Five issues where Collingwood and the Sydney Swans have squared off

SYDNEY’S late switch of the Round 1 match against Collingwood has ruffled feathers between the clubs, but it’s not the first time the two sides have failed to see eye to eye.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 30: Eddie McGuire speaks to the media outside of the offices of the Triple M radio station on May 30, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. Eddie McGuire commented yesterday on radio that Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes should be used to promote King Kong. McGuire conceded on television last night that though not intended as a racist comment, "...was it racial vilification? Yes it was." (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

BIRDS of a feather might flock together, but it’s safe to say two of the AFL’s feathered outfits haven’t exactly been bosom buddies in recent years.

This week’s furore around the Swans’ decision to cut ties with ANZ Stadium and move every match scheduled this year — including the side’s Round 1 clash with the Magpies — to the SCG has only further strained the two teams’ relationship, with Collingwood chief executive Gary Pert today slamming the Swans as “disrespectful, but unprofessional and inappropriate”.

Adding insult to injury, Pert said, was the fact that Collingwood only found out that the match had been shifted via social media.

It’s not the first time the two sides have failed to see eye to eye, with the Melbourne versus Sydney rivalry taken to a whole new level by the two clubs.

COLA

The controversial cost of living allowance has arguably been Collingwood’s biggest bugbear with its harbour city counterpart. Magpies president Eddie McGuire has been a long-time opponent of the 9.8 per cent salary cap allowance that was given to Sydney and Greater Western Sydney to cover higher costs associated with living — which has since been phased out. On several occasions, McGuire launched impassioned arguments that it be scrapped.

Eddie McGuire apologised to Adam Goodes after his King Kong gaffe on radio. Picture: Getty Images

KING KONG-SIZED SLIP

In 2013, Collingwood boss Eddie McGuire was forced to apologise after suggesting Swans great Adam Goodes be used to promote the musical King Kong. The comments came just days after Goodes, who retired at the end of last season, was racially abused by a young Magpies supporter at the MCG. Calls for McGuire to resign ensued, though the president said he “would not resign because of a slip of the tongue”. It was later reported that McGuire “privately attacked” then-Sydney chairman Richard Colless and coach John Longmire for “ruining his career” over the issue.

ACADEMY DEBATE

Sydney’s academy for young footballers has also been one of McGuire’s bones to pick for some time, with the Magpies boss claiming the Swans were “hiding” players away from the eyes of other clubs. He has lashed the academy program on numerous occasions, declaring that the Swans’ ability to enrol youth players were “going to destroy the game”. This prompted Swans chairman Andrew Pridham to hit back in a lengthy statement, refuting McGuire’s claims that players were “hidden away”.

The Swans have reaped the benefits of Academy graduates such as Isaac Heeney. Picture: Michael Klein

TRADE BANS

Sydney was hit with trade restrictions in 2014, and was restricted to recruiting draftees, delisted free agents and promoted rookies. It was permitted to replace one player who left the club either as a free agent or as part of a trade with a contract worth up to $450,000, with the COLA allowance reduced by 9.8 per cent of the traded-out player’s contract if they were contracted for this season. Confusing, right? Not for McGuire, who said it was a long time coming. “We’ve turned a blind eye for a long time with the Sydney Swans because we’ve wanted it to work, but they’ve had a free agent every year since Dermott Brereton [in 1994]; you go through the list,” McGuire said SEN at the time. “That’s OK, we’ve all lived with that, now we say, barely, enough.”

THE SWITCH

This week, Sydney severed ties with ANZ Stadium, meaning all 2016 matches will be moved to the SCG. A number of players — including Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury — tweeted their delight at the news, but the decision raised the ire of Magpies chief executive Gary Pert. The Magpies — who have all travel arrangements for the trip booked — found out via social media, and are demanding the AFL and Sydney pay for any accommodation alterations or travel changes they have to make. Stay tuned on this one.