The GIANTS have ticked off many firsts in recent years, but one frontier that still remains unconquered is an AFL victory against Collingwood.

After five attempts, the GIANTS will be aiming to end that run against the Magpies this Saturday at Spotless Stadium.

The round eight clash will also be the earliest the two clubs have met in a season with previous encounters happening in rounds 11, 16, 18 and 22 (twice).

A rivalry between the AFL’s newest club and one of the country’s oldest was born before a ball was even bounced, with Collingwood President Eddie McGuire and inaugural coach Kevin Sheedy often trading jabs over the years.

The most famous incident saw McGuire label Western Sydney as the “land of the falafel” in 2011 as the GIANTS were putting together their inaugural AFL squad.  

The first game between the two clubs in 2012 wasn’t a close one with the Magpies prevailing by 120-points against a tiring young GIANTS side coming to the end of their first AFL season.

It’s been widely reported over the years that Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury took it upon himself to use the match as an opportunity to help teach some of the young GIANTS on field by instructing them on running patterns and various other technical aspects of the game.

The corresponding match 12 months later is known as Jeremy Cameron’s coming of age game, with the teenager kicking seven goals (including all four of his team’s majors in the first term) at the MCG.

Cameron was unstoppable this night at the home of football on his way to becoming the club’s first player to be ever named in the Virgin Australia AFL All Australian team. 

His bag of goals saw the then winless GIANTS hold the lead until late in the third term before being overrun by 40 points.

The next significant chapter occurred in 2015 when the GIANTS entered their next battle with a 7-3 record approaching the half way mark of the season.

With a vocal crowd of 43,390 filling the stands at the MCG, the GIANTS took the lead early in the second quarter before a disastrous stretch either side of half time had a major impact on the GIANTS’ season to come. 

Phil Davis (ankle), Joel Patfull (rib), Shane Mumford (ankle) and Stephen Coniglio (shoulder) all suffered significant injuries which not only affected the result that day but saw the GIANTS’ fortunes for the remainder of the season take a hit.

In 2016, a rampaging Travis Cloke pulled out his best performance of the season to sink the GIANTS at home and keep Collingwood’s perfect head-to-head record in tact.

While the two team have only met five times, there is plenty of feeling between the two with some familiar faces taking to the field this weekend in colours very different to those that they debuted in.

It started at the end of the 2013 season when Heath Shaw (part of the famous Collingwood family) needed a fresh start and crossed to the GIANTS in exchange for young GIANT Taylor Adam who wanted to return to Victoria to be closer to his family and friends. 

This has been a win-win for both clubs with Adams going on to be named vice-captain of the Magpies, while Shaw has taken his game to the next level by being named in the Virgin Australia AFL All Australian team in 2015 and 2016.

Just last weekend Shaw was named as one of the ‘Champions of Collingwood’ as part of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations, alongside his dad Ray and uncle Tony. 

The last two off-seasons has also seen good mates Adam Treloar and Will Hoskin-Elliott (who were part of the original GIANTS list) cross over to wear the black and white of Collingwood. 

The GIANTS received two first round picks for Treloar (2015 and 2016) and a future second round selection for Hoskin-Elliott, allowing the GIANTS to hold a strong hand of draft picks.

The quartet are all expected to take to the field at Spotless Stadium on Saturday while they’re also be a familiar Magpie running around in pink with Collingwood Premiership Captain and now GIANTS Leadership Coach Nick Maxwell also acting as the team’s runner.

The GIANTS and Magpies are the only clubs in Australia to field teams in the AFL, AFL Women’s and Super Netball competitions. 

And while the GIANTS’ AFL and AFL Women’s teams are yet to taste victory against the Black and White, GIANTS Netball was victorious in March - becoming the first GIANTS team to beat the Magpies. 

Saturday’s match between the GIANTS and Magpies will take on extra significance with it being the first game played since the passing of Collingwood legend Lou Richards on Monday.

The GIANTS return to Sydney this weekend to take on Collingwood at Spotless Stadium at 4.35pm on Saturday afternoon. Click here for tickets.