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AFL 2023 DREAMTIME AT THR G TICKETS - ESSENDON V RICHMOND

About

Dreamtime at the 'G is an annual AFL match between Essendon and Richmond played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The name of the match comes from the Aboriginal term "Dreamtime" and "the 'G", a nickname for the MCG where the match takes place. Since the 2007 season the match has been held annually on the Saturday night of the AFL's "Indigenous Round", also known as the Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

The game draws one of the highest crowds of the home-and-away season, with an average crowd of over 70,000 since its inception and a record attendance of 85,656 in 2017. The winning club is awarded the "Kevin Sheedy Cup" and the best player on the ground is awarded the "Yiooken Award".

History

Dreamtime at the 'G was first held in 2005, with the aim being to recognise the contribution of all Indigenous players to the AFL. It was held during NAIDOC Week. From 2006, the Yiooken Award has been awarded to the player judged best on ground in the match.

In 2007, following the success of the Dreamtime at the 'G match in 2005 and 2006, the AFL nominated a specific Indigenous Round (round 9) which has become an annual event in which the Dreamtime at the 'G match takes centre stage. The success of the annual match, which now usually features crowds in excess of 80,000, led to the two clubs agreeing to cement the match's official status for an additional decade in May 2016.

From 2016, the Indigenous Round was named after Sir Doug Nicholls, the only AFL player to have been knighted and serve as a state governor. Each year, each player in all 18 clubs wears a specially-commissioned artwork by an Indigenous artist on their guernsey. In 2019, former Essendon player Michael Long was honoured at this round.

In 2020, the match was played at TIO Stadium in Darwin, as it was not possible for the match to be played in Melbourne due to the city being locked down during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable matches

  • Round 6, 2006 saw Richmond escape with a two-point victory over Essendon after Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls scored the match winning behind with minutes remaining in the final quarter.

  • Round 9, 2007: With just under five minutes remaining, Richmond had a 12-point lead, which was pulled back by Essendon to level the match at 84-apiece (Richmond 12.12.(84) – Essendon 11.18.(84)). Tigers full-forward Matthew Richardson thought he had kicked the match winning goal but it was pulled back, and a fifty-metre penalty was awarded, after Richardson had pushed his opponent in the back prior to kicking the goal. Essendon kicked the last 1.2.(8) of the match to win the game by eight points and deny Richmond what would have been their first win of the 2007 season.

  • Round 13, 2020 was notable due to the unique circumstances under which the game took place as a result of the stage four COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne which prevented the match from being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. For this edition only, the match was played at Marrara Oval in Darwin, with Richmond winning by twelve points and Shai Bolton, who designed the guernsey the Richmond players wore in this match, winning the Yiooken Medal as best-on-ground.

The Long Walk


The match is associated with the pre-game commemoration events organised by The Long Walk, a charity inspired by Indigenous former Essendon player Michael Long, who walked halfway from Melbourne to Canberra in 2004 to get the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people back on the national agenda. (He halted his walk after then Prime Minister John Howard agreed to talk to him.)

On the day of the Dreamtime game, The Long Walk holds a community celebration featuring entertainment and activities as well as community organisation information stalls. Prior to the Dreamtime match, Long and several thousand other participants walk from Federation Square to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to promote reconciliation. In 2013, over 15,000 participants walked to the MCG. The walk has grown in stature and size, and in 2016 was attended by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten.