Dreamtime At The 'G
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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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
match between
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
clubs and . 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 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 religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
" and "the 'G", a nickname for the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
(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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
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 Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC Week has its roots in the 1938 Day o ...
. 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 Darwin Cricket Groundl 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 in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...
. In 2021, another COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria led to the AFL moving the fixture to Optus Stadium in
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, which also held the
Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
that year. In 2024, it was announced that the 2025 edition would be held on a Friday night, in order to expand the game's importance and allow the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
to continue to televise the match, as the network will not be televising any Saturday night matches from the
2025 AFL season The 2025 AFL season is the 129th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season features 18 clubs and will run from 7 March to 27 September, comprisi ...
onwards.


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
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
lockdowns in Melbourne which prevented the match from being played at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
. The match was played at Darwin Cricket Ground in Darwin, with Richmond winning by twelve points. Shai Bolton, who designed the guernsey the Richmond players wore in this match, won the Yiooken Award 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 won the Yiooken Award for his record-breaking performance of 44 disposals. It was the most disposals in one match ever recorded by an Essendon player. *Round 10, 2023, was notable for several reasons. Going into the match, Essendon's form, which was strong for the first five games, had diminished, partly due to numerous injuries, and consequently they entered the game with a four-game losing streak despite showing valour in these games. Richmond, on the other hand, had come off two convincing wins in a row, including an upset win against
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
, and were comfortable favourites. More tellingly, though, Richmond had won the last 13 games against Essendon, with Essendon's last win against them being in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
. In a relatively low-scoring affair, the game was close all day, with Richmond leading by three goals in the final quarter. Essendon managed to claw back the lead back by a couple of goals to trail by just 5 points with a few minutes to go. In the final minutes, a tenacious tackle by Essendon's Zach Merrett (whose 39-disposal game coincidentally won the Yiooken Award by a unanimous vote) brought down Richmond star
Dustin Martin Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 AFL draft#2 ...
in Richmond's attacking half, an effort that commentator Jonathan Brown called "inspirational"; the tackle was enough to compromise the accuracy of Martin's kick. With less than a minute remaining, Essendon were able to rebound the ball into their forward 50. A centralising snap kick in Essendon's left pocket was marked by Essendon forward Sam Durham at the top of the goal square. With just a handful of seconds to go, Durham composed himself and kicked the match-winning goal to put Essendon a point ahead and seal the game.


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 Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
in 2004 to get the lives of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
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. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
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 (marketed and colloquially known as 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 Street ...
to the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
to promote
reconciliation Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to: Accounting * Reconciliation (accounting) Arts, entertainment, and media Books * Reconciliation (Under the North Star), ''Reconciliation'' (''Under the North Star''), the third volume of the ''Under the ...
. 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 Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
and the
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
,
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
.


Curtain raisers

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


Match results

, - style=";background:#ccf;font-size: 105%" , , Year , , Home Team , , Away Team , , Ground , Crowd , Result/Winner , , , style="text-align:center;", , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''1'' , style="text-align: center;",
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, 15 , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 14.8 (92) , Essendon , 9.12 (66) , rowspan=15 ,
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
, 49,975 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 26 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Not awarded , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''2'' , style="text-align: center;",
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, 6 , Essendon , 13.17 (95) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 13.19 (97) , 58,439 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 2 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Dean Polo (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''3'' , style="text-align: center;",
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, 9 , Richmond , 12.12 (84) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 12.20 (92) , 61,837 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 8 , 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 he ...
(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''4'' , style="text-align: center;",
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, 9 , Essendon , 10.12 (72) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 16.14 (110) , 60,333 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 38 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Nathan Foley (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''5'' , style="text-align: center;",
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, 9 , Richmond , 12.13 (85) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 19.11 (125) , 73,625 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 40 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Jason Winderlich (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''6'' , style="text-align: center;",
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, 9 , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 19.16 (130) , Richmond , 14.11 (95) , 64,709 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 35 , ,
David Hille David Barry 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 st ...
(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''7'' , style="text-align: center;",
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, 9 , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 16.9 (105) , Essendon , 13.11 (89) , 83,563 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 16 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,
Trent Cotchin Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is an All-Australian, a three-time Jack Dyer Medal, Richmond be ...
(Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''8'' , style="text-align: center;",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, 8 , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 19.14 (128) , Richmond , 15.19 (109) , 80,900 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 19 , , Brett Deledio (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''9'' , style="text-align: center;",
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, 9 , Richmond , 9.8 (62) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 13.13 (91) , 84,234 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 29 , 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 ...
(Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''10'' , style="text-align: center;",
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, 11 , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 15.14 (104) , Richmond , 7.12 (54) , 74,664 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 50 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Brendon Goddard (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''11'' , style="text-align: center;",
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, 9 , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 10.12 (72) , Essendon , 8.11 (59) , 83,804 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 13 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Brandon Ellis (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''12'' , style="text-align: center;",
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, 10 , Essendon , 10.7 (67) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 16.9 (105) , 56,948 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 38 , ,
Dustin Martin Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 AFL draft#2 ...
(Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''13'' , style="text-align: center;",
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, 10 , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 11.15 (81) , Essendon , 10.6 (66) , 85,656 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 15 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,
Dustin Martin Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 AFL draft#2 ...
(Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''14'' , style="text-align: center;",
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, 11 , Essendon , 6.7 (43) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 17.12 (114) , 81,046 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 71 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Shane Edwards (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''15'' , style="text-align: center;",
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, 10 , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 10.13 (73) , Essendon , 6.14 (50) , 80,176 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 23 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Bachar Houli (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''16'' , style="text-align: center;",
2020 The year 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 even ...
, 13 , Essendon , 10.1 (61) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 10.13 (73) , Darwin Cricket Ground , 5,401 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 12 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Shai Bolton (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''17'' , style="text-align: center;",
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
, 12 , Essendon , 12.12 (84) , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 19.9 (123) ,
Perth Stadium Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...
, 55,656 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 39 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Darcy Parish (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''18'' , style="text-align: center;",
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, 10 , style="background:#cfc;", Richmond , style="background:#cfc;", 11.14 (80) , Essendon , 7.6 (48) , rowspan=6 ,
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
, 70,226 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 32 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Dion Prestia (Ric) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''19'' , style="text-align: center;",
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, 10 , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 10.11 (71) , Richmond , 10.10 (70) , 79,300 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 1 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Zach Merrett (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''20'' , style="text-align: center;",
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, 11 , Richmond , 10.14 (74) , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 12.14 (86) , 79,359 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 12 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", , Jordan Ridley (Ess) , - style="background:#fff;font-size: 85%;" , ''21'' , style="text-align: center;",
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
, 11 , style="background:#cfc;", Essendon , style="background:#cfc;", 11.15 (81) , Richmond , 8.10 (58) , 76,051 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ! 23 , bgcolor="Black" div style="text-align: center;", ,
Nic Martin Nic Martin is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian ru ...
(Ess)


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 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
,
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
and
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
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 y ...
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 Southeas ...
,
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
,
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
&
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. He was named as coach of the Essendon
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 y ...
. He was a selector for the
Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century was selected in 2005 to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in Australian rules football. Graham Farmer was named as the team's captain, while Barry Cable was selected as the team's coach. Eight of t ...
and has championed indigenous football, reconciliation, and education.


See also

*
Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century was selected in 2005 to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in Australian rules football. Graham Farmer was named as the team's captain, while Barry Cable was selected as the team's coach. Eight of t ...
*
Indigenous All-Stars (Australian rules football) The Indigenous All-Stars (formerly known as the Aboriginal All-Stars) is an Australian rules football Interstate matches in Australian rules football, representative team composed of players that identify as Indigenous Australian or with an in ...
* List of individual match awards in the Australian Football League


References

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