash with Gold Coast.