The cutting sledge was made by a then second-season Giant, who Fairfax Media has chosen not to identify, in the opening match of the 2013 season and was said to have left McGlynn livid. McGlynn managed to gain some retribution by flooring the GWS player with a bump later in the game.

McGlynn is likely to be the target of more attention from the Giants on Saturday after felling Tom Scully in last year's return bout – a hit described as a "snipe" at the time by a member of the Giants football department. It earned McGlynn a three-game ban. The strike on Scully, who was concussed in the incident, ended up being a free hit of sorts as McGlynn strained his hamstring in the same game and would not have returned any sooner due to the injury.

The sledge directed at McGlynn was seen by many Swans players as unwarranted and disrespectful as it had come from a youngster yet to establish himself in the competition.

The Swans have also been told several times by the young Giants, who have lost by an average margin of 79 points in the four Sydney derbies, "give us a few years and we'll thrash you", while players at another powerhouse club of recent seasons are also understood to be bemused by the level of chat from the league's newest team.

Giants chief executive David Matthews refused to be drawn into the goading of McGlynn, but said: "I'm sure it goes both ways".

"This is an intense competition and I don't think it serves anyone's interest to isolate or attribute particular comments here or there," Matthews said.

Leon Cameron, who makes his debut as Giants head coach this week, denied there was a lack of respect from his players for the Swans, who claimed the 2012 flag and have tasted September action in 10 of the past 11 seasons.

"We talk about them all the time, why wouldn't you be respecting a side that's played 10 or 12 finals series in the last 12 to 15 years?" Cameron said.

"They're an outstanding side and one we look at learning from."

Lance Franklin's signing with the Swans, rather than GWS, as many had thought, has intensified a rivalry Swans players and officials had felt was contrived. It has fuelled further tension between the administration of both clubs, who have also clashed on the marketing of the derby and the controversial cost-of-living allowance, which is being phased out by the AFL.

After GWS were blind sided by their cross-town rivals last October on Franklin, one senior Giants official suggested the club should try and sign up every out-of-contract Swan as payback. The Giants later recruited Shane Mumford and Jed Lamb from the Swans as part of a plan B that also yielded the signatures of seasoned players Heath Shaw, Josh Hunt and Dylan Addison.

Although Franklin will not be seen in the Giants' orange, charcoal and white, he has been used in marketing material for the Battle of the Bridge – a term the Swans will never embrace for the derby as they believe it alienates sections of their supporter base who reside west of the Anzac Bridge.

"It does rankle us because we don't understand it," new Swans chairman Andrew Pridham said. "We don't own NSW, we don't claim to own it. We have broad-based support and we're not giving them up."

The Giants are hoping the lure of Franklin will help the club draw a crowd in excess of 20,000 on Saturday at Spotless Stadium, which would smash the Giants' previous best at the venue of 12,314.

"There's a lot of big names in this town in other codes and I think he's [Franklin] proving to be right up there amongst them," Matthews said.