Mike Brady’s ‘Up There Cazaly’ may be engrained as football’s unofficial soundtrack, however Aussie music great Pete Murray will be bringing a new and moving anthem of his own to the table as Spud’s Game moves to the big stage.

Murray is set to perform an abridged version of his fan-favourite track Better Days as part of Thursday’s pre-game; a song that speaks openly to his own experiences with mental health.

The 17-time ARIA Award nominee will be joined at the centre of the MCG by representatives from all 18 AFL clubs in a united stance to promote better mental health outcomes for the community, including icons of the game Matthew Pavlich, Paddy Ryder and Neil Balme.

“Better Days was written when I was going through some really hard times. It was written to inspire myself to get through these hardships that I was experiencing,” Murray said.

“I always had this understanding that things will get better, if I keep going it’s not going to get as bad as it is… it will get better. I kept telling myself that no matter how hard things became, they will always get better and when they did, I would be in a position to help others. 

“That song is really about knowing that you will get through these hard times. I’m lucky I had that positive outlook for that… a lot of other guys don’t have that and that’s where I hope a song like Better Days will really help someone.

“In the past I’ve had lots of people tell me that it’s saved their life. To me, there’s no greater compliment than a song where its lyrics can save someone’s life.”

As has been the case for the past iterations of Spud’s Game, the start of the match will be delayed by two minutes to encourage the proactive conversations surrounding mental health; a cause incredibly close to the late Danny Frawley’s heart.

“In the past people have been embarrassed about speaking up. I don’t know why, it’s hard to understand that, but that’s what they deal with,” Murray said.

“People are there, people want to help and this game is great to keep drawing awareness to everybody about that. I feel very honoured to be part of it.”

Read this article in this week's Spud's Game edition of the AFL Record, available at the MCG on Thursday night!