GWS embracing Origin-style rivalry with Western Bulldogs ahead of elimination final showdown
The hostility between GWS and the Western Bulldogs has intensified over the years and this weekend’s elimination final will have an Origin theme.
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Don’t be fooled by their cosy public image: the Western Bulldogs are the Queensland State of Origin team in disguise.
Just months after breaking GWS hearts on the way to their 2016 Grand Final fairytale, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge bunkered down with Queensland mentor Kevin Walters in a bid to regenerate his side for another assault on the AFL premiership.
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Two years later, the Bulldogs have once again stormed into the finals as the form team in the competition, only this time Beveridge returns to Giants Stadium on Saturday armed with the Maroons’ Origin playbook.
GWS say their rivalry with the Bulldogs has intensified to the point where only the Sydney Swans rank higher on their list of adversaries, and Giants players have vowed to embrace the Origin-style hate against hate in the elimination final.
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Beveridge spent an entire Origin camp — in the middle of AFL season — with Walters in 2017, the last year the Maroons were triumphant.
He was present in all meetings and in the coach’s box and dressing sheds on Origin night.
It’s well known that everyone’s second AFL team are really Cane Toads in puppy dog clothing.
“Yeah, I’m sure he would have (taken parts of the Queensland mentality),” Walters said.
“Like always when you venture into different sporting organisations, you always pick things up that you like and some things you find interesting. I’m sure he would have been the same.
“He thanked us for allowing him to come in. He said he got a lot out of it. It’s about expanding your knowledge.”
The GWS versus Bulldogs rivalry is born out of not only that epic 2016 preliminary final, but a history of talent swapping, which culminated in the Giants at one point advertising themselves as The Lost Dogs Home.
Giants star Heath Shaw said the pride of NSW wouldn’t be backing down.
“You don’t shy away from that, you actually enjoy that and hopefully we can have many years (of rivalry) to come,” Shaw said.
“Rivalry brings passion and passion brings crowds, and that’s what we want.”
The Western Bulldogs missed the finals for the two years after their drought-breaking premiership, and Walters said it was clear from being in camp with Beveridge what had inspired the club to rise again.
“I found him to be a very calm sort of a bloke and very honest as well,” Walters said.
“You need to be honest with yourself and with your players certainly, and that’s the vibe I picked up from him.
“He has that mindset of, ‘let’s look at a few different ways of doing things’.”
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Beveridge said two years ago that he had been influenced by the Queensland culture of honouring the jersey and particularly the way Walters had rallied his troops back from 1-0 down against NSW in 2017 to win the series.
In a sense it’s what he’s trying to do with the Bulldogs in this finals series.
“The exposure to the emotion and the dignitaries in the Queensland camp and how they are revered was my main impression,” Beveridge said.
“With the new players, there is that pressure on them to continue that legacy that the greats have set before them.
“That is what I got out of it.
“The coach, Kevvie Walters, did an amazing job to get the group and the staff back on track after they lost.
“They were down in the doldrums, so it was a great feat to get them back.
“They were an example of a team that has been able to inspire each other and come through in difficult times. We all got a bit out of that.”