Waratahs captain Michael Hooper has shot down suggestions the NSW-Queensland rivalry has lost its intensity as his side prepares to lock horn with the Reds in a retro Super Rugby derby in Sydney.
The Waratahs and Reds will clash at the SCG for the first time in 35 years on Saturday night.
But unlike 1983, when the Wallabies only played a handful of Tests, Hooper will unite with Queensland state rivals for as many as 16 weeks in 2018 due to the jam-packed international schedule in the professional era.
Hooper, though, insists there's still no love lost between the Waratahs and Reds.
"It might even heighten your rivalry because you know each other so well so you want to have a bit of bragging rights come the back end of the year and you want to get one over them," the flanker said after Friday's captain's run at the iconic venue.
"It why we play the game, why we're all here for this occasion."
Queensland's stand-in skipper James Slipper said he marked the fixture down at the start of the year as among the biggest of the season.
"In any sport NSW versus Queensland is a great rivalry. In rugby, it's no different," he said.
"It's probably one of the oldest fixtures going around in sport in Australia.
"So there's a lot of history, a lot of tradition behind this game and I'm sure both teams are keen to get out there and perform well."
Having already seen off the Brumbies and Melbourne to draw within one competition point of the conference-leading Rebels, the Waratahs have the chance to complete a season sweep of wins over their Australian opponents.
The Waratahs have dominated the rivalry in recent times, winning their past seven matches against the Reds.
And even after Queensland crashed to a 45-21 loss to the Brumbies last Saturday, Hooper is treating the Reds with respect.
"I didn't even know that was a statistic," he said.
"It's a positive for us but also great motivation for them.
"Every time we play these guys it's a hard match.
"They've come down, they've talked about what they want to do down here this weekend. We're really excited for the challenge. We're in a good place as a team."
The Reds claim to be too, despite suffering a triple injury blow with the late withdrawals of captain Scott Higginbotham (calf), prop Taniela Tupou (shoulder) and halfback Ben Lucas (concussion).
"It's disappointing but we've got quite a bit of depth in this squad and the boys are really excited for this game," Slipper said.
"Obviously playing another Australian team in your conference, they're derby games and doubly important."
The two sides will don throwback jerseys for the occasion, which also marks prop Paddy Ryan's 100th game for NSW.
