At first glance, the 2016 AFL grand final looks like just another chapter in the great sporting rivalry between Australia’s two most populous cities, but is that the case?
Most of the talkback radio on Monday morning in Melbourne surrounded the Western Bulldogs – and rightly so, their story is one of pure emotion and inspiration.
I was watching their fascinating preliminary final match against the Giants on Saturday evening at a watering hole in the inner eastern Melbourne suburb of Richmond. With around ten minutes to go in the final quarter I noticed a girl standing behind me with a Bulldogs scarf on, crying her eyes out. When the siren eventually sounded, she was inconsolable – and she wasn’t alone. There were people shedding tears all across the pub.
This is the sort of feeling that has gripped the city ahead of the Dogs’ first appearance in the big dance for 55 years.
A woman interviewed at Whitten Oval on Sunday morning was so overcome with emotion she could hardly get the words out: that she finally gets to see her team in a grand final after supporting the club for every one of the 40 years of her life. Standing next to her elderly mother, she said it was the happiest day of her life, she would finally get to enjoy a grand final day with her mum.
The match against Greater Western Sydney was emotional, with the lead changing several times and the aforementioned rivalry between Victoria and New South Wales on full display.
The Bulldogs will have the support of the state, as the Swans have been on this stage several times in the past 20 years.
The Swans lost the 1996 decider to North Melbourne, beat West Coast in 2005, then lost to them the following year. This decade they tasted success in 2012 against Hawthorn, before the Hawks turned the tables on them in 2014.
One thing that will easily be overlooked this week is the fact that the Swans were originally a Victorian club, just as many Fitzroy supporters are forgotten when the Lions are referred to simply as ‘Brisbane’.
The Swans wear the letters ‘SMFC’ on their back to represent the incredibly proud South Melbourne Football Club who were one of the foundation members of the VFL in 1897. They played their home games at the Lake Oval from the first season right through to the end of 1981, when they moved north to become the Sydney Swans.
Of course, the betting market are rarely impacted by sentiment, and the Swans will start as $1.60 favourites, with the Dogs at $2.40.
It’s not as simple as the Victoria versus New South Wales match-up that we will see when we tune into the NRL grand final, which takes place in Sydney on Sunday night, when the Storm face the Sharks.
Despite the Swans having Victorian heritage, I really hope that the Dogs can break the longest standing premiership drought in AFL history.
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