THE AFL's newest rivalry should start to take some proper shape this Saturday when the Sydney Swans meet the cross-town GWS for the second time at ANZ Stadium.

There was plenty of interest surrounding their initial clash in round one, yet little was known about the Giants and the Swans were tipped to win handily, which they duly did by 10 goals.

But the Giants showed some mettle that night and they've had the re-match in the forefront of their minds for some time.

As early as four weeks into the season, GWS coach Kevin Sheedy was thinking ahead to round 14, suggesting it might be a different result.

He has rested big guns Chad Cornes and Luke Power specifically to have them primed for this match.

A rivalry really forms once both sides are competitive, which was reflected in Perth's Western Derby and in South Australia's Showdown.

The moment Gold Coast upset the Brisbane Lions last year, it stung Jonathan Brown and his troops and added instant spice to the Q-Clash.

Swans youngster Alex Johnson is one who could quickly get sick of the sight of GWS. Just 20 years old, the key defender is set to spend the next decade taking on GWS spearheads Jeremy Cameron and Jonathon Patton.

"It could shape up to be a really good rivalry," Johnson said.

"Jonathon Patton and Jeremy Cameron obviously play that forward role and the ruckman [Jonathan] Giles comes down and [Dean] Brogan too.

"It'll be interesting to see on Saturday night who I get time on.

"They've got a few talls that go through there and they've got some other small forwards we'll have to keep an eye on."

Patton was forced to watch round one as he recovered from knee surgery and his excitement was obvious at the prospect of his first derby.

"It was tough watching the first one," he said.

"The boys told me about all the hype that was around round one and to get out there is going to be awesome."

An element helping to maintain some of the niceties between the teams so far is the fact many youngsters from both sides are friends.

Johnson knows GWS trio Dom Tyson, Toby Greene and Adam Tomlinson from their time at the Oakleigh Chargers.

Greene counts Swans youngster Tom Mitchell, who is yet to make his AFL debut, one of his best mates after they played junior football together.

The GWS teenager had plenty of compliments for the Swans.

"Hopefully we're all still going around over the next five or six years so we can turn it into one of the biggest rivalries in the AFL," Greene said.

"Sydney are always going to be a good team and if we can get to that stage it should be really good for Sydney football."

But it hasn't all been compliments and kudos. Johnson has been around long enough to know who has earned bragging rights in the city.

"We've spoken about that a little bit; South Melbourne moving up here really brought football to Sydney, whereas they've come in and there's already an established AFL culture to an extent," he said.

"We've been here for 30 years, so we don't want anyone to take that away from us.

"We really need to stamp our authority and win these games."

James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD