Scott Morrison was once a rugby man at heart

Scott Morrison has portrayed himself as a one-eyed Cronulla Sharks fan but it wasn’t long ago that he preferred rugby union.

Scott Morrison’s tweet showing his support for the Western Bulldogs.

Scott Morrison has portrayed himself as a one-eyed Cronulla Sharks fan but it wasn’t that long ago that he preferred rugby union while also being a supporter of the AFL’s Western Bulldogs.

Mr Morrison has publicly declared he was a fan of the Western Bulldogs and called AFL a “great game” and the AFL grand final the “greatest show in Oz”, despite last week saying he did not have an AFL team.

The Prime Minister’s quotes about AFL — made in 2009 — are reminiscent of fellow Sydneysider Malcolm Turnbull calling the Melbourne-based game “the most exciting football code”, to the chagrin of working-class NRL fans in his home state.

Mr Morrison, who last week tasked comedian Peter Helliar with finding him an AFL team, even bragged he was singing the Western Bulldogs’ theme song after the team had a win in 2009.

“(Scott Morrison) is singing sons of the west, red, white and blue, we’ll come out snarling bulldogs thru and thru (sic) go doggies,” Mr Morrison tweeted.

He said he supported the Victorian team instead of the Sydney Swans because then Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade introduced him to the “great game”.

“And loyalty counts,” Mr Morrison tweeted.

Mr Morrison has promoted his links with rugby league since gaining the Liberal leadership last month, appearing on the NRL Footy Show while taking every opportunity to talk up his team, the Cronulla Sharks.

Even on his way into the ballot, the only comments he made were in reference to the Sharks’ game that weekend.

“My only tip is that the Sharks will beat Newcastle,” he told tradies at Parliament House.

But in 2010, the then second-term MP said he preferred rugby union to rugby league, while in 2015 he described how he “grew up on rugby”.

“I’m more of a rugby fan, but naturally when it comes to the NRL, the Sharks have my loyalty,” Mr Morrison tweeted.

In 2012, he declared rugby union “will always be my game”.

“But the (AFL grand final) is the greatest show in Oz,” he tweeted.

Rugby union is popular in private schools and affluent parts of Sydney, with rugby league largely the game of the working class.

Mr Morrison, who has tried to distance himself from Mr Turnbull’s “Mr Harbourside Mansion” image, did a press conference in his first week in the job while holding the Steeden ball used in rugby league games.

He earlier showed off his skills with the rugby league players at Sydney’s Endeavour Sports High School and watched the Sharks lose to the Sydney Roosters in Sydney on Saturday night.