"Couldn't be better": Why Sheedy is fond of Dreamtime in Maali

Richmond legend and all-time great Essendon head coach Kevin Sheedy has endorsed Dreamtime’s move to Optus Stadium.

Over the next two seasons, Essendon and Richmond will play off in two Dreamtime games; once in its traditional spot, at the MCG during Sir Doug Nicholls Round, and a second in Perth during NAIDOC week.

The fixture in Perth has divided fans, with the two Melbourne-based giants set to lose one home game over the next two seasons as a result of the change.

That said, Sheedy, who founded Dreamtime at the ‘G in 2005, believes the sharing of the historical fixture is a big win for both teams involved.

“I think it’s great, personally,” Sheedy told SEN Mornings.

“It’s not going, we are sharing it. It’s a great educational tool about the Aboriginal people’s history of Australia.

“This will be a great learning procedure through football and through the AFL on how we’ve been able to do this.

“Pretty much similar to the history of Essendon, we now learn about Anzac Day, where a lot of young people or people in general might not have known.

“I think it’s a great idea, and a great option. I think both clubs should be congratulated on it and particularly Essendon, because they led the way which is pleasing.

“I think it’s so important that we keep working on these games, because we can’t move the Grand Final! Great iconic games should be shared.”

Dreamtime, conceived by Sheedy to celebrate Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander cultures within Australia and within our sport, shouldn’t be nailed to one location, Sheedy argues.

Instead, it should be a celebration of the great First Nations contributions made to the game in its entirety – not just within Victoria.

“The colours of Richmond and Essendon and the Aboriginal flag was such a great connection, to start off,” Sheedy continued.

“Mal Brown – a very dear friend of mine – had been harping about Victorian clubs who do not do enough for Aboriginal players; and we hadn’t.

“There were only 25 Aboriginal players that played in Victoria in 100 years before we recruited Michael Long, which is a pretty ordinary statistic, to be honest. We had great people in the game and around the game at that time.

“Essendon’s greatest ever player and maybe the greatest Aboriginal player was a guy called Norm McDonald, who would have won two Norm Smith Medals and runner-up in a third. His incredible career just gets overlooked and any Essendon player should study that.

“There’s a lot to be done still, looking at how we create the game and make it better and better.”

Looking towards Dreamtime at Maali, Sheedy delivered this message to fans of both Richmond and Essendon.

“There’s a game at the MCG, and there’s a game in Perth. It couldn’t be any better than that!

“Essendon and Richmond fans, we’ve got a great support base in Western Australia, so I’ve got no doubt that the game in Western Australia will be sold out. In COVID, it sold out in five days, and it should – the history is quite incredible.

“You’ve just got to give sometimes in this game. We’ve gone from 12 Victorian clubs to 19 clubs… you’ve got to work it looking at the change rather than being totally personal.

“Most of the clubs have an opportunity to ballot their club on a national point of view, and not just a little suburb like Richmond or Essendon or Collingwood or Carlton.

“These suburbs are the size of a postage stamp, and we’re trying to make them a national club now. We don’t want to lose clubs, and we’re really working hard on that in general.

“We’re not playing in France or Spain here; we’ve got two little suburbs in Melbourne called Richmond and Essendon, and Perth wants the game. How good is that!

“It’s still your club. Let’s face it, I was around when Tigerland were rattling the tins a long time ago. Essendon have gone through the worst 10 years of their history.

“We’ve got to make sure that we are up, strong, available and viable in the next 10 years when this next team comes in from Tasmania.”

Dreamtime at Maali will take place at Optus Stadium during NAIDOC Week, Round 16 of the 2027 season.