Essendon star Devon Smith does not believe their rivalry with North Melbourne is genuine, describing their duels as just “another game”.
The Bombers and Kangaroos played out some memorable matches in the late 1990s and early 2000s where the two clubs shared three premierships and played in five Grand Finals between between 1996-2001.
“It’s a bit of a rivalry built up from them, but for us it’s another game,” Smith told Channel Seven post-game.
“We cracked in and I’m proud of our boys.”
Smith pointed to a light-hearted comment from North coach Rhyce Shaw about sharing a plane with Essendon in May as an example of the Roos attempting to talk up the rivalry.
“There’s been a couple of things like even when Rhyce Shaw said that they didn’t want to share a plane with us (to Sydney). We obviously both won that day, so we were a bit more friendly on the way home,” Smith told AFL Nation post-game.
“It’s another game for us but I think they build it up more than what it is.”
Essendon got the better of North Melbourne by 14 points on Saturday night to move into the top four with a 4-1 win-loss record.
Devon Smith: “It is a bit of a rivalry build up for them, but for us it’s just another game.” #AFLDonsNorth pic.twitter.com/yDKbQkSvuk
— 7AFL (@7AFL) July 11, 2020