The Dreamtime at the 'G is an annual

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

match between

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

clubs and . Since the 2007 season the match has been held annually on the Saturday night of the AFL's "

Indigenous Round The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

", also known as the Sir Doug Nicholls Round. The name of the match comes from the Australian Aboriginal term "

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...

" and "the 'G", a nickname for the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

(MCG) where the match usually takes place; it has been played away from the ground on two occasions, when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

impacted football in Victoria. 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 (with the exception of rain-affected matches), 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 NAIDOC Week ( ) is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, which was originally National Aborigines Day ...

. 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 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 the only Aboriginal person or AFL player to 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 during this round. In 2020, the match was played at

TIO Stadium Marrara Oval, currently branded TIO Stadium under a naming rights agreement (and previously also known as Football Park), is a sports ground in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. The ground primarily hosts Australian rules ...

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

. In 2021, another COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria led to the AFL moving the fixture to

Optus Stadium Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Burswood. It was completed in late 2017 and officially opened on 21 January 2018. The s ...

in Perth.

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; the score was Richmond 12.12.(84) – Essendon 11.18.(84). Tigers full-forward Matthew Richardson thought he had kicked the match-winning goal, but a subsequent 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

lockdowns in Melbourne which prevented the match from being played at the

. The match was played at Marrara Oval in Darwin, with Richmond winning by twelve points.

Shai Bolton Shai Bolton ( ; born 8 December 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Richmond in the second round of the 2016 draft and made his ...

, who designed the guernsey the Richmond players wore in this match, won the Yiooken Medal for his best-on-ground performance. *Similar to the year before, the Round 12, 2021, match saw a relocation of the match from Melbourne due to a COVID-19 lockdown, this time to Optus Stadium in Perth. Despite losing the match by 39 points, Essendon player

Darcy Parish Darcy Parish (born 25 July 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Parish was born in Winchelsea, Victoria. He participated in the Auskick progr ...

won the Yiooken Medal for his record-breaking performance of 44 disposals. It was the most disposals in one match ever recorded by an Essendon player.

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 Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 2004 to get the lives of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

people back on the national agenda. He halted his walk after then Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

agreed to talk to him. On the day of the Dreamtime match, 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 Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...

to the

to promote

reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture * ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...

. 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 Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

and the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition ...

Curtain Raiser

A curtain-raiser match is sometimes held between two Indigenous football teams from around Australia and its territories.

Pre-match ceremony

Each year, the game is preceded by an extravagant indigenous-based music and entertainment show. Performers in 2008, for example, included Paul Kelly and

Kev Carmody Kevin Daniel Carmody (born 1946), better known by his stage name Kev Carmody, is an Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter and musician, a Murri man from northern Queensland. He is best known for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow", ...

Match results

, - style=";background:#ccf" , , Year , Date , , Home Team , , Away Team , , Ground , Crowd , Winner , , , , Yiooken Award Winner , Report , - style="background:#fff;" , ''1'' , style="text-align: center;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, 9/7 , 15 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 14.8 (92) , Essendon , 9.12 (66) ,

, 49,975 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !26 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , ''Not awarded'' , – , - style="background:#fff;" , ''2'' , style="text-align: center;",

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, 6/5 , 6 , Essendon , 13.17 (95) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 13.19 (97) ,

, 58,439 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !2 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Dean Polo Dean Polo (born 5 August 1986) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Playing career 2005–2010: Career with Richmond Po ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''3'' , style="text-align: center;", 2007 , 26/5 , 9 , Richmond , 12.12 (84) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Essendon , style="background:#ccffcc;", 12.20 (92) ,

, 61,837 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !8 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

James Hird James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but h ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''4'' , style="text-align: center;",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 24/5 , 9 , Essendon , 10.12 (72) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 16.14 (110) ,

, 60,333 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !38 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Nathan Foley () , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''5'' , style="text-align: center;",

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, 23/5 , 9 , Richmond , 12.13 (85) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Essendon , style="background:#ccffcc;", 19.11 (125) ,

, 73,625 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !40 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Jason Winderlich Jason Winderlich (born 10 October 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). AFL career Originally from Thorpdale, Victoria, he was drafte ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''6'' , style="text-align: center;",

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 23/5 , 9 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Essendon , style="background:#ccffcc;", 19.16 (130) , Richmond , 14.11 (95) ,

, 64,709 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !35 !W , div style="text-align: center;", 0 ,

David Hille David Hille (born 2 June 1981) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club. Early life In his senior year at high school, Hille and seven other schoolmates from Peninsula Grammar lodged themselves into a station ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''7'' , style="text-align: center;",

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 21/5 , 9 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 16.9 (105) , Essendon , 13.11 (89) ,

, 83,563 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !16 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Trent Cotchin Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist, an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''8'' , style="text-align: center;",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, 19/5 , 8 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Essendon , style="background:#ccffcc;", 19.14 (128) , Richmond , 15.19 (109) ,

, 80,900 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !19 !W , div style="text-align: center;", 0 ,

Brett Deledio Brett Edward Deledio (born 18 April 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played 243 games over 12 seasons with the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and a further 32 matches over three se ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''9'' , style="text-align: center;",

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, 25/5 , 9 , Richmond , 9.8 (62) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Essendon , style="background:#ccffcc;", 13.13 (91) ,

, 84,234 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !29 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Jobe Watson Jobe Watson (born 8 February 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Watson, the son of three-time Essendon premiership champion Tim Watson, w ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''10'' , style="text-align: center;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, 31/5 , 11 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Essendon , style="background:#ccffcc;", 15.14 (104) , Richmond , 7.12 (54) ,

, 74,664 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !50 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Brendon Goddard Brendon Goddard (born 20 May 1985) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and Essendon in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the St Kilda Football Club from 2003 to 2012, then with Essendo ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''11'' , style="text-align: center;",

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, 30/5 , 9 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 10.12 (72) , Essendon , 8.11 (59) ,

, 83,804 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !13 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Brandon Ellis Brandon Ellis (born 3 August 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 176 matches over eight seasons at , including in the 201 ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''12'' , style="text-align: center;",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, 28/5 , 10 , Essendon , 10.7 (67) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 16.9 (105) ,

, 56,948 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !38 !L , div style="text-align: center;", 0 ,

Dustin Martin Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 national draft, a ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''13'' , style="text-align: center;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, 27/5 , 10 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 11.15 (81) , Essendon , 10.6 (66) ,

, 85,656 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !15 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''14'' , style="text-align: center;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, 2/6 , 11 , Essendon , 6.7 (43) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 17.12 (114) ,

, 81,046 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !71 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Shane Edwards Shane Edwards (born 25 October 1988) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player, an All-Australian and has three tim ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''15'' , style="text-align: center;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, 25/5 , 10 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 10.13 (73) , Essendon , 6.14 (50) ,

, 80,176 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !23 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Bachar Houli Bachar Houli ( ar, بشار حولي, born 12 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 232 games over a 15-year career with and in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player with Richmond ...

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''16'' , style="text-align: center;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, 22/8 , 13 , Essendon , 10.1 (61) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 10.13 (73) ,

, 5,401 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !12 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''17'' , style="text-align: center;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, 5/6 , 12 , Essendon , 12.12 (84) , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 19.9 (123) ,

, 55,656 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !39 !L , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

() , , - style="background:#fff;" , ''18'' , style="text-align: center;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, 21/5 , 10 , style="background:#ccffcc;", Richmond , style="background:#ccffcc;", 11.14 (80) , Essendon , 7.6 (48) ,

, 70,226 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", !32 !W , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,

Dion Prestia Dion Prestia (born 12 October 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 95 games over six seasons with the Gold Coast Suns, after bei ...

() ,

Kevin Sheedy Cup

In 2005, Richmond and Essendon first competed for the Kevin Sheedy Cup. The cup has continued to be awarded to the winner of each Dreamtime at the 'G game. Sheedy has a strong connection with both Essendon and Richmond, having played 251 games for Richmond, including their 1969, 1973 and 1974 premiership teams. He won the 1976 best & fairest award, captained the club in 1978, was named on their

Team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

at left back-pocket and inducted into the Richmond Hall of Fame in 2002. He retired in 1979. He then went on to coach Essendon from 1981 to 2007, amassing 635 games as coach and led the club to premierships in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, 1985, 1993 &

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. He was named as coach of the Essendon

. He was a selector for the

Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century (Australian rules football) was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in the sport. It was announced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior-level game played by an indig ...

and has championed indigenous football, reconciliation, and education.

Notes

References

{{Australian Football League Australian Football League games Australian rules football culture Essendon Football Club Indigenous Australian sport Richmond Football Club Sport in Melbourne Melbourne Cricket Ground