The AFL, like so many other sports, is defined by its rivalries.

For footy fans, winning becomes as much about defeating and demoralising a hated opposition, as it is about receiving four premiership points.

With a mix of modern rivalries and more historic duels, these are the AFL's 10 best current rivalries ranked.

5. GWS vs Sydney

Since the Giants entered the AFL in 2012, this rivalry has steadily grown in intensity. The Swans, long considered the face of the AFL in New South Wales, were suddenly forced to share the spotlight with their crosstown rivals.

The rivalry truly took off through their finals encounters.

When the Giants stunned Sydney in the 2016 Qualifying Final, it signalled a shift in the city's power dynamics. GWS then repeated the feat in 2018 and 2020.

More recent history has catapulted this rivalry into the top five, with the Swans beating the Giants in one of the most enthralling finals in recent memory. In that qualifying final, Sydney trailed at every change before Joel Amartey sealed the victory with a match-winning goal - their first win against the Giants in September.

With both teams still in premiership contention, this rivalry will certainly continue to build beyond 2025.

1 COMMENT

  1. Confected garbage used as โ€œcontent-fillerโ€.

    Carlton v โ€˜wobblesโ€ฆ. itโ€™s a โ€œrivalryโ€ only.. no more โ€ฆ.. thereโ€™s nothing there. Neither club has ever challenged the existence of the other.

    The Darby and the Showdown have far more than โ€œrivalryโ€ both behind the members and the history of each club and the Leagues they came from.

    The card games of the vfl donโ€™t come anywhere near whatโ€™s behind these clubs.

    The โ€œq clashโ€ โ€“ if you want to make a confection this is it.
    It means nothing, itโ€™s just another game, they might be in the same state but there is no history, in every way, itโ€™s simply another game.

    Simply pretending theyโ€™re in WA or SA is indicative of the pretence the afl is pushing.

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