It’s not back-page news but it is feisty enough to claim a prime position in the sports section of a Sydney daily newspaper during rugby league’s state of origin week.
The much-anticipated clash between the Western Bulldogs and GWS Giants in the AFL at Etihad Stadium on Saturday has been dubbed ‘Hate of Origin’ in the harbour city.
The two clubs have been on a collision course since long before the Giants even set foot into the league in 2012.
The Giants had a war chest to lure established talent away from opposition clubs and used part of that to prise western suburbs-bred midfielder Callan Ward out of the Bulldogs for their first season in the competition.
Ward was set to become one of the cornerstones of the Dogs’ future, but the lure of a big pay day with the Giants and the chance to be the face of a new club saw him leave home.
It was money well spent for the Giants as Ward became one of the club’s inaugural co-captains and a star at the fast-rising club.
He is also a favourite of the growing Giants supporter base, just as he was at WRFL club Spotswood and Western Jets in the TAC Cup.
The rivalry between the clubs went up an extra notch in the off-season when Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffin announced he was joining the Giants. It left Dogs fans fuming.
Griffin left the kennel to play under coach Leon Cameron, who played 172 games in the red, white and blue.
The Bulldogs got No. 1 draft pick Tom Boyd back in the Griffin deal, but there is still tension between the two clubs stemming from that much-publicised transaction.
Interestingly, the scribe who wrote the ‘Hate of Origin’ piece in Sydney was none other than Neil Cordy, another former Bulldog of 139 games who moved to Sydney in the 1980s to play with the Swans.
At 4.35pm on Saturday, it will be interesting to see what reception the former Dogs receive on their return to the kennel.
