# Greater Western Sydney–Western Bulldogs rivalry

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.
Prominent moments in the clubs' rivalry included in the 2014 AFL season, when Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen and Giants number one draft pick Tom Boyd were exchanged in a trade deal, and when the two teams met in the 2016 AFL first preliminary final, regarded the best AFL game of the 2010s by Channel 7.

## History
### Early years

The Greater Western Sydney Giants were created in 2012 as the competition's 18th active club. The Giants played their first premiership match against the Bulldogs in round 5 in Canberra.
Following the 2014 season, Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen sensationally requested a trade to the Giants. Griffen was widely regarded as the club's best player and had only been captain for one season. He later cited the stress of captaincy as his reason for nearly giving up the game altogether. The Bulldogs responded by luring the Giants' number-one draft pick, first-year key forward Tom Boyd, on a 7-year deal worth $7 million. Griffen and Boyd were ultimately exchanged in the same trade deal.

### Finals rivals (2016–2019)

At the conclusion of the 2016 AFL season, Greater Western Sydney finished fourth on the ladder and the Western Bulldogs had finished seventh. The two teams met in the 2016 AFL First Preliminary Final at Spotless Stadium, in which the Bulldogs were attempting to make their first AFL grand final appearance in 55 years while the Giants were attempting to reach the grand final for the first time in their fifth season in the AFL.
Two goals to each side saw the Bulldogs lead by two points at the quarter-time break. The Bulldogs then kicked four goals to three in the second quarter, during which two players suffered game-ending injuries: Bulldogs ruckman Jordan Roughead, who had a ball kicked in his face, and Giants co-captain Callan Ward, who was accidentally kneed in the head by Zaine Cordy. At half-time, the Bulldogs led by nine points. Three minutes into the third quarter, Rory Lobb kicked a goal for the Giants to bring the margin back to one point, before a rushed behind brought the scores level at 41. However, Tory Dickson kicked a goal shortly after to give his side back the lead; another goal to Lobb and one to Jonathan Patton saw the Giants open up an eleven-point lead, before late goals to Marcus Bontempelli and Caleb Daniel saw the Giants' lead reduced to one point at three-quarter-time. Two goals to the Giants to start the final quarter saw them take a 14-point lead, the biggest by any side during the match, before goals to Dickson, Bontempelli and Cordy saw the Bulldogs reclaim the lead. Shortly after, Patton would kick a goal for the Giants and, with less than five minutes remaining, scores were tied at 82 points apiece. Jack Macrae, who to that point of the season had only kicked one goal, was then paid a mark inside the Bulldogs' forward 50 despite a late spoil from Nick Haynes; he then kicked the match's final goal and despite some desperation from the Giants, the Bulldogs hung on to win by six points. The match was considered one of the best of the decade. The Bulldogs progressed to and won the 2016 AFL Grand Final the following week against the Sydney Swans.
In round 21, 2017, Giants small forward Toby Greene collected Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus in the face with his foot while flying for a mark. Greene avoided suspension for the incident, but was suspended for two matches suspension for punching Caleb Daniel's head the same year.
The Giants finished the 2019 season 6th with thirteen wins and the Bulldogs would finish 7th with twelve wins. They faced each other in a fierce and at times violent contest in the second elimination final, Greater Western Sydney winning by 58 points to progress to a semi-final and end the Bulldogs' season. In that game, the Giants and Bulldogs engaged in on-field fights, with GWS attacking Western Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli. Bontempelli escaped with a $7500 fine and was charged with serious misconduct for injuring Nick Haynes. Bontempelli was left with bruises around his right eye, and the Bulldogs players were privately fuming. Western Bulldogs players wished they had known that Greater Western Sydney antagonist Toby Greene targeted Marcus Bontempelli's face during an ugly scuffle which typified this year's heated elimination final. A host of Bulldogs, including Patrick Lipinski and teenagers Rhylee West and Bailey Smith, were in the vicinity when Greene grabbed at Bontempelli's face and then pulled his hair while at the bottom of a pack.
The bad blood from the elimination final persisted into round 3 of the 2020 AFL Season where The Giants turned sent Nick Haynes out for the coin toss instead of captain Stephen Coniglio to meet with Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli, who fractured Haynes’ larynx the previous year. The two teams engaged in constant melees throughout a match leaving 15 players cited by the AFL Match Review Panel with fines totalling $7750. The Bulldogs won by 24 points at Marvel Stadium.

### 2021–present

In the final round of the 2023 AFL season, the Giants and Bulldogs were in indirect competition for the final spot in the finals. After the Bulldogs defeated the Geelong Cats on the Saturday night, Greater Western Sydney needed to draw with or beat Carlton to qualify and knock the Bulldogs out. The Giants succeeded, beating Carlton by 32 points.

## Head-to-head

| | Year | Date | Timeslot | Rd | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Score | Ground | Crowd | Result/Winner | M | HRT | H2H |
| 1 | 2012 | 28/4 | Sat, 1:45pm | 5 | Greater Western Sydney | 9.8 (62) | Western Bulldogs | 15.14 (104) | Manuka Oval | 9,128 | Western Bulldogs | 42 | W | +1 |
| 2 | 2013 | 6/7 | Sat 1:45pm | 15 | Greater Western Sydney | 12.11 (83) | Western Bulldogs | 13.9 (87) | Manuka Oval | 7,132 | Western Bulldogs | 4 | W | +2 |
| 3 | 2014 | 12/4 | Sat 4:40pm | 4 | Greater Western Sydney | 12.11 (83) | Western Bulldogs | 17.8 (110) | Manuka Oval | 7,863 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | L | +3 |
| 4 | 2014 | 31/8 | Sun 4:40pm | 23 | Western Bulldogs | 15.19 (109) | Greater Western Sydney | 18.7 (115) | Docklands Stadium | 14,725 | Greater Western Sydney | 6 | L | +2 |
| 5 | 2015 | 30/5 | Sat 4:35pm | 9 | Western Bulldogs | 16.17 (113) | Greater Western Sydney | 11.2 (68) | Docklands Stadium | 16,395 | Western Bulldogs | 45 | L | +3 |
| 6 | 2016 ⚑ | 22/5 | Sun 3:20pm | 9 | Greater Western Sydney | 15.8 (98) | Western Bulldogs | 10.13 (73) | Sydney Showground Stadium | 9,621 | Greater Western Sydney | 25 | W | +2 |
| 7 | 2016 ⚑ | 24/9 | Sat 5:15pm | PF | Greater Western Sydney | 12.11 (83) | Western Bulldogs | 13.11 (89) | Sydney Showground Stadium | 21,790 | Western Bulldogs | 6 | L | +3 |
| 8 | 2017 | 28/4 | Fri 7:50pm | 6 | Greater Western Sydney | 11.9 (75) | Western Bulldogs | 9.19 (73) | Manuka Oval | 14,048 | Greater Western Sydney | 2 | W | +2 |
| 9 | 2017 | 11/8 | Fri 7:50pm | 21 | Western Bulldogs | 7.15 (57) | Greater Western Sydney | 16.9 (105) | Docklands Stadium | 30,672 | Greater Western Sydney | 48 | W | +1 |
| 10 | 2018 | 25/3 | Sun 1:10pm | 1 | Greater Western Sydney | 20.13 (133) | Western Bulldogs | 7.9 (51) | Manuka Oval | 10,454 | Greater Western Sydney | 82 | – | 0 |
| 11 | 2019 | 18/8 | Sun 3:20pm | 22 | Greater Western Sydney | 9.11 (65) | Western Bulldogs | 19.12 (126) | Sydney Showground Stadium | 10,139 | Western Bulldogs | 61 | L | +1 |
| 12 | 2019 | 7/9 | Sat 3:20pm | EF | Greater Western Sydney | 16.17 (113) | Western Bulldogs | 8.7 (55) | Sydney Showground Stadium | 19,218 | Greater Western Sydney | 58 | W | 0 |
| 13 | 2020 | 19/6 | Fri 7:50pm | 3 | Western Bulldogs | 8.9 (57) | Greater Western Sydney | 4.9 (33) | Docklands Stadium | 0 | Western Bulldogs | 24 | L | +1 |
| 14 | 2021 | 23/4 | Fri 7:50pm | 6 | Greater Western Sydney | 9.11 (65) | Western Bulldogs | 15.14 (104) | Manuka Oval | 10,064 | Western Bulldogs | 39 | W | +2 |
| 15 | 2022 | 18/6 | Sat 7:25pm | 14 | Greater Western Sydney | 16.9 (105) | Western Bulldogs | 19.11 (125) | Sydney Showground Stadium | 6,208 | Western Bulldogs | 20 | W | +3 |
| 16 | 2022 | 13/8 | Sat 1:45 | 22 | Western Bulldogs | 9.8 (62) | Greater Western Sydney | 8.9 (57) | Docklands Stadium | 18,301 | Western Bulldogs | 5 | W | +4 |
| 17 | 2023 | 6/5 | Sat 7:30pm | 8 | Greater Western Sydney | 10.11 (71) | Western Bulldogs | 13.8 (86) | Manuka Oval | 10,039 | Western Bulldogs | 15 | W | +5 |
| 18 | 2023 | 29/6 | Sat 1:45pm | 20 | Western Bulldogs | 10.13 (73) | Greater Western Sydney | 11.12 (78) | Eureka Stadium | 9,080 | Greater Western Sydney | 5 | L | +4 |
| 19 | 2024 | 18/5 | Sat 4:35pm | 10 | Greater Western Sydney | 6.7 (43) | Western Bulldogs | 8.22 (70) | Sydney Showground Stadium | 7,747 | Western Bulldogs | 27 | L | +5 |
| 20 | 2024 | 25/8 | Sun 12:30pm | 24 | Western Bulldogs | 14.14 (98) | Greater Western Sydney | 9.7 (61) | Eureka Stadium | 10,224 | Western Bulldogs | 37 | W | +6 |
$^a$ Crowds impacted by COVID-19

## Common individuals
### Players

The following players have played for both the Giants and the Bulldogs in their careers.
| Player | Years at Bulldogs | Years at Giants |
| Callan Ward | 2008–2011 | 2012–present |
| Sam Reid | 2008–2011 | 2012–2013 2016–2021 |
| Dylan Addison | 2006–2011 | 2013–2015 |
| Ryan Griffen | 2005–2014 | 2015–2018 |
| Sam Darley | 2014–2015 | 2012–2013 |
| Tom Boyd | 2015–2019 | 2014 |
| Adam Treloar | 2021–present | 2012–2015 |
| Josh Bruce | 2020–2023 | 2012–2013 |
| Rory Lobb | 2023–present | 2014–2018 |
| Matthew Kennedy | 2025–present | 2016–2017 |
| Jake Stringer | 2013–2017 | 2025–present |

### Others

* Leon Cameron – Bulldogs (1990–1999 player), Giants (2014–2022 senior coach)
* Jason McCartney – Bulldogs (2011–2017 manager), Giants (2017–present list manager)