Richmond AFLW Coach Ryan Ferguson hailed the inaugural Dreamtime in Darwin clash as a success.

Ferguson described the inaugural Dreamtime in Darwin match between Richmond and Essendon as “a marvellous event.”

“It was a huge spectacle… (I am) proud of both teams for the spectacle we put on and the work we did in the lead up,” Ferguson said.

“We enjoyed, we embraced it, and it was something we were looking forward to.

“I’m proud of both clubs. We almost had our whole club come up to support this, and I think it could be something that really propels this whole event forward.”

“I am really proud of the whole four days we’ve been up here (in Darwin).”

In their draw with Essendon on Saturday night, a key aspect that Richmond fell behind in was uncontested marks. However, Ferguson was pleased with his side’s response in the final term to limit the Bombers’ ball movement.

“I thought we were poor in that area, in the first half Essendon had 60 (uncontested marks), he said.

“We started quite well, but then for the middle part of the game were convincingly beaten. I think we gave them uncontested marks with our offence.

“We were just way too cute at times, we were out running forward and we created an extra handball that would invite their pressure and allow them to find those uncontested marks.

“I thought our midfield really propelled us forward in the last quarter. We showed with a mindset what we can do with taking those (uncontested marks) out…it did change the game.

“There were some amazing efforts individually and as a group to rebound in that last quarter to come from behind and get a result.

“There was a little bit of our offence hurting our defence. There’s one of our growth areas from this game. We’ve got to be sharper with that side of things.”