Essendon fans were left seeing red after the GWS Giants took a cheeky swipe at them before the two sides faced off on Saturday afternoon.
The Giants have been known to banter with their rivals on social media, often poking fun at fellow AFL sides with social media videos and sledging them on banners.
And they again were up to their old tricks on Saturday, this time taking a cheeky jab at Essendon and the whiteboard saga that dominated headlines last week.
The widely circulated image showed Brisbane players had drawn up a board of strengths and weaknesses Essendon players had ahead of the 64-point mauling at Marvel Stadium last weekend.
The Giants leaned into that, with their banner effectively a mock whiteboard with Essendon’s strengths and weaknesses listed.
The strength column was left blank, while under weaknesses, it simply read 7916 days.
The 7916 days is in reference to the Bombers’ last finals win, which came way back in 2004.
A picture of the banner was shared on social media by the Giants social media team. While many AFL fans saw the funny side, it’s safe to say Essendon fans weren’t impressed.
“Big talk from a club with only one grand final appearance that was pretty embarrassing itself,” one angry fan wrote.
“If you haven’t been around that long you have no right to try and take the piss. Lazy work,” another unimpressed supporter said.
While others said, “No that’s f***ed” and “trolled by a club that hasn’t even won a flag”.
Others saw the light side.
“Brilliant,” AFL great Campbell Brown said.
“Ruthless and I love it,” another wrote.
“Giants and their banners. Love it,” a third commented.
The Giants social media team almost suffered the ultimate embarrassment, as they trailed the Bombers on several occasions throughout the match, but managed to come home with a wet sail to come from behind to score a 16.7 (103) to 13.11 (89) victory at Engie Stadium.
It is an important win for the Giants, who are now 4-5, keeping them in touch with teams in the wildcard zone.
While for Essendon, it keeps them right down the bottom of the ladder, 1-8 in 2026.
