Dons, Tigers join in 'dream' game
By Caroline Wilson and Stephen Rielly
The Age
March 3, 2006
Essendon and Richmond have joined forces to create a new blockbuster on the AFL calendar that both hope will capture the spirit of reconciliation in the manner that Anzac Day commemorates that chapter in Australia's history.
The night extravaganza "Dreamtime at the G" will be launched on May 6, when the Bombers host Richmond at the transformed home of football in the round-six Saturday night clash.
The clubs will split revenue from the game and already have committed a share of the profits to indigenous causes.
The AFL has backed the concept - yet another brainchild of coach Kevin Sheedy - and is believed to have committed to scheduling the game into the draw each year. Federal Treasurer Peter Costello and Labor frontbencher Peter Garrett also will support the game on a bipartisan basis.
A slender hope remains that Garrett's band Midnight Oil will re-form to create one part of the pre-match entertainment, while an approach also has been made to musician Paul Kelly to perform.
Norm Smith medallist Michael Long will launch his annual Long Walk on the eve of the game, leading a shorter trek to the MCG, while broadcaster Channel Ten has pledged to extend its coverage to include what is shaping as a series of pre-game and half-time musical and other artistic performances by both black and white Australians.
Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said he had been heartened by the support the Dreamtime game had attracted from Canberra, the AFL, indigenous leaders and the AFL's broadcaster. "This is not about creating another blockbuster to make money," Jackson said. "What we are trying to here is bring together black and white Australians and learn something about reconciliation.
"Football has shown in the past it can lead the way in areas such as fighting racial and religious vilification and the fight against sexual violence. We're hoping this game will go some way to educating ourselves about an important part of our lives because we know we are part of the problem.
"The fact that it's a night game is something we are pushing to continue because we believe it will become something of an extravaganza."
Sheedy first came up with the concept of an indigenous game in 2004, believing that Essendon and Richmond were the ideal clubs to contest it because the two clubs' colours make up the colours of the Aboriginal flag.
Sheedy's support of Aboriginal football has been well documented. The Tigers boast four indigenous Australians on their senior list.
The concept was launched in a small way when the two clubs played for the Kevin Sheedy Cup last July, an MCG clash that attracted more than 50,000 fans despite dreadful weather and the relative poor form of both clubs at that stage.
Looming as one of the first games back at the MCG following the Commonwealth Games handover, both clubs are hoping the match this year will attract closer to 70,000.
Richmond chief executive Steve Wright said: "We're trying to generate it into an event as big as Anzac Day and we've had a series of meetings to ensure it goes ahead in the right spirit.
"Kevin Sheedy came to us with the idea last year and we believe if we can make it work and attract and encourage other sponsors for the game, it would be a terrific result for everyone involved."
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