During World War I Australian rules footballers enlisted and fought for the Empire against other empires. While there, they played football wherever they could. One match, in particular, stands out in history; that of the Pioneer Exhibition Game in 1916, where a mix of the top footballers in uniform played a match in London to help the war efforts.

The Game of their lives covers this match but spends much more time covering the lives (and deaths) of some of the key players in this match, such as South Melbourne’s Bruce Sloss, Norwood’s Charles Perry and Carl Willis of University and South Melbourne fame, and the War itself, specifically Gallipoli and the Western Front.

It seems that the identities of all the players that participated in the Pioneer Exhibition Game will remain forever unknown but The Game of their lives is a fine epitaph for them. ( )

During the first World War, in 1916, two teams of Australian soldiers played an Australian Rules football match in London. It was the first time the Australian game of football had been played outside of Australia. In this book the author explores the origin of this match, its symbolism and its role as a military recruiting exercise.
Reviewed in: History News: Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Issue no.333, November 2017, p.14.