When the great and the good of bleak city sit down on Saturday night at the Melbourne Convention Centre for the Prime Minister's Olympic Dinner no doubt it will be all smiles for the cameras between chief organiser of the dinner and athlete's cheerleader-in-chief, David Thodey and his AOC counterpart, John Coates.

But behind the scenes in the lead-up to the major fundraising event, there's been little love lost between the two heavyweights. And it all hinges on an otherwise unsuspecting mobile app.