Dreamtime at the 'G

Dreamtime at the 'G is an annual Australian rules football match between Australian Football League clubs Essendon and Richmond.

The name of the match comes from Australian Aboriginal mythology The Dreaming or Dreamtime and the Australian, but more specifically Victorian, colloquial reference to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 'G, where the match takes place.

Since the 2007 season the match has been held on Saturday night of the AFL's Indigenous Round (round 9).

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 celebrate the contribution of all indigenous players to the AFL^[1]. Essendon and Richmond were chosen to play in the match because their combined jumper colours - red, yellow and black - make up the colours of the Aboriginal Flag.

From 2006, the Yiooken Award has been awarded to the player judged best on ground in the match^[2]. 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.

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 after Richardson had pushed his opponent in the back prior to kicking the goal. Richmond were subsequently slapped with a 50-metre penalty, and 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.

The Long Walk

The match is associated with the pre-game ritual "The Long Walk" [1], which is a reconciliation program spearheaded by indigenous former Essendon player Michael Long. Prior to the game, Long and several other participants walk from Federation Square to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to promote reconciliation.

Curtain Raiser

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

Year	Match/Series Name	Team		Team
2005[3]		West Australian Clontarf Aboriginal Academy Western Australia	vs	Victorian Indigenous Victoria
2006	No curtain-raiser match[citation needed]	No curtain-raiser match[citation needed]
2007[4]		Tiwi Bombers Tiwi Islands	vs	Rumbalara Shepparton, Central Victoria
2008[5]		Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Apurte) Alice Springs, Northern Territory	vs	Fitzroy Stars Melbourne
2009[6]		Imalu Tigers Tiwi Islands	vs	Brambuk Eels Western Victoria
2010[7]	Rio Tinto Challenge Cup	Northern Northern Australia	vs	Southern Southern Australia

Pre-match ceremony

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

Match results

Year	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Attendance	Yiooken Award Winner
2005	Richmond	14.8 (92)	Essendon	9.12 (66)	49,975	-
2006	Essendon	13.17 (95)	Richmond	13.19 (97)	58,439	Dean Polo (Richmond)[8]
2007	Richmond	12.12 (84)	Essendon	12.20 (92)	61,837	James Hird (Essendon)[9]
2008	Essendon	10.12 (72)	Richmond	16.14 (110)	60,333	Nathan Foley (Richmond)[10]
2009	Richmond	12.13 (85)	Essendon	19.11 (125)	73,625	Jason Winderlich (Essendon)[11]
2010	Essendon	19.16 (130)	Richmond	14.11 (95)	64,709	David Hille (Essendon) [12]
2011	Richmond	16.9 (105)	Essendon	13.11 (89)	83,563	Trent Cotchin (Richmond) [13]

Wins

Richmond: 4 Essendon: 3

Kevin Sheedy Cup

Kevin Sheedy played 251 games for Richmond as, primarily, a back-pocket player, kicking 91 goals. He played in 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 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, 1985, 1993 & 2000. He was named as coach of the Essendon Team of the Century.

Sheedy's strong connection with both Essendon and Richmond, as well as his nurturing of Australian indigenous players as coach of Essendon, led to the Cup being named after him^{[citation needed]}.

See also

• Indigenous Team of the Century
• Indigenous All-Stars (Australian rules football)

References

1. ^ Karen Lyon (6 July 2005). "Tigers, Bombers conjure 'Dreamtime at the 'G'". Melbourne: The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/tigers-bombers-conjure-dreamtime-at-the-g/2005/07/05/1120329449547.html. 
2. ^ "Dreamtime at the G - 2006". Essendon Football Club. 10 May 2007. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=4677. Retrieved 18 August 2009. 
3. ^ "Dreamtime at the G". Melbourne: Essendon Football Club. 5 July 2005. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=4327. 
4. ^ "2007 Dreamtime at the G". Melbourne: AFL Bigpond Network. 23 May 2007. http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=43810. 
5. ^ "Indigenous curtain-raiser at Dreamtime at the 'G". Melbourne: Essendon Football Club. 21 May 2008. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=5792. 
6. ^ "Ryder says Dreamtime will be something special". Melbourne: Essendon Football Club. 20 May 2009. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=6622. 
7. ^ "Dreamtime clash inspires Bombers". Melbourne: Essendon Football Club. 21 May 2010. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=7479. 
8. ^ "Polo recognised for starring debut". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 May 2006. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/05/09/1634088.htm. Retrieved 18 August 2009. 
9. ^ "Dreamtime delight for the Bombers". Melbourne: Essendon Football Club. 26 May 2007. http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/news.asp?nid=5163. 
10. ^ Burgan, Matt (24 May 2008). "Bombers fall to Tigers". AFL BigPond Network. http://www.afl.com.au/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=60184. 
11. ^ Witham, Jennifer (23 May 2009). "Dons down Tigers by 40". AFL BigPond Network. http://www.afl.com.au/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=77449. 
12. ^ Burgan, Matt (22 May 2010). "Dons in dreamland after easy win". AFL BigPond Network. http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/94821/default.aspx. 
13. ^ Goraya, Raman (21 May 2011). "Young Tigers beat Bombers on big stage". ABC. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/21/3223352.htm?site=melbourne.