The Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs share a longstanding and heated rivalry that rarely requires further provocation.
However, a minor incident during Friday night's match at Allianz Stadium ignited a significant discussion.
In the Round Two clash, the Roosters opted not to display South Sydney's name or logo on the stadium scoreboard, referring to them simply as the "visitors."
This choice drew criticism from South Sydney chairman Nicholas Pappas, who addressed the issue publicly.
"I have never seen that done before at an elite sporting event," Pappas told The Herald.
He continued, stating, "It was thoroughly discourteous and clearly a bit of a jab at us, and symptomatic of the way the desire for us to return to what is a public asset has been viewed by Venues NSW. the club deserves an unreserved apology."
"Coming from a state-of-the-art stadium with a sophisticated scoreboard, it was really disappointing and thoroughly unprofessional."
South Sydney's reaction is understandable, given the deep-rooted rivalry between the teams.
The two clubs not only compete fiercely on the field but also have a historically complex dispute over their rightful place at Allianz Stadium.