THE SERVICE history of more than 2500 VFL players, including 160 who gave their lives in action, is detailed in the book Harder Than Football, which has had a new revised edition released as the AFL competition reaches the Anzac Day round.

Renowned historian Barbara Cullen spent more than two decades tracking the records of players who enlisted for Australia in times of conflict.

Cullen, OAM, a curator for the Sydney Swans Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club and previously the curator at the Essendon Football Club’s Hall of Fame, outlines stories of resilience, survival, bravery and sacrifice that so succinctly display the ‘Aussie spirit’.

In her introduction, she writes: “The players who served are representative of our community—they were labourers and clerks and teachers and surgeons and barristers. They had ranks from Private to Major General and everything in between. Most importantly they were loved sons, husbands, brothers—and even grandparents—whose service had a lasting effect upon their families.”

Harder Than Football—VFL Players in Times of War was first published in 2015 before this latest update, with the foreword again supplied by Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend Kevin Sheedy, himself a returned serviceman.

“War is harder than football, so much harder. We need to keep reminding people of that, not just to honour the promise made to those who have made great sacrifices, but in the hope that we will convince future generations that war is to be avoided at all cost. Sadly, sometimes it just can’t be avoided. When that happens, mostly young people, mostly living ordinary, happy lives, are asked to make a stand on our behalf.

“I forever stand in awe of how little these brave people seek in return.”

The revised edition of Harder Than Football—VFL Players in Times of War is available from Slattery Media for $40