Richmond will meet Essendon this Friday night, in Week 2 of AFL's Sir Doug Nicholls Rounds, for the annual Dreamtime at the 'G clash.

MATCH DETAILS

Round 11
Essendon v Richmond
Friday, May 23
7:40pm (AEST), MCG

GATE TIMES

MCC Reserve: 5:00pm
AFL Reserve and Public: 5:30pm

Enhanced security measures are in place at the MCG. Please ensure your bag meets the conditions of entry.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

The match will be broadcast live on Channel 7, 7Plus, Fox Footy and Kayo from 7:30pm.

TICKETING

Tickets are available to purchase via Ticketek.

Richmond Members: Dreamtime at the 'G has been deemed a fully-ticketed match. This means there will be no general admission access. Richmond members with away game access will need to upgrade to a reserved seat for Friday's match, using their membership barcode via Ticketek.

Richmond's membership team will be located between Gates 1 & 2 in a marquee from 5:30pm to the end of quarter time to assist with any membership or ticketing-related queries.

All ticketing information gets sent directly to members via email. To update or change an email address or view your membership barcode, please log in to your MyRichmond account.

GETTING TO THE GAME

Parking at the MCG or in Yarra Park

• For the most up-to-date parking information in Yarra Park, refer to the MCG website.
  Please note that the MCC have implemented a slight price increase to $15 as of Round 1, 2025.
• Yarra Park parking for disability permit holders can be pre-booked via Ticketek.
• Click here for alternative parking options close to the MCG.

Public Transport

We strongly encourage fans to take public transport to the game. For up-to-date information on your train line and upcoming disruptions, please visit https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/.

WHAT'S ON

PRE-GAME

The Long Walk
Leaving Birrarung Marr hilltop at 5:30pm, entering the MCG at 6:10pm

Welcome to Country – 7:00pm
With Wurundjeri elder, Uncle Colin Hunter Jnr 

Pre-match entertainment – 7:04pm
Featuring Briggs, Big Noter, Kobie Dee, Barkaa, Djirri Djirri and Wulumbarra, Koorie Youth Will Shake Spear and Wurundjeri Kulin dance groups, Birren and Kaybee, accompanied by Canisha & The Terrifying Lows.
 
Dreamtime Ceremony – 7:34pm
This year’s pre-match ceremony includes the Dreamtime Dance.
Essendon players are joined by the Koorie Youth Will Shake Spear dancers. Richmond is joined by the Laguntas dancers, made up of Korin Gamadji alum and Next Generation talent. This year, Richmond welcomes a call from lutruwita Truwana — home of the Trawulway pakana in Tasmania. We are stompers, we are the moon bird people. 
 
The name Lagunta, which translates to Tiger, was adopted by the Korin Gamadji Institute, and is used across Indigenous youth football and netball programs. 

Coin toss & Cultural gift exchange 
Ahead of the coin toss, Richmond and Essendon partake in a cultural exchange of gifts.
Richmond's cultural gift is a traditional Tasmanian Firestick. The fire stick represents a continuous thread of ancient knowledge through songlines and story, that spark - the tylupa, that fire - the partula, we are here, and we are stronger together. The gift was created earlier this year by the Mansell family in Tasmania when the Club visited. 

POST-MATCH

Yiooken Award presentation
After the final siren, there will be an on-field presentation of the Yiooken Award for Best on Ground performance.

Yiooken means 'dreaming' in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people, the traditional owners of Melbourne and surrounding lands.

WHAT ARE WE WEARING?

Richmond will be wearing the 2025 PUMA Dreamtime guernsey and white shorts. 

ROAR STORE

The Roar Store at the Swinburne Centre will be open from 10:00am on match day and remain open for the duration of the match and an hour post-game.

Get your 2025 Dreamtime guernsey ahead of Dreamtime at the 'G. Proceeds from Dreamtime merchandise will help support Indigenous youth through the Korin Gamadji Program.

ACCESS & INCLUSION

The ‘G Train Mobility Shuttle Service

The service operates during public events held at the MCG and is accessible free of charge to patrons with mobility challenges. Find more information, including pickup locations here.

The MCG Multi-Faith Prayer Room is open to all patrons.

Located on Level B1 of the Shane Warne Stand (at approximately M13), the room is able to cater for more than 50 patrons at one time and is suitable for patrons of all faiths, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Hindu.

A sensory-friendly space, presented by the MCC Foundation.

Now open throughout all MCG events. It is located within the Australian Sports Museum on Level 1 (inside Gate 3, behind bay M51).
For more information regarding access and inclusion, please refer to the MCG website.

THE MCG, HOME OF THE TIGER ARMY

At the MCG, your safety is our priority. If you experience any form of antisocial behaviour, please report it by texting 'Assist' to the MCG's antisocial text hotline on 0409 117 621.

The MCG is a smoke, e-cigarette and vape-free venue. Patrons found smoking or vaping inside the Ground will face immediate eviction.

OPEN TRAINING

Thursday, May 22
Swinburne Centre, Punt Road Oval
Gates open at 9:45am, training from 10:00am 
A short signing session will follow training 

For more information & upcoming sessions, click here.

VFL

Round 9
Richmond v Essendon
Saturday, May 24
7:10pm (AEST), Kinetic Stadium, Frankston

Live-streamed here on the AFL website.

MEMBERSHIP

Not a member of the Tiger Army? We have memberships that cater to all, whether you support from your couch, the front row of the MCG or among family and friends - Browse our range of packages to find one that suits you!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Keep updated with Richmond’s Instagram, Facebook and X accounts for all the latest news and behind-the-scenes action on game day.

Download the Richmond Official App for LIVE scores and stats of every game delivered to your phone or tablet.

Essendon had to battle and grind and overcome a persistent and spirited Richmond side to record a 23-point victory at the MCG on Friday night, pulling clear in the final term to secure the 11.15 (81) to 8.10 (58) result in the 21st Dreamtime at the 'G.

It was a dirty night both in terms of general play and on the injury front, with Kyle Langford (quad), Zach Reid (hamstring tightness), Thomson Dow (knee) and no.1 pick Sam Lalor (hamstring) all finishing on the bench.

On paper, Essendon entered the clash with far more experience. The Bombers' average games played per player was at 103.6, Richmond at 63.1. The Tigers had 13 players with fewer than 50 games to Essendon's six.

Richmond's defensive pressure was strong for the first 2.5 terms, but without Tom Lynch, Toby Nankervis and Noah Balta, the Tigers weren't able to take advantage of their work, and they completely ran out of steam in the last quarter.

By turn, Essendon's forward entries and disposal in the first half left much to be desired, until the game broke open somewhat halfway through the third term, and the Bombers drove home their advantage.

Debutant Angus Clarke provided a first-half spark with three majors, but most of the first half was flat.

Richmond's full-forward line on the team sheet – Jonty Faull, Sam Lalor and Tom Sims – were only drafted in November, and were a year off being born when the first Dreamtime at the 'G game was played in 2005, while fellow draftee Luke Trainor moved from defence to attack to complete the package.

It was a scrappy opening stanza, to put it mildly. Neither side were able to take a mark in attack, with Essendon's opening goal from Yiooken Award winner Nic Martin (35 disposals, two goals) coming from open play, while Tim Taranto's first for Richmond was a miraculous curler assisted by a push.

It led to a frustrating back-and-forth game in front of a crowd of 76,000 – the Bombers would burst through the middle of the field and kick it over the heads of their forwards, while the Tigers would scrap and scrape their way forward but struggled to find goals.

But Essendon's midfield crew of Jye Caldwell, Sam Durham and Zach Merrett began to control proceedings in the third term, sitting 17 ahead in clearances at the final break, while Martin found plenty of ball on the wing, and Archie Roberts provided plenty of bounce out of defence.

Sam Banks' strong form continued with 29 disposals, 23 kicks and 608 metres gained, with other impressive Tiger contributors being Jacob Hopper (23 disposals, 9 clearances, 5 score involvements), Nick Vlastuin (24 disposals, 10 intercept possessions, 17 kicks), Kane McAuliffe (21 disposals, 6 tackles, 5 score involvements) stand-in skipper Nathan Broad (22 disposals, 15 kicks, 8 marks) and Tom Brown (21 disposals, 16 kicks, 6 score involvements).

ESSENDON 2.1 6.4 9.8 11.15 (81)
RICHMOND 1.2 4.7 7.8 8.10 (58)

GOALS
Essendon: Clarke 3, Martin 2, Wright 2, Durham, Caddy, Guelfi, Perkins
Richmond: Taranto 2, Lalor 2, Ralphsmith 2, Faull, Mansell

BEST
Essendon: Martin, Durham, Merrett, Clarke, Caldwell, Goldstein
Richmond: Hopper, Broad, Vlastuin, Banks, Ralphsmith

INJURIES
Essendon: Langford (quad), Reid (hamstring)
Richmond: Dow (knee), Lalor (hamstring)

SUBSTITUTES
Essendon: Ben Hobbs (replaced Langford in the second term)
Richmond: Maurice Rioli jnr (replaced Dow at half-time)

Crowd: 76,051 at MCG