Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill has pushed aside more than 100 years of animosity to take up arms alongside rugby league in the fight against the AFL in Sydney's west.
Mortal enemies for more than a century, O'Neill called on rugby league and union to present a united front as they prepare to take on a common foe in new AFL franchise GWS.
The ARU chief believes GWS will struggle to gain a foothold if league and union work together, saying the two traditional codes 'own' the western suburbs of Sydney.
"Rugby league, in particular, is very rusted on in the greater west and rugby union is not without a pretty decent footprint as well, "O'Neill said on Wednesday after announcing exchange broker FxPro as Super Rugby's rights sponsor in Australia.
"I think rugby league and rugby union will continue to own the western suburbs."
"I am a great believer in tribalism and I don't think you undo tribalism just like that."
But O'Neill is not disregarding the AFL threat outright.
He acknowledges there will be a war of attrition to hang onto fans and the players of tomorrow, conceding Australian rules has the financial clout to make an impact.
"It's quite mind boggling," O'Neill said of the money being thrown at GWS.
"It's investment dollars that no other sport in Australia can match."
"The AFL are fortunate and well managed enough to be able to do that."
"They take long-term punts. The Swans took a long while to get traction and to be successful."
"GWS have come at it harder and more directly and centrally so maybe success will come quickly or maybe it will be a long haul."
"Only time will tell as to whether it's money well spent but they've got pretty deep pockets."
While he is happy to side with rugby league in the war against the AFL, O'Neill couldn't resist a dig at the 13-a-side code as he talked up crowd figures from last year's Super Rugby season.
Queensland, the ACT Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels all recorded higher average attendances than their rugby league rivals.
"The Reds out-performed the Broncos, the Raiders were out-performed by the Brumbies and the Rebels out-performed the Storm," O'Neill declared.
"That's not a bad indicator in a very competitive market."