Did this sledge kick-start the modern-day rivalry between the Western Bulldogs and GWS?
Former Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy says a “disrespectful” comment from a Giants player before a pre-season match in Canberra may have ignited the hostility between the two clubs.
“When the Giants first started and they were no good … they had the brash cockiness right from the very start,” Murphy told SEN’s Bob and Andy.
“I remember we played them in Canberra in a pre-season game and one of their players said to us, ‘The Bulldogs, you’re the worst team in history. You’re the worst team in the history of the league’.
“We were frothing at the mouth, furious … I reckon that’s where a little bit of the rivalry started in that moment.
“And I still think that’s disrespectful before your time to be saying things like that but the other part of me is like, 'That’s who they are'. They were there to prove a point and go against the grain a bit.
“You kind of begrudgingly respect it in a way.”
GWS and the Bulldogs have had some spitful matches in recent times with the most memorable being the classic preliminary final in 2016, where Luke Beveridge’s side won a thriller en route to their drought-breaking premiership.
The Giants dumped the Dogs out of last year's finals series courtesy of a thumping 58-point win.