In South Australia the media always talk up the contest between Port Adelaide and Adelaide no matter where they are on the ladder.
The story is the same in the West for the western derbies. There isn’t another match that matters when the West Coast Eagles take on Fremantle.
However those clashes, and even old rivals like Carlton and Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton and the Magpies and Bombers matches on ANZAC Day, are in my opinion a tier below the rivalry between Hawthorn and Geelong.
These two have made Easter Monday their own, and in recent times when both teams have generally been permanent fixtures in the top eight, or in the Cats’ case top four, the games between them have been thrillers of the highest level.
The intensity that they are played at is equal to a finals encounter, and it probably has much to do with Geelong’s singleminded determination not to lose to the Hawks since their shock defeat in the 2008 grand final.
There have been several matches against the Hawks since then when Geelong hasn’t deserved to win, but somehow they found a way.
One example was Round 17, 2009, when Jimmy Bartel kicked a point after the siren. There was another in Round 1, 2010 when they got their noses in front after trailing all day and hung on by two points. Last season both games were rippers.
On Easter Monday, Geelong were behind for large portions of the match and were virtually down and out, but kicked four goals to none in the last quarter as the Hawks’ mental fragility against the Cats was exposed again.
They seemed to have forgotten how to beat Geelong since they shocked them on grand final day in 2008, and that was evident in what was definitely the best home and away match of last season.
Hawthorn were the premiership favourites after producing some brilliant form over the past two months, while the Cats, despite being in the eight, had spluttered at times in 2012.
During this battle both teams rose to a level that would have been hard to achieve in most grand finals.
Geelong kicked nine goals to two in the first quarter to shell shock the Hawks and the entire footy fraternity, making everyone think the competition’s giants over the past five years had stirred and were tuning up for another assault on September.
However, Hawthorn reeled them in and dominated the last term to an extent where they hit the front and looked set to hang on.
Once again the Cats found something through a Tom Hawkins mark on the siren, and the subsequent goal saw another single figure margin to take the streak over Hawthorn to nine.
It was a match that those who were lucky enough to watch will never forget, even if you are a Hawthorn fan.
It was a case of two heavyweights going at it, just adding to this imposing rivalry.
The rivalry was born in 1989 in another home and away classic when a new look Geelong, under a new coach Malcolm Blight, took on the reigning premiers who had dominated the competition for the previous six years.
The Cats proved they were the big improvers that season, smashing the Hawks early and leading by almost eight goals at half time, before the Hawks settled and ran over the top of Geelong.
That was just the entree for one of the toughest grand finals of the modern era later that year, when the Hawks managed to win back to back flags in a brutal contest against the fast finishing Cats.
From that day on their meetings have always held plenty of meaning.
Easter Monday’s contest will end what has been a drawn out round one, but it’s a perfect way to finish it, especially if recent encounters are anything to go.
The fact that both teams are seen as contenders again only adds to a game that promises to be another classic.
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