User:The-Pope/Battle of the Bridge (AFL)

Sydney Derby

First meeting	24 March 2012
Latest meeting	14 July 2013
Next meeting	15 March 2014
Statistics
All-time series (Australian Football League only)	Sydney: 5 Greater Western Sydney: 1
Largest victory	Sydney: 129 points (14 July 2013)

The Battle of the Bridge, also known as the Sydney Derby, is an Australian rules football rivalry match between the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants, both of whom participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). The first premiership match between the two sides occurred on 24 March 2012 at Stadium Australia in the Sydney Olympic Park.

History

Sydney Swans (left) and Greater Western Sydney Giants (right) players line up for the national anthem prior to the inaugural Sydney Derby.

The first Sydney Derby occurred on 24 March 2012, a significant occasion because it was the first premiership match in club history for the Giants. The formation of the club occurred during 2008, when the AFL Commission announced a $100 million venture for a new boutique stadium in Sydney's west, culminating in the redevelopment of the Sydney Showground Main Arena. An Australian Senate inquiry found that there were "insurmountable cultural barriers" to the establishment of a Western Sydney team in 2009, ensuring that the subsequent establishment of the Greater Western Sydney Giants and its participation in the Sydney Derby as its first premiership match is an historic and ground-breaking achievement for Australian football.

It is hoped that over time, the derby will evolve to have its own unique status, similar to the Showdown in Adelaide and the Western Derby in Western Australia.

Kevin Sheedy, coach of the Greater Western Sydney Giants has previously said he wants to turn the Sydney Derby into "the biggest rivalry in Australian sport" and also argued that the clash should rather be referred to as the Battle of the Bridge, (in reference to the ANZAC Bridge (regarded as the gateway to Sydney's inner west region) promoting Derby III by that name, being a giants home game. The swans opposed that name, arguing the name implied they were only an Eastern Suburbs) club, and in response have merely marketed their home game against the Giants on July 16 as 'Sydney Derby 4'. In spite of that, Sheedy vowed to continue to refer to the game as The Battle of the Bridge stating,' It's the battle of the bridge and not the derby, put a line through derby...It's the way people in the west want it to be. We've spoken to lots of people in the west and they like the idea. They love the idea of the ANZAC Bridge...so I'll go on my own personal recommendation. Our fans out west like it, they know its a landmark', and also stated the Swans and the Giants were,' Like Coles and Woolworths in the same town'.

On 3 February 2012, the AFL announced that recently retired Sydney Swans champion Brett Kirk would be honoured by having the best performed player from each Sydney Derby receive a medal named after him. The medal will be officially known as the Brett Kirk Medal. Both teams agreed that it would be fitting to name the Medal for all future Sydney Derby games after Kirk, who grew up in the New South Wales town of Albury and played all his 241 AFL games for the Swans. Kirk has previously spoken passionately about the derby:

I grew up in country New South Wales and it's great for footy that there will now be two teams based in Sydney ... I really hope the derbies between the Swans and the Giants develop into a great rivalry and become huge games on the AFL calendar, dividing the city and the state in the way that the South Australian and West Australian derbies do.

— Brett Kirk, 3 February 2012

Venues

Both derbies in 2012 were held at Stadium Australia. The venue hosted the Giants home game in 2013, but the Swans home game was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In 2014, the Giants home game will shift to Sydney Showground Stadium, while the Swans home game will continue to be held at the SCG. This sees both teams hosting their respective derbies at their primary, spiritual home grounds.

Trophy

On 20 March 2012, it was announced that the official name of the trophy presented to the winners of each derby match would be the White Ribbon Trophy. White Ribbon is an Australian organisation that works to prevent the most common and pervasive form of male violence – that towards women.

Results (premiership)

Sydney Derby Results

Season	Derby	Round	Home team	Score	Away team	Full Score	Kirk Medal	Venue	Attendance
2012	1	Round 1	Greater Western Sydney	37-100	Sydney Swans	14.16 (100) def. 5.7 (37)	Josh Kennedy	ANZ Stadium	38,203
	2	Round 14	Sydney Swans	132-38	Greater Western Sydney	19.18 (132) def. 5.8 (38)	Kieren Jack	ANZ Stadium	22,565
2013	3	Round 1	Greater Western Sydney	76-106	Sydney Swans	16.10 (106) def. 11.10 (76)	Kieren Jack	ANZ Stadium	23,690
	4	Round 16	Sydney Swans	171-42	Greater Western Sydney	24.27 (171) def. 5.12 (42)	Nick Malceski	Sydney Cricket Ground	21,757
2014	5	Round 1	Greater Western Sydney		Sydney Swans			Skoda Stadium
	6	Round 15	Sydney Swans		Greater Western Sydney			Sydney Cricket Ground

References

[[Category:Australian Football League games]] [[Category:Australian Football League rivalries]] [[Category:Greater Western Sydney Giants]] [[Category:Sport in Sydney]] [[Category:Sydney Swans]]