Greater Western Sydney Giants CEO David Matthews has claimed that a game in Melbourne won't overshadow the Sydney derby on Friday night.
The AFL has scheduled two games on Friday night, with only a 30-minute gap between the start times of both games.
At Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Essendon will take on the Western Bulldogs at 7:20 pm while the GWS v Sydney game at Engie Stadium in Sydney will start at 7:50 pm.
Giants CEO David Matthews explained that people in Sydney won’t care about the other game and that footy fans will tune into what should be an enthralling derby.
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"The fact there's a game on in Melbourne, to be honest, people in Sydney couldn’t care less what's going on in Melbourne at the best of times, so I think the focus for this town is going to be on this derby for sure,” Matthews said in a press conference.
“Increasingly, what footy fans want is to watch the best in terms of entertainment but not the biggest clubs necessarily. We’re going to get big over time, but right now we’re one of the most entertaining clubs in the competition, so to get on the big stage is great.”
Sydney has won the last five games against the Giants, including a 14-point win in Round 8 earlier this year.
Matthews added that the rivalry between the two clubs is real as he quoted Giants captain Toby Greene.
“I think as Toby (Greene) said, the rivalry certainly not manufactured. I think it’s a very genuine rivalry,” he said.
“We do things a bit differently to the way they do things. Sometimes that upsets them, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, it probably doesn’t worry us.”
The Giants will look to cement their finals hopes with a win against Sydney as the Swans try to win all five remaining games to try for an unlikely finals berth.