On Tuesday, GWS Giants forward Toby Bedford successfully lit the touchpaper ahead of the 30th edition of the Sydney Derby, telling the assembled media: “it’s not tongue in cheek – we don’t like them, they don’t like us.”
Two days later at the SCG, Sydney’s James Rowbottom and the Giants’ Harry Himmelberg were jostling to see who could pour cold water on Bedford’s promotional efforts first.
“Well, I can’t speak for the Giants, but there obviously is a rivalry, but we very highly respect the Giants and the way they go about things,” Rowbottom said.
“It’s just a game at the end of the day, and it’s a fierce competition, and there is a rivalry, but I’m not sure hate’s the right word that we’d come and use.”
Himmelberg, whose side have lost the past four Sydney derbies, including last year’s qualifying final at the SCG, was also keen to lean on diplomacy ahead of Sunday.
“There’s a pretty good underlying mutual respect between the two clubs, and as fierce as a rivalry is on the weekend, we do have a job to grow the game of footy in New South Wales and we’re pretty collaborative with that,” Himmelberg said.
“But once it gets to game time, it’s the exact opposite. We want to beat them as much as they want to beat us and it’s always a fierce rivalry, and I wouldn’t expect it’s any different on the weekend.”
Harry Himmelberg of the GWS Giants and the Sydney Swans James Rowbottom at the SCG ahead of the Sydney DerbyCredit: Dominic Lorrimer
Last season, ahead of their three derby games, the Swans and the Giants were both locked in a fierce contest for the premiership, now, both clubs are simply vying for form.
The Giants have enjoyed a stronger start to the season and are sitting in sixth position on the ladder after two successive losses to Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
The Swans have been ravaged by injuries to key players, including captain Callum Mills, Logan McDonald, Tom Papley and star midfielder Errol Gulden.
New coach Dean Cox has been scrambling to patch a fit side together and the Swans have endured three successive defeats against Collingwood, Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast.
Sunday’s game is likely to be sold out at the SCG and despite the Swans’ injury difficulties, and Rowbottom doesn’t believe that his side can use it as an excuse for their current poor form.
“It’s obviously a challenge, but it’s not an excuse. We’ve still got a relatively experienced team at the moment, and we’re the ones who are making mistakes and not providing our best footy,” Rowbottom said.
“So I don’t think injury is an excuse, it’s obviously a challenge to have a fair few of our best 22 out…we’re after our best footy, regardless of who’s on the field.”
Rowbottom’s former Swans teammate Luke Parker recently made light of his current North Melbourne teammate Paul Curtis’ three-match ban for a dangerous tackle on Port Adelaide’s Josh Sinn last Saturday.
“Please attend our touch football game this Thursday night vs Essendon #nomoretackling,” Parker wrote on Instagram.
Giants player Harry Himmelberg and the Swans James Rowbottom took a diplomatic stance ahead of the Sydney DerbyCredit: Dominic Lorrimer
Curtis’ chase down tackle left Sinn concussed and the tribunal stated in upholding the ban: “A prudent player would have realised that in executing a tackle in this way carried with it a real likelihood of Sinn’s head making forceful contact with the ground with the potential for a concussion.”
Rowbottom appreciates the difficulty of executing a chase-down tackle perfectly, but also understands that a negative medical outcome to the opponent will likely lead to a harsher punishment.
“It’s been results-based, so unfortunately, Josh (Sinn) was concussed and that weighs into the decision at the end of the day,” Rowbottom said.
“And we saw that with (the Swans’) Justin McInerney (three-match ban handed down by the Match Review Officer for a bump on Brisbane’s Brandon Starcevich) as well earlier this year, and where his decision to bump, if it wasn’t a head on head clash, it probably would have been let slide, but because of the result, he was probably dealt a harsher punishment.”
