Derby, Showdown, QClash, and Battle of the Bridge
Sometimes these intrastate match-ups are close. Othertimes, not so much.
I went to the Carlton v Melbourne game last night with some friends. After the game we were having a drink in a bar and watching the end of the Derby, where Freo belted the Eagles by 101 points. The conversation turned to whether there had ever been such a large margin in a previous Derby, or any of the other state-based rivalry games. We thought there might have been some games that had similar scores (particularly when Gold Coast and GWS entered the league) but couldn’t remember any specific games.
So, I went and did some digging, and here are the top five margins in the history of the Derby, the Showdown, the QClash (aka Mango Tangle, Pineapple Grapple), and the Battle of the Bridge.
Derby
Round 6, 2000: West Coast (178) def Fremantle (61) – 117 points
Round 22, 2023: Fremantle (134) def West Coast (33) – 101 points
Round 16, 2019: West Coast (122) def Fremantle (31) – 91 points
Round 7, 1995: West Coast (151) def Fremantle (66) – 85 points
Round 18, 2010: Fremantle (160) def West Coast (85) – 75 points
Showdown
Round 20, 2017: Adelaide (130) def Port Adelaide (46) – 84 points
Semi Final, 2005: Adelaide (123) def Port Adelaide (40) – 83 points
Round 2, 2020: Port Adelaide (110) def Adelaide (35) – 75 points
Round 19, 1998: Adelaide (144) def Port Adelaide (70) – 74 points
Round 17, 2009: Adelaide (132) def Port Adelaide (62) – 70 points
QClash
Round 21, 2019: Brisbane Lions (144) def Gold Coast (53) – 91 points
Round 9, 2021: Brisbane Lions (124) def Gold Coast (51) – 73 points
Round 4, 2012: Brisbane Lions (111) def Gold Coast (46) – 65 points
Round 5, 2015: Gold Coast (118) def Brisbane Lions (54) – 64 points
Round 21, 2011: Brisbane Lions (123) def Gold Coast (61) – 62 points
Battle of the Bridge
Round 16, 2013: Sydney (171) def Greater Western Sydney (42) – 129 points
Round 14, 2012: Sydney (132) def Greater Western Sydney (38) – 94 points
Round 21, 2015: Sydney (133) def Greater Western Sydney (44) – 89 points
Round 20, 2022: Sydney (112) def Greater Western Sydney (39) – 73 points
Round 1, 2012: Sydney (100) def Greater Western Sydney (37) – 63 points
As always, apologies to anyone who has already looked at this stat!