Storm unveil 'dazzling' ANZAC Round Jersey
Melbourne Storm are honoured to share the commemorative ANZAC Round jersey they will don for their upcoming ANZAC Day clash against the Rabbitohs at AAMI Park.
In 2024, continuing the Club’s ‘Made for Melbourne’ mantra, the design highlights the city’s iconic Shrine of Remembrance and has been curated in collaboration with the Shrine, ensuring accuracy and respect for Victoria’s servicemen and women.
This year, the jersey features a striking zig-zag pattern, combining Storm’s purple and navy. If you think the pattern is random, you would actually be correct.
Melbourne’s Shrine is surrounded by four courtyards, each with jagged walls representing the sporadic nature of the trenches soldiers would dig. Similar to a game of battleship, the nature of the trenches ensured safety through on-ground combat – if opposing forces hit one area, the haphazard design made it harder to target the remainder of the trench.
Furthermore, the Shrine’s ‘education’ courtyard features paving recreating a famous evasive camouflage used by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) throughout both World Wars - the ‘dazzle’ camouflage.
Invented by Englishman Norman Wilkinson, the intent of the dazzle was not to hide but rather to make it difficult for the enemy’s rangefinders to determine the vehicle’s type, speed, and course with certainty. A tactic sure to be deployed by the NRL squad on field.
The HMAS Melbourne, alongside other RAN ships, was covered in the design with no two ship’s dazzle schemes the same on both port and starboard. The pattern also calls back to Storm’s iconic lightning bolt.
The ANZAC Round jersey retains the ‘V’ across the chest as a homage to the Club's traditional home jersey. For the commemorative round, the ‘V’ and corresponding bands around the sleeves have been switched from yellow to bronze, representing the hundreds of medals dedicated to Victorian veterans now housed by the Shrine.
Like former years, the jersey features ‘Lest We Forget’ and rosemary on the back of the neck and a traditional red poppy on the sternum.
The phrase ‘Lest We Forget’ comes from a line in Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 poem ‘Recessional’ and is used as an expression of mourning for the sacrifices of fallen servicemen and women. Rosemary is an ancient symbol of fidelity and remembrance. It also grows on the Gallipoli peninsula where ANZAC’s first broke ground in WW1.
The symbolism of the red poppy originated from WW1 as they were among the first plants to grow on the wasted battlefields of the Western Front in Europe. They have since become a symbol of growth and remembrance.
The ANZAC Appeal logo will also feature on the left side of the jersey.
To own Storm’s 2024 ANZAC Round Jersey, visit the Storm Store online.
To learn more about the history of the ‘dazzle’ camouflage, visit the resources below.
The Rise and Fall of Dazzle Camouflage
When the British Wanted to Camouflage Their Warships, They Made Them Dazzle
Make sure to secure your seat to the historic match, here. For more information on redeeming your membership ticket, visit our member hub.
