Two rival codes, two clubs that will go head-to-head in the battle for Canberra crowds next month, two coaches on a very similar path.
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On the surface, Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and Greater Western Sydney Giants mentor Leon Cameron seem like two very different characters.
But their coaching philosophy brings them together and could be the foundation of a "really good relationship" building between the two clubs.
The two mentors and their fellow coaching staff members caught up for dinner on Thursday "to chew the fat" leading into the Giants' first match in Canberra this year.
It was a chance for the two to compare each club's progress and cross-reference ideas about how they approach their jobs.
The agenda remained pretty simple — this is what we do, what do you do? How do you respond to this? How are you dealing with the players? What are their travel schedules like?
But "no one held back" in an "open and honest" discussion, and if Cameron's coaching prowess can be mentioned in the same breath as Stuart's, he'd be pretty pleased with himself.
"I think if you ask anyone at the Raiders, they would love walking into the Raiders knowing that Ricky Stuart is their head coach, because he's created a really good environment," Cameron said.
"I'd like to hopefully one day [have] people saying the same thing about the Giants."
The quiet genius of Cameron has overseen the Giants' transformation from the AFL's whipping boys to premiership favourites since 2014.
And after a host of off-field indiscretions tarnished the Raiders' reputation, Stuart has been credited with turning the club around since taking the top job — coincidentally also in 2014.
In the space of three years the Raiders went from cellar dwellers to one game short of a grand final — a mirror image of GWS, who fell agonisingly short of a maiden decider last year.
"What he's done over the last couple of years in terms of creating a fantastic culture at the Raiders is first class," Cameron said.
"He's obviously more experienced than what I am. I've only been in the senior job for a [short] period of time and he's obviously been there for a long time. It was just good listening to his stories and how he handles some things.
"I think walking away, we're probably similar in terms of culture. We give a lot of player power, we trust our players, we have great relationships with our players."
One needn't look any further than the signing of Dave Taylor for an example of how things work at Raiders headquarters.
Before he joined Canberra on a train-and-trial deal, Taylor was sat down in front of Stuart and the Raiders' leadership group and told what the Green Machine stood for.
One of the game's most damaging players and dubbed as the difference between a preliminary final and a premiership, Taylor has since signed a new one-year deal to play in Canberra.
