All-Sydney AFL Grand Final would be envious Victorians’ worst fears

MAYBE — just maybe — we are on the verge of the first all-Sydney AFL Grand Final. BOOOOOOM. That was the sound of Eddie McGuire’s head exploding.

Swans star Luke Parker in action against cross-town rivals GWS. Picture: Phil Hillyard

UNLESS you want a red-faced tirade about “AFL favouritism’’, “ludicrous draft concessions’’ or “bloody New South Wales academies’’, don’t mention this to your AFL-obsessed cousin in Melbourne.

But maybe — just maybe — we are on the verge of the first all-Sydney AFL grand final.

BOOOOOOM. That was the sound of Eddie McGuire’s head exploding.

Although even the Collingwood president’s fury would not drown out the howls of outrage that would greet the Swans and the Giants as they were paraded through the streets of Melbourne on Grand Final eve.

There was some discontent in Sydney when two Queensland clubs reached last year’s NRL grand final.

But after years of State of Origin dominance, the Broncos-Cowboys decider was widely accepted as another inevitable manifestation of Queensland’s rugby league excellence.

Should the Swans and Giants step simultaneously onto the AFL’s biggest stage, however, fans of struggling and success starved Victorian clubs will be up in arms.

Sydney superstar Lance Franklin has started the season strongly. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Where the Swans premierships have been mostly admired for the Bloods ethos and the historic link with old South Melbourne, an all-Sydney Grand Final will incite accusations heartland clubs have been sold out in favour of the league’s northern ambitions.

The Swans have already experienced the backlash that accompanies hard earned success — or, upon the recruitment of Lance Franklin, even the threat of more success.

They still feel wounded by the loss of their cost of living allowance and unfettered access to academy graduates.

There was some justification for at least modification to both the Swans’ academy and salary cap conditions.

But that Victorian clubs only attacked when the Swans were winning suggests most objections were motivated by self-interest, not principle.

The Giants? Victorian clubs have had four years to digest and protest against the necessarily generous draft and zone recruiting concessions provided to a club attempting to build from the ground up in hostile territory.

Yet it is only now the best hopes — or, for opposition clubs, worst fears — of how those concessions might be exploited are coming to fruition that there is uproar.

Giants skipper Callan Ward in action against St Kilda. Picture: Colleen Petch

The Giants crushing 75-point victory over Hawthorn set the alarm bells ringing. Suddenly a team that was for three seasons a hapless easybeat is now cast as McLachlanstein’s Monster.

Even a few weeks ago the notion of a Swans-Giants Grand Final seemed farfetched. It had been assumed that as the Giants inevitably rose, the Swans would gradually slip down to at least the middle of the table as the levelling effect of the draft and salary cap, as well as the retirement of premiership heroes, took hold.

Instead, typically, the Swans have deftly managed their list re-signing core players including Luke Parker, Kieren Jack and Dan Hannebery over the past six months while introducing a bunch of promising youngsters.

At the same time, Franklin’s return to form has again made his nine year, $10 million contract seem more shrewd long-term investment than potential financial drag.

The Giants rise and the Swans admirable refusal to come back to the field coincide with the seeming decline of triple premiers Hawthorn. With no clear-cut favourite, the door is suddenly open for a seasoned finalist and a new challenger bristling with talent to make an impact in September.

But whether it happens this year, or in the future, a Swans-Giants Grand Final will be as much about the rivalry they share with jealous Victorian opposition as the one between each other.

Originally published as All-Sydney AFL Grand Final would be envious Victorians’ worst fears