Swans v GWS rivalry is building but yet to ignite, writes Richard Hinds.

THEY whisper behind each other’s backs. But when will the Swans and Giants rivalry erupt on the field?

Sydney took Lance Franklin from under the Giants’ nose. Picture. Phil Hillyard

THE Showdown, that bitter rivalry between the concocted Adelaide Crows and the long established working class power Port Adelaide, is now played at the Adelaide Oval. But it might have its real roots in the Ramsgate Hotel.

It was in that popular Adelaide watering hole in 2002 that Crows and Power players engaged in a brawl the day after Port had won a niggly Showdown by eight points. Not a point of particular pride in the days of the one punch coward. But symbolic of the very real feeling that still exists between the clubs.

The AFL’s Sydney derby has a name. Even if, given the east v west geography, you can be forgiven for wondering which bridge the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants are battling over.

What the rivalry needs is a flash point. Not grown men trading drunken punches in a bar, perhaps. But a tumultuous game, a provocative act, a pointed insult. Something to make it clear that when the Swans and Giants meet there is real feeling. Not the slightly awkward yet mutually respectful détente that currently exists.

So far, despite a few characteristically mischievous attempts by the Giants’ first coach Kevin Sheedy to fan the flames, most of the insults have been muttered darkly in the respective club offices.

The Giants were savage in their response to the Swans’ recruitment of Lance Franklin. But given they subsequently gained two leaders and stars Shane Mumford and Heath Shaw after missing out on Buddy, their wounds were soon healed.

When the Giants moved their headquarters from Blackburn to the notional borderline at Olympic Park, the Swans wondered aloud if the Giants had abandoned their stated mission and were not treading on their toes.

Otherwise, publicly the Swans have mostly kept themselves above the fray knowing that any perceived negativity about the Giants mission would be viewed dimly at AFL headquarters given the league’s enormous investment in the region.

Yet, behind closed doors, the Swans still harbour some scepticism about whether the Giants can succeed in an area where they only had limited appeal — and, to be fair, where they had neither the resources nor the will to mount a conquest.

Sydney’s Jeremy Laidler and GWS ruckman Shane Mumford get acquainted. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Recently, they have murmured that many of the tickets supposedly sold to Giants members for the Round 2 game at the SCG this year were bought by savvy Swans supporters who realised they could get a visitors ticket through GWS at a significant discount. Similarly, they have wondered if the official attendances posted for games at Spotless Stadium correlated with the number of bums on seats.

GWS chief executive David Matthews acknowledges the club does give free tickets to junior clubs — or “sampling opportunities’’ as he calls it. But he denies the Giants have exaggerated crowd numbers or memberships.

“I’ve said before if you were going to fudge the figures, wouldn’t you fudge them a bit higher?’’ he says of average crowds around 10,000. “Our figures are verified and scrutinised by the ticketing agents and so forth. It doesn’t serve anyone’s interest to make them up.’’

Otherwise, Matthews says the relationship has “settled a lot’’ since the Giants’ introduction caused the Swans to fear they would cannibalise their fans and corporate support. “We’ve learnt a lot from what the Swans have done,’’ he says. “We’ve grown support for the game as a whole and we think that will only increase.’’

Where Swans’ president Andrew Pridham has been both strident and amusing in defending his club against Collingwood in particular, he is far more diplomatic about the Giants.

“I don’t think about it a lot,’’ says Pridham when asked to characterise the rivalry. “I think we genuinely have a very good relationship with them. There are always little things here and there. But we are very mindful of what they are trying to achieve.’’

There have been murmurs of GWS fudging crowd numbers at Spotless Stadium.

The Sydney clubs have been united by their endeavour to recruit and retain players in NSW through their academies. So when Swans’ recruiting manager Kinnear Beatson recently expressed misgiving about the Giants’ access to a talented teenager in the Riverina, it seemed the first crack in the united Sydney front against Victorian clubs — and a sign the Swans might feel as threatened by the Giants as other teams.

Matthews admits he was surprised the Beatson’s comment — particularly given the Swans subsequently lost access to a potential academy player from Maroubra. “I think the NSW and Queensland clubs have all taken the approach what we are doing is producing players for the AFL and we’ve all been on the same page there.’’

we all get on pretty well. But you that doesn’t mean you don’t want to beat them when you get out there.

- Shane Mumford

But pouring cold water on another potential spark, Pridham says the Swans do not oppose the Giants’ concessions. “Our view is that the academies are really, really important and if the AFL wants to tinker with the rules and boundaries of those things, well, our experience is the AFL end up doing what they want to do so we keep out of it.’’

Do the Swans fear, like Melbourne clubs, that the Giants will become an unbeatable powerhouse? “We think they are going to be a strong team,’’ says Pridham. “But we don’t sit around and go, ‘We fear them being strong’’. We fear Hawthorn being strong, the Bulldogs getting stronger etc etc. We look at them like any other clubs.’’

An 8-1 record in the Swans’ favour means The Battle of the Bridge has so far been more like that you might expect from a meeting between a cement mixer and tortoise with a sore foot than two genuine rivals.

The Giants’ one victory over the Swans by 32 points in 2014 was, almost literally, an act of God. The lightning that forced a brief postponement during the match has, so far, not struck twice.

The Swans made a statement of sorts with their 25-point victory at the SCG in Round 3 this year. But despite tough road defeats to Adelaide and Geelong in the past fortnight this is, quite obviously, a much more competitive and seasoned Giants team than the one pummelled by an average 62 points by the Swans in eight of their first nine meetings.

Tensions flare between Lance Franklin and Heath Shaw. Picture: Phil Hillyard

According to the players, the relationship between them remains cordial. Perhaps that is because AFL players in a still foreign city share a common bond.

As the Giants players dispersed into the community from the Breakfast Point precinct where the team was initially domiciled, some have moved east where they share beaches, cafes and the odd chat with their rivals.

“We see them around Bondi and the coffee shops,’’ said Swan turned Giant Shane Mumford. “I think we all get on pretty well. But you that doesn’t mean you don’t want to beat them when you get out there.’’

More than other teams? “Yeah, maybe a bit more.’’

What remains to be seen is if the competitive challenge now presented by the Giants heightens the on-field rivalry. Whether having been pushed around, they will be inspired to push back hard. Or, alternatively, whether the Swans feel compelled to add an even harder physical edge to their play against a now genuine cross-town threat.

As the years progress the fuel is gradually being poured. What we need is that spark.