Teams | |
---|---|
First meeting | 24 March 2012 (GWS 37–100 Sydney) |
Latest meeting | 7 September 2024 (Sydney 88–82 GWS) |
Next meeting | TBD |
Trophy | Lifeline Cup |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 29 |
All-time series (AFL only) | Sydney Swans 19 wins GWS Giants 10 wins |
Postseason results | GWS Giants 3 wins Sydney Swans 1 win |
Largest victory | Sydney – 129 points 14 July 2013 |
Longest win streak | Sydney, 4 28 June 2014–12 June 2016 and 05 August 2023–present |
Current win streak | Sydney, 4 05 August 2023–present |
The Sydney Derby, formerly and unofficially called the Battle of the Bridge or the Battle of Sydney, [1] [2] [3] is an Australian rules football local derby match between the two Sydney-based Australian Football League (AFL) clubs, the Sydney Swans and the Greater Western Sydney Giants. As of the finals series of the 2024 AFL season, the head-to-head score is in favour of the Sydney Swans with 19 wins to 10; the teams have also met four times in finals matches, with Greater Western Sydney winning three finals to Sydney's one.
The match's former nickname, The Battle of the Bridge, was suggested by GWS's inaugural coach Kevin Sheedy. The bridge in question is the Anzac Bridge which connects Eastern and Western Sydney, not the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, which connects North Sydney to the city part of Sydney. [4] [5]
The first Sydney Derby was held on 24 March 2012 and attracted a then-record Derby crowd of 38,203. This game was also the first game of the 2012 AFL season and the first AFL premiership match for the Giants. Fielding a very young and inexperienced team, the Giants only won three games in their first two years in the competition and failed to win any Derby games. This led to declining attendances at Sydney Derbies.
The Giants won their first Derby in the opening clash of 2014. Later that year, The Daily Telegraph noted there was "genuine dislike off the field" between the clubs. [6] Over the subsequent years, the Giants progressively moved up the AFL ladder and got closer to the Swans, who were premiership contenders during this time. The opening Derby of 2015 attracted a crowd of over 30,000—the first time this had occurred since the first Derby. The 2016 Derbies were both well attended—the Swans' home game had the second-highest attendance in fixture history. The Giants' home game was the 10th Sydney Derby. With both teams vying for a top-four spot at the end of the season, the game was described as a blockbuster. [7] In the lead up to the game, The Daily Telegraph published an article analysing the rivalry. Though noting that Sydney's surprise recruitment of Lance Franklin created some animosity between the clubs, the article went on to say, "What the rivalry needs is a flash point. ... Something to make it clear that when the Swans and Giants meet there is real feeling. Not the slightly awkward yet mutually respectful détente that currently exists." [8] After the game, the paper declared that an altercation between Steve Johnson and Lance Franklin "was the moment of sporting theatre that inspired a rivalry to truly ignite". [9] It was the first AFL game at Sydney Showground Stadium to be declared a sell-out, and it was Foxtel's highest-rating program of the day, second-highest rating twilight match of the season, and the second-most-watched Sydney Derby—behind only the inaugural clash. [10] [11]
The first finals series match between the teams was on 10 September 2016, when the Swans hosted the Giants in the 1st Qualifying Final of the 2016 season. The Giants defeated the Swans by 36 points, an historic victory considering it was the Giants' first win in a finals series match and was played before a record derby crowd of 60,222. [12] [13] The two teams met again in a finals match in the 2018 second elimination final; it was the first time the sides met in a knock-out match. [14] The Giants registered their biggest-ever victory over the Swans, winning by 49 points in front of a crowd of 40,350—the largest for a Sydney Derby at the Sydney Cricket Ground. [15]
In August 2020, the two teams contested a Sydney Derby at Optus Stadium in Perth due to concerns over a second wave of coronavirus cases in Sydney, [16] while Sydney's outbreak in July 2021 saw that month's fixture moved first to Mars Stadium in Ballarat, [17] then to Metricon Stadium following a COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria. [18]
The two teams met in a Sydney Derby final for the third time in 2021, with that match taking place at University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. It became the fourth different state to host a Sydney Derby. [19] In front of a crowd of 8,635, the smallest-ever Sydney Derby finals crowd and the third-smallest Sydney Derby crowd overall, the Giants defeated the Swans by 1 point, the narrowest winning margin in the derby's history.
The two venues usually used for the Sydney Derby are the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Showground Stadium. However, the first three Sydney Derbies and the 2016 finals series derby were held at Stadium Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sydney Derby was played at various neutral grounds. Sydney Derby XIX was played at Optus Stadium in Perth, [16] Sydney Derby XXI was played at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, [18] and Sydney Derby XXII was played at University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston. [19]
Source: Click here
a Crowds impacted by COVID-19
The Brett Kirk Medal is awarded to the player deemed to be the best player on the ground after the match. It is named after Sydney Swans AFL premiership player Brett Kirk, who was born and raised in country New South Wales and played junior football for North Albury. Players highlighted in green are current players for either club.
Year | Match | Medalist | Team |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | I | Josh Kennedy | Sydney |
II | Kieren Jack | Sydney | |
2013 | III | Kieren Jack (2) | Sydney |
IV | Nick Malceski | Sydney | |
2014 | V | Callan Ward | Greater Western Sydney |
VI | Kieren Jack (3) | Sydney | |
2015 | VII | Dan Hannebery | Sydney |
VIII | Josh Kennedy (2) | Sydney | |
2016 | IX | Luke Parker | Sydney |
X | Heath Shaw | Greater Western Sydney | |
2017 | XII | Shane Mumford | Greater Western Sydney |
XIII | Lance Franklin | Sydney | |
Callan Ward (2) | Greater Western Sydney | ||
2018 | XIV | Callum Mills | Sydney |
XV | Lance Franklin (2) | Sydney | |
2019 | XVII | Tim Taranto | Greater Western Sydney |
XVIII | Jacob Hopper | Greater Western Sydney | |
2020 | XIX | Luke Parker (2) | Sydney |
2021 | XX | Lance Franklin (3) | Sydney |
XXI | Luke Parker (3) | Sydney | |
2022 | XXIII | Luke Parker (4) | Sydney |
XXIV | Luke Parker (5) | Sydney | |
2023 | XXV | Toby Greene | Greater Western Sydney |
XXVI | Errol Gulden | Sydney | |
2024 | XXVII | Errol Gulden (2) | Sydney |
XXVIII | Errol Gulden (3) | Sydney |
NOTE: No medal was awarded in Sydney Derby XI, Sydney Derby XVI, Sydney Derby XXII or Sydney Derby XXIX due to those matches being finals matches.
Number | Player | Team | Matches |
---|---|---|---|
5 | Luke Parker | Sydney | IX (2016) XIX (2020) XXI (2021) XXII, XXIV (2022) |
3 | Lance Franklin | Sydney | XIII (2017) XV (2018) XX (2021) |
3 | Kieran Jack | Sydney | II (2012) III (2013) VI (2014) |
3 | Errol Gulden | Sydney | XXVI (2023) XXVII, XXVIII (2024) |
Below are listed statistics from the Battle of the Bridge only.
Club | Round | Goals | Behinds | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sydney | 2013, Round 16 | 24 | 27 | 171 |
Sydney | 2015, Round 21 | 20 | 13 | 133 |
Sydney | 2012, Round 14 | 19 | 18 | 132 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2019, Round 6 | 18 | 12 | 120 |
Sydney | 2022, Round 20 | 17 | 10 | 112 |
Club | Round | Goals | Behinds | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Western Sydney | 2020, Round 12 | 3 | 7 | 25 |
Sydney | 2018, Elimination Final | 4 | 6 | 30 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2012, Round 1 | 5 | 7 | 37 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2012, Round 14 | 5 | 8 | 38 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2022, Round 20 | 5 | 9 | 39 |
Club | Round | Winning score | Losing score | Margin |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sydney | 2013, Round 16 | 24.27 (171) | 5.12 (42) | 129 |
Sydney | 2012, Round 14 | 19.18 (132) | 5.8 (38) | 94 |
Sydney | 2015, Round 21 | 20.13 (133) | 6.8 (44) | 89 |
Sydney | 2022, Round 20 | 17.10 (112) | 5.9 (39) | 73 |
Sydney | 2012, Round 1 | 14.16 (100) | 5.7 (37) | 63 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2018, Elimination Final | 10.19 (79) | 4.6 (30) | 49 |
Club | Round | Winning score | Losing score | Margin |
---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Western Sydney | 2023, Round 7 | 17.5 (107) | 16.10 (106) | 1 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2021, Elimination Final | 11.8 (74) | 10.13 (73) | 1 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2019, Round 20 | 12.11 (83) | 12.9 (81) | 2 |
Greater Western Sydney | 2021, Round 5 | 9.17 (71) | 10.9 (69) | 2 |
Sydney | 2024, Qualifying Final | 13.10 (88) | 12.10 (82) | 6 |
Sydney | 2023, Round 21 | 15.6 (96) | 12.13 (85) | 11 |
Players highlighted in green are still on AFL lists for either Sydney or Greater Western Sydney. Updated to the end of 2024.
Player | Club | Date | Goals | Behinds |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 2015, Round 3 | 5 | 5 |
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 2018, Round 22 | 5 | 4 |
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 2014, Round 15 | 5 | 3 |
Kurt Tippett | Sydney | 2015, Round 21 | 5 | 3 |
Luke Parker | Sydney | 2022, Round 1 | 5 | 1 |
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 2021, Round 5 | 5 | 0 |
Jeremy Cameron | Greater Western Sydney | 2016, Qualifying Final | 4 | 4 |
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 2017, Round 17 | 4 | 4 |
Player | Club | Goals | Behinds | Accuracy | Games | Goals/Game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 50 | 32 | 61.0% | 17 | 2.94 |
Toby Greene | Greater Western Sydney | 36 | 28 | 56.3% | 21 | 1.71 |
Jeremy Cameron | Greater Western Sydney | 33 | 23 | 58.2% | 16 | 2.13 |
Tom Papley | Sydney | 27 | 16 | 62.8% | 18 | 1.50 |
Isaac Heeney | Sydney | 25 | 14 | 64.1% | 20 | 1.25 |
Player | Club | Date | Disposals |
---|---|---|---|
Errol Gulden | Sydney | 2024, Round 15 | 41 |
Tom Green | Greater Western Sydney | 2023, Round 21 | 38 |
Jarrad McVeigh | Sydney | 2012, Round 14 | 37 |
Lachie Whitfield | Greater Western Sydney | 2015, Round 3 | 37 |
Ryan O'Keefe | Sydney | 2012, Round 14 | 36 |
Jarrad McVeigh | Sydney | 2013, Round 16 | 35 |
Dan Hannebery | Sydney | 2015, Round 3 | 35 |
Josh Kennedy | Sydney | 2015, Round 21 | 35 |
Tom Green | Greater Western Sydney | 2024, Round 15 | 35 |
Brownlow Votes as of the end of the 2023 AFL season.
Player | Club | Votes | H&A | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
Luke Parker | Sydney | 19 | 24 | 0.79 |
Josh Kennedy | Sydney | 16 | 22 | 0.73 |
Lance Franklin | Sydney | 15 | 17 | 0.88 |
Shane Mumford | Greater Western Sydney & Sydney | 8 | 16 | 0.5 |
Kieran Jack | Sydney | 7 | 16 | 0.44 |
Coaches highlighted in green are the current head coach for either Sydney or Greater Western Sydney.
Coach | Club | Years | Total | Wins | Losses | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Longmire | Sydney | 2012– | 24 | 17 | 7 | 70.83% |
Adam Kingsley | Greater Western Sydney | 2023– | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20.00% |
Leon Cameron | Greater Western Sydney | 2014–2022 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 46.66% |
Kevin Sheedy | Greater Western Sydney | 2012–2013 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.00% |
Mark McVeigh | Greater Western Sydney | 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% |
Like both the "Western Derby" and the "Showdown", pre-season matches do not count towards the overall Sydney Derby results and statistics. However, The first ever match between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Sydney Swans occurred during the 2011 pre-season. To date GWS and Sydney have played 10 pre-season fixtures including annually from 2013 to 2021.
Year | Date | Round | Home team | Away team | Score | Winner | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 19 February 2011 | 1 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 4-83 | Sydney | Blacktown ISP Oval |
2013 | 24 February 2013 | 1 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 52-28 | GWS | Blacktown ISP Oval |
2014 | 20 February 2014 | 2 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 75-115 | Sydney | Manuka Oval |
2015 | 22 March 2015 | 4 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 67-73 | Sydney | Manuka Oval |
2016 | 4 March 2016 | 3 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 60-94 | GWS | Drummoyne Oval |
2017 | 3 March 2017 | 3 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 42-54 | Sydney | Blacktown ISP Oval |
2018 | 9 March 2018 | 3 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 82-71 | Sydney | Blacktown ISP Oval |
2019 | 2 March 2019 | 1 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 81-59 | GWS | Blacktown ISP Oval |
2020 | 29 February 2020 | 2 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 121-27 | GWS | Blacktown ISP Oval |
2021 | 7 March 2021 | 1 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 114-86 | GWS | Sydney Showground Stadium |
Year | Date | Round | Home team | Away team | Score | Winner | Venue | Attendance [lower-alpha 1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S7 (2022) | 10 September 2022 | 3 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 18 - 65 | GWS | SCG | 4,223 |
2023 | 3 September 2023 | 1 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 51 - 46 | Sydney | North Sydney Oval | 5,474 |
Year | Date | Round | Home team | Away team | Score | Winner | Venue |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 17 April 2021 | 1 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 96-70 | Sydney | Tramway Oval |
2022 | 30 July 2022 | 19 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 77-39 | Sydney | SCG |
2023 | 5 August 2023 | 20 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 67-145 | Sydney | Blacktown International Sportspark |
2024 | 4 May 2024 | 6 | Sydney | GWS Giants | 85-75 | Sydney | SCG |
2024 | 22 June 2024 | 13 | GWS Giants | Sydney | 90-76 | GWS | Blacktown International Sportspark |
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League (VFL). The Sydney Swans Academy, consisting of the club's best junior development signings, contests Division 2 of the men's and women's underage national championships and the Talent League.
Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Sydney Olympic Park, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The stadium, which is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stadium, Homebush Stadium or simply the Olympic Stadium, was completed in March 1999 at a cost of A$690 million to host the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Stadium was leased by a private company, the Stadium Australia Group, until the Stadium was sold back to the NSW Government on 1 June 2016 after NSW Premier Michael Baird announced the Stadium was to be redeveloped as a world-class rectangular stadium. The Stadium is owned by Venues NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer.
Australian rules football has been played continuously in the Australian Capital Territory since 1911 and was the most popular football code in the nation's capital Canberra between 1978 and 1982. The current governing body is AFL Canberra founded 1922, while the development body is AFL NSW/ACT established in 1999.
In New South Wales, Australian rules football dates back to the 1860s colonial era, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1880s. It is traditionally popular in the outback areas of the state near the Victorian and South Australian borders— in the Murray Region, in the Riverina and in Broken Hill. These areas form part of an Australian cultural divide described as the Barassi Line. To the west of the line it is commonly known as "football" or "Australian Football" and to east of the line, it is promoted under the acronym "AFL" by the main development body AFL NSW/ACT. There are more than 15 regional leagues though some are run from other states, the highest profile are AFL Sydney and the Riverina Football Netball League. With 71,481 registered players, it has the third most of any jurisdiction.
Rivalries in the Australian Football League exist between many teams, most of which typically draw large crowds and interest regardless of both teams' positions on the ladder. The AFL encourages the building of such rivalries, as a method of increasing publicity for the league, to the point of designating one round each year as "Rivalry Round" when many of these match-ups are held on the one weekend. Whilst some rivalries, such as between teams from adjacent areas, are still strong, the designation of an entire round of fixtures as a Rivalry Round is often criticised due to some arbitrary match-ups, or ignoring stronger and more recent rivalries.
Callan Ward is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2008 to 2011. Ward was the inaugural Kevin Sheedy Medallist in 2012 and is a dual Brett Kirk Medallist. He was one of three inaugural Greater Western Sydney co-captains, leading the club for eight seasons, and is the club's games record holder with 253 games.
The Greater Western Sydney Giants are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park which represents the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales.
Sydney Showground Stadium is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It hosted the baseball events for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Showground, including the stadium, is operated by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS), under lease from the New South Wales Government.
The 2012 AFL season was the 116th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
The Sydney Derby is a local derby contested between two of the Australian A-League Men's Sydney-based clubs, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers. Contested for the first time on 20 October 2012, historical, cultural and sporting factors have resulted in the derby being considered one of Australian sport's biggest club games, and one of the biggest rivalries in the A-League Men. Crowd sentiment at derby matches has been said by Alessandro Del Piero to produce atmosphere and emotions similar to those in Europe, while Wanderers player Mateo Poljak stated that the sixth Sydney Derby had an atmosphere that was the best he had experienced as a player.
The Australian Football League registered the name Western Sydney Football Club Ltd with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in January 2008. On 12 March 2008 the AFL received unanimous support from the existing 16 clubs for two expansion teams to enter the league, one of which was to be based in western Sydney. The Western Sydney working party met on 22 July to discuss player rules and draft concessions.
The Greater Western Sydney Giants' 2015 season was its 4th season in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 2016 AFL season was the 120th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
The 2016 Australian Football League finals series was the 120th annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2016 AFL Premiership Season. The series ran over four weekends in September and October 2016, culminating with the 2016 AFL Grand Final, between the Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2016. The Western Bulldogs defeated the Sydney Swans by 22 points to end the Western Bulldogs 62-year premiership drought, becoming the first team in AFL history to win the premiership from seventh place.
The 2017 AFL season was the 121st season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs, ran from 23 March until 30 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
The 2017 AFL Women's season was the inaugural season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season ran from 3 February to 25 March, comprising a seven-round home-and-away season followed by a grand final contested by the top two clubs. Eight Australian Football League (AFL) clubs featured in the inaugural season: ‹See Tfd›Adelaide, Brisbane, ‹See Tfd›Carlton, ‹See Tfd›Collingwood, ‹See Tfd›Fremantle, ‹See Tfd›Greater Western Sydney, ‹See Tfd›Melbourne and the ‹See Tfd›Western Bulldogs.
The 2016 AFL First Preliminary Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium on 24 September 2016. It was staged as part of the 2016 AFL finals series to determine which of the two clubs would qualify for that season's Grand Final.
The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs.
The Greater Western Sydney Giants–Western Bulldogs rivalry is an Australian Rules football (AFL) rivalry between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and the Western Bulldogs.