Australian Football League sides Collingwood and Sydney, "best of football enemies, are hatching a new, mid-year blockbuster" that the chiefs of both clubs say can rival the National Rugby League's State of Origin in significance, according to Samantha Lane of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Collingwood President Eddie McGuire has floated the idea of an Adam Goodes medal for "best afield in the annual clash," a proposal "bound to have detractors" given recent history between the clubs and the now retired footballer icon. McGuire said that the AFL had "let slide" boundless opportunities to promote the code in New South Wales since a record 72,393 attendance for a round 21 Sydney-Collingwood clash in '03 at Stadium Australia. Sydney Chair Andrew Pridham, who at last week's meeting of club bosses discussed with McGuire "reigniting grand-scale corporate and fan activity around the bout," said that the match -- re-imagined -- "could be Australia's biggest annual sporting event over several days." Pridham is "even flagging an annual meeting of all AFL club bosses in Sydney around the occasion," and possible temporary relocation of football shows. With the right promotion and fixture placement of what is currently the Lockett-Coventry cup, the Swans chief said it would be a "guaranteed sell-out at the SCG." McGuire said that the "re-invented, cemented mid-season annual clash would probably work best on a Saturday night" (SMH, 3/23).
