The more Kevin Sheedy pushes the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ tag for Sydney’s season-opening AFL derby, the more stern resistance he is met with by the Swans.

Greater Western Sydney coach Sheedy coined the term, figuring the city’s Anzac Bridge to be a fitting divide between the two teams.

The rarely-outspoken Swans couldn’t disagree more.

“I think it’s a bit of a crock really in the sense that we’re not east Sydney,” veteran Jude Bolton said on Wednesday, adding his voice to the the club’s choir of criticism.

“It’s not really an east/west thing especially when it (Anzac Bridge) is so inner city and we’ve been in Sydney 30 years.

“It’s not really for us but we’ll get on with the game.”

And so they must. The slogan has been adopted and is on adverts around Sydney for Saturday’s clash.

While there have been gibes and good-natured banter throughout the fledgling rivalry, the issue is one of the first genuine points of contention.

Sydney co-captain Kieren Jack suggested it could help lay the platform for a more heated derby, similar to those in Perth and Adelaide.

“It (ill feeling between GWS and Sydney) could start to generate. I know the Swans players aren’t too happy about the Battle of the Bridge,” Jack said.

“As the Giants become more competitive, and they’re certainly starting to do that, I think the Sydney public will get behind it.

“You’ll see that real hatred between the fans that the AFL’s western derbies have. I think that’s a real possibility in the future.”

Former Crow Marty Mattner debuted in 2002 – the same year players from the two Adelaide clubs were involved in a pub brawl the day after a showdown.

Mattner admitted “there’s a bit more rivalry” between Adelaide’s two clubs, but felt it would build in Sydney – just hopefully not any time soon.

“Hopefully they never win one, but they probably will one day. That’s when the rivalry will really kick in, I think,” Mattner said.