A father and his 10-year-old son driving to a footy match doesn't sound out of the ordinary.
But when you live deep in Arnhem Land, as Joe and Tyren 'Tiger' Smith do, it'll be a 2,000km roundtrip through some of the nation's harshest country to make it to the AFL Dreamtime match in Darwin.
"It's about 1,000km one way, the majority of it is on dirt, and the road is pretty chopped up at the moment," Joe Smith said
"Some way or another, we'll make it into Darwin."
In a major coup for the Northern Territory, the annual Dreamtime match between Richmond Tigers and the Essendon Bombers will be staged in the Top End city on Saturday.
It's the first time the annual celebration of Australia's Indigenous culture and AFL players has been held outside of the MCG, due to Victoria's ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Lucky Tiger fans nab ticket
Diehard Tigers fans Joe and Tyren were among the lucky few to score tickets to the match, which sold out within minutes of going on sale.
Just 5,461 fans will be allowed into the stadium in contrast to the more than 85,000 that usually sell-out the MCG.
"To see Richmond in Darwin will be a dream come true," said Mr Smith.
The pair, who were given the tickets by a mate, will make the dash to Darwin across the bulldust and cattle grates of the Central Arnhem track with their loyal blue heeler Rami in tow.
"You always gotta expect dramas on the track, nothing ever goes to plan," Mr Smith said.
"Something will break on the car or you'll have blowouts, you just never know. You just gotta be prepared for it."
An opportunity that could not be missed
For Tyren, who has grown up between the remote community of Ramingining and the Gulf town of Nhulunbuy, the chance to see his favourite stars in action in the NT is a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.
"I'm excited to see [Richmond player] Dustin Martin," Tyren said.
"He's good at playing footy and I like his tattoos."
The Nhulunbuy Primary student said he was ready to take on the trip, despite the idiosyncrasies of his furry fellow passenger, Rami.
"He's smelly and farts a lot, and barks at the buffalo and kangaroos," Tyren said.
Mr Smith said their ultimate hope was to get Tyren's guernsey signed by Martin, but conceded current COVID-19 restrictions may prevent them from meeting the superstar midfielder.
Arnhem Land musicians make the trek
The Dreamtime match will also be accompanied by a soundtrack from the Territory bush, with East Arnhem musicians Yirringa Yunupingu and Kevin Malngay Yunupingu invited to play at the event.
For Yirringa, a rising star as a solo performer and frontman of Yothu Yindi, said he felt blessed to make the journey.
"I'm very excited to go there and play and watch the footy — it's my team playing there, Essendon," Yirringa said.
"It's good to be a part of it, I think it's going to be special."
Seeing some of the Territory's gun first grade footy players in action, such as Richmond's Daniel Rioli and Essendon's Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, was to be a highlight for the musician.
"It's gonna be the first time for me to watch them, representing the Territory, so looking forward," Yirringa said.
The match kicks off at 7:15pm (ACST) on Saturday August 22 and will be screened across Australia.
