TOBY Greene and Marcus Bontempelli have buried the hatchet for now – although Greene doesn't expect Western Bulldogs fans to afford him the same favour.
Greene and Bontempelli will line up next to each other for Victoria in Friday night's State of Origin for Bushfire Relief game at Marvel Stadium against the All-Stars.
But the last time they met was as opponents, in the fiery elimination final last year when Greene's Greater Western Sydney bullied Bontempelli's Bulldogs out of September.
It also saw Greene fined $7500 at the Tribunal for a serious misconduct charge from the clash when he was seen grabbing at Bontempelli's face in an ugly incident.
Bontempelli said that the pair had chatted on Thursday as the teams met for a light training session in Melbourne and there was no awkwardness following last year's controversy.
"Obviously you put the weapons down from a rivalry point, which wouldn't normally happen in the season, but we're all wearing the same jumper come tomorrow so I'm looking forward to the experience," the Bulldogs captain said.
"[There was] not really [any awkwardness]. We shook hands and said g'day and found out what's been going on and now we're teammates for a little bit, so it should be good."
Victorian coach Damien Hardwick had acted as icebreaker for his side with some jokes as the team gathered, but Greene said he was glad to be alongside Bontempelli for the one-off clash.
"I had a good chat with him just before and it's all good and we're teammates tomorrow and really looking forward to playing with him," Greene said.
Greene has often been cast as one of the competition's villains in recent years, having been suspended five times for seven games across his 145-game career and racked up more than $26,000 in fines.
He was suspended for the Giants' preliminary final win over Collingwood last year for unreasonable or unnecessary contact to the eye region of Brisbane's Lachie Neale in the semi-final – a week after the Bontempelli incident.
As Greene entered Thursday's press conference at Marvel Stadium, he joked he was walking into "my room" – with the Mike Sheahan Media Centre doubling as the AFL Tribunal during the season.
He said he was keen to have the Victorian crowd on his side for a change, but forecast the Bulldogs' fans as having long memories.
"It might be good fun, we'll see how we go. I still might get a few boos from the Bulldogs supporters but that's fine. I'm really looking forward to it, they love their footy down here and it will be great to represent Victoria," he said.
Bontempelli said any fan reactions from Bulldogs supporters would be in line with the clubs' growing rivalry.
"They can speak for themselves, the Bulldogs fans, I reckon. That's probably been an evolution of our rivalry over time with the Giants and I'm sure it will be as hot and energetic as it has been in the past," he said.
Greene joked the Victorians had "about 20 mids" in their squad so he wasn't sure where he would be playing yet, but he is certain he will avoid Giants teammate Stephen Coniglio if the pair cross paths on Friday.
Coniglio looms as a key player for the All-Stars but Greene said he would be steering clear of his club's new skipper.
"I won't touch him, nah," he said.
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Fellow Giant Jeremy Cameron will line up for Victoria, with last year's Coleman medallist promising the clash will be at full throttle.
"Both teams definitely want to win so we'd love to punch them up a bit and get the win. Hopefully there's a lot of goals kicked and it’s a really good spectacle as it's for a really good cause," he said.
"We've seen the devastation of the fires the past three or four months and it's going to be great to give back where we can."
Cameron will be a free agent at the end of this year and is the Giants' highest priority re-signing. He said talks were "positive" for a new deal.
"It's going well. There's no timeline on it but I'm having constant conversations with the Giants guys and everyone I need to on my side so it's all going well," he said.
