In this era of 16 teams, retractable roofs, flooding and mandatory body art, it is good to know that some things in footy still don't change - Collingwood and Richmond hating each other.

It goes back to 1920, when Magpie star Dan Minogue crossed over Victoria Street from Hoddle Street to Punt Road to become captain-coach of Richmond. And the enmity has been there ever since.

Think Jack Dyer and Lou Richards, or in more recent times, Geoff Raines and David Cloke crossing to the Magpies and the Tigers retaliating by poaching Phillip Walsh. The Magpies and the Tigers plainly don't like each other and the shame is that the rivalry has been relatively dormant for so many years because the Tigers have been, well, pathetic.

The latest outbreak in hostilities came on Friday at Visy Park (Carlton's home ground, itself an interesting quirk) amid suggestions that Travis Cloke broke the unofficial players' 'code of silence' by dobbing on Tiger defender Jake King.

Cloke, of course, is reviled by the old-timers at Punt Road for eschewing the Tigers in favour of the Magpies when the father-son rule permitted him to play for either club. Reportedly, those at Richmond at the time who were involved in wooing the Cloke family weren't, for reasons best known to themselves, as disappointed at the turn of the events as some of those outside the inner circle.

But we're digressing. As the Herald Sun reports on Wednesday, there are also allegations out of Tigerland that recruit Dylan Grimes was allegedly bitten on the back by an unknown Collingwood player.

King is facing up to three weeks on the sidelines for the strike on Cloke, an incident that wasn't captured on video and was only investigated once a complaint was made by the Cloke to the umpire. Often, these complaints don't get very far because the aforementioned 'code' comes into play once the AFL starts to investigate.

Not this time. Cloke reportedly offered full and frank disclosure of what took place during the clash with King. The Tigers, as you would expect, are standing by their man, which will make for an interesting time at the AFL Tribunal next Tuesday when the aggrieved parties come together.

Sadly, the AFL draw is up to its old tricks and the only clash between the two clubs is not slated until round 17 at the MCG. But it is a Saturday afternoon clash, which should add to the theatre of it all.