Hating Essendon is part of the DNA of any self-respecting Hawthorn supporter. BRETT COLLETT tries to encapsulate where it comes from.

To many, the Hawthorn-Essendon rivalry probably seems perverse. There’s no geographical reason nor a single moment of madness that sparked the conflict, though matches between these two teams tend to be on the physical side. And it’s a rivalry that, for its most part, has been a one-way obsession.

Ask an Essendon supporter who they most want to beat this season, and the answers are obvious: Collingwood, Carlton, and perhaps even lowly Richmond. For those Essendon fans who actually live within cooee of Keilor, a win over the Western Bulldogs might even offer the most precious of bragging rights at the milk bar on a Monday morning.

Yet there is no doubt which club gets the blood of Hawthorn fans boiling. And the fact we don’t mean as much to Essendon as they do to us has always rankled.

It all started in the 80s. Hawthorn’s record win over the Dons in the 1983 grand final (and Colin Robertson’s controversial hit on Tim Watson), the Bombers getting their revenge by going back-to-back in 1984-85 and Dermott Brereton’s antics of barging through the Dons’ huddle or smooching a surprised Billy Duckworth were all ingredients for a blossoming rivalry.

Then there was the streak. Hawthorn lost 10 consecutive times between 1998 and a sweet Sunday in August 2005. A few games in this period brought the old 80s rivalry back to the boil, but inevitably ended up in Essendon victory. Poor umpiring, a Trent Croad poster and a jammy Paul Barnard goal sunk the Hawks in the 2001 preliminary final, and then there’s the infamous “line in the sand” game of 2004.

Hawthorn was at its nadir, trying to avoid the wooden spoon and facing a stronger and more experienced Essendon outfit. The Hawks won the fight but lost the match, and there was a firestorm of criticism aimed squarely at the Hawthorn Football Club by the media and tribunal, with Essendon seemingly totally absolved for its participation in the brawl.

Constantly losing to Essendon eventually drove me to tears. When they beat us for the 10th time in a row – this time a Dean Solomon goal that wasn’t decided the contest – I simply thought we’d never beat them. But that day in 2005 saw the encouraging debut of two future Hawthorn premiership players, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis. Tears of frustration would, soon enough, become tears of joy.

After we beat the Dons later that year, it seemed easy. Six in a row, just like that. I thought the hate was waning, but two losses to the enemy and one act of thuggery by Matthew Lloyd in the final round last year quickly put paid to that. While Lloyd might not be back, the rivalry certainly is.

Oh, and they pinched our CEO as well.

As Hawks, we remember the bad times when it seemed our efforts against them were futile, and like Campbell Brown, we never forget their trespasses. On Saturday night, both sides will be playing for their seasons. For Hawthorn fans, at least, there will be much more than four premiership points on the line.

Brett Collett is a former sportswriter with Sportal and Leader News Group who now spends his days working in the Federal Government and praying that his beloved Hawks can somehow recreate 2008 all over again.