KEY POINTS:
The marketing gurus will roll out images from transtasman tests from the past 100 years in the lead-up to Friday's Centenary test. There will be images of Kevin Tamati and Greg Dowling brawling, Darren Lockyer scoring that Tri Nations extra-time try and David Kidwell mincing Willie Mason.
As much as they won't admit it, they would surely have been tempted to roll out the animosity that has existed between Australian coach Ricky Stuart and New Zealand assistant Wayne Bennett.
As a boxing promoter might say, 'they don't get along, so let's get it on'.
It all stems back to when Bennett resigned as Kangaroos coach after the ignominy of losing 24-0 in the 2005 Tri Nations final and was then replaced by Stuart. Instead of going about their business, they sniped at each other, made insinuations and provided fodder for a giddy Australian media.
Few were surprised by Stuart's actions - the man is intensely competitive and famously used to ruthlessly sledge his own Canberra team-mates such as Mal Meninga during State of Origin.
For the normally reclusive but at times grumpy Bennett, his actions were extraordinary. He felt so strongly about what was circulating, he rang a Brisbane radio station to dispute claims Stuart would be better at tackling the drinking culture seemingly endemic within the Australian side.
Australian Rugby League chairman Colin Love poured petrol on a potentially explosive flame when he said concern about player drinking habits on tour, as well as Stuart's younger age and disciplinary record were factors in Stuart's appointment.
It was a remarkable claim, given the fact Bennett is a teetotaller and was renowned for sentry duty when his players were supposed to be going to bed on tour.
"Don't tell me that Ricky Stuart or somebody else is going to do a better job because they'll go and drink with the boys and the boys will behave themselves better because they're drinking with them," Bennett bristled on radio 4BC. "Just look at the Sydney Roosters' track record over the last four or five years for some of their bad behaviour and tell me if that approach works or not.
"I'll go another step further - last year when Ricky was New South Wales coach, they had four guys on security full-time with that team to make sure they behaved themselves. Well, I had no one on security with me on our team to make sure our players behaved themselves."
Furthermore, Bennett said Stuart would never have got the job if he hadn't quit, which was partially brought about by his refusal to talk to Australian media when he returned to Brisbane from their unsuccessful Tri Nations campaign.
Stuart, in what is his way, further fanned the flames. He talked about putting "pride back in the Australian jersey" in what was an obvious intimation that none existed under Bennett's watch.
Episode two in the intriguing saga of the two coaches occurred towards the end of the 2006 NRL season.
Stuart was sacked as Roosters coach after a lean season and was due to be replaced by Bennett. That was until the Broncos boss backed out at the last minute.
While the enmity has quietened tremendously, there still exists an uneasy relationship between the two. They're not likely to be best buddies any time soon.
Although Bennett agreed to work with the Kiwis for more than just oneupmanship, you could imagine a sly, yet slightly crooked smile on his face if he can help engineer an upset.
Stuart already knows the Kiwis will be a different proposition with Bennett involved than the bunch dismantled 58-0 last October and talked about "a war" when he named his squad last weekend.
There's a belief you're either with or against the Sharks coach and that very little exists in between.
"He's a feisty character," former Canberra, NSW and Australian team-mate Laurie Daley says with a chuckle. "He's a competitor and has a terrific attitude to the game of rugby league. He's very motivated and has plenty of desire. Everything you want from a player, he's got the same attributes as a coach. People who don't know him can take him the wrong way but he's so determined to make sure he's prepared his team as well as he can."
Australian players not used to his approach got a sense of this early in his tenure. Stuart organised a camp for more than 40 potential Kangaroos last February as part of preparations for last year's Anzac test.
Six players called to ask him how important it was they attended. They quickly realised that, unless their name was Darren Lockyer, Andrew Johns or Anthony Minichiello, non-attendance would close the door on their international aspirations.
"Some think playing for Australia is a chore," Stuart told Inside Sport magazine in 2006. "I know who the players are that think that way. I know how they are - and I won't be pushing them at any selection meetings."
There's a perception Stuart enjoys picking a fight and seems to get even greater satisfaction when someone bites back but it could be explained as another way of trying to get a competitive edge.
Former Kiwis coach Brian McClennan, who had tried to avoid slanging matches, took the bait during the 2006 Tri Nations.
Stuart demanded Australian referees control the last four matches in the series because of perceived inadequacies of English and New Zealand whistleblowers. McClennan, in essence, told him to butt out.
"The game needs international football to be thriving," McClennan said. "This sort of stuff is very insular. It's about getting what's right for Australia. Ricky doesn't give a hoot about Great Britain or New Zealand."
That is a difference with Bennett. He is not always the easiest individual to deal with, particularly from a media point of view, but he has the international game at heart and this is why he offered to help the Kiwis.
Even though he is officially known as the coaching and management adviser, he has already had a big say on management personnel involved with the Kiwis, as well as well as the squad itself (he's an adviser to the selection panel). It's fair to assume he will have devised a detailed game plan for coach Stephen Kearney.
It's a perfect arrangement for him because he can be as influential as he wants without the responsibilities of being the public face of the side.
Friday's game is significant in the history of international rugby league and it deserves heroes and villains. In Stuart and Bennett, the game has two of the best protagonists.
