The next chapter in the BFNL's most fierce modern day rivalry will be written at Wade Street on Saturday.
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Golden Square and Strathfieldsaye respect each other, but there's certainly no love lost between the two clubs.
The Storm's entry to the BFNL in 2009 corresponded with the start of the Bulldogs' golden run of five-straight premierships.
The fifth flag in 2013 came at Strathfieldsaye's expense in a tough grand final after the Storm had finished minor premiers and went into the finals series as favourites.
The agony of that defeat to Square helped inspire Strathfieldsaye to its own BFNL dynasty.
Strathfieldsaye won four premierships in six seasons between 2014 and 2019 and, as much as the Wade Street faithful don't like to hear it, is now regarded as the benchmark club in the BFNL.
In terms of head-to-head results, the Storm have had Square's measure in recent years.
Since 2009 the clubs have met 29 times, with Strathfieldsays holding a 16-13 advantage.
Square won the first six encounters between the two teams, but the Storm have won 16 of the past 23 clashes, including a current winning streak of seven dating back to round 11, 2017.
"There's definitely something there,'' Square coach Chris Carter said of the rivalry between his Dogs and the Storm.
"No matter where each club is on the ladder they're big games."
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Storm coach Darryl Wilson said his club relished the rivalry with the Bulldogs.
"The two clubs have had a lot of success and they've played each other in a lot of big games,'' Wilson said.
"A lot of what we've done has been modelled on Golden Square because of their sustained success.
"We have respect for what they do and we always seem to play good games... I don't think we've had a bad one over the period.
"We respect where they're at this year and we are expecting another tough game on Saturday."
Saturday's round nine encounter marks the halfway point of the season and the home side Bulldogs have more riding on it.
A loss to the second-placed Storm would most likely see Square slip out of the top three.
The Dogs have lost three of their past four games, including a 15-point loss to Gisborne at Gardiner Reserve last week in what Carter described as a "pretty brutal game".
"We were disappointed that we didn't get over the line, but there were plenty of positives to come out of it,'' Carter said.
"It's never easy to win down there (at Gisborne) and I thought we competed well for four quarters.
"We need to replicate that intensity this week.
"The three games we've lost we haven't necessarily played bad footy, but we've been a bit unlucky at times and just haven't got over the line.
"It's going to be another tough game this week, but we feel as though last week was a really good lead-up game for us."
Carter said Strathfieldsaye's greatest strength was its depth.
"They're very even across the board and they have a very good midfield mix,'' he said.
"Even the guys that they bring into their team that you mightn't necessarily know heaps about just seem to fit in really well and play their role.
"Most weeks they have 22 contributors and that's been a focus for us as well, especially with our young players.
"We have some A-grade players in our team, but we also need to have players come in who might need to play a selfless role for the team."
The Storm won't know the final make-up of their squad until Saturday morning, with several players battling illness.
Kallen Geary, co-coach Shannon Geary and leading goalkicker Lachlan Sharp also remain out of the team because of injuries.
On a positive note, premiership player Harry Conway will play his first senior game of the season.
"Harry will definitely play,'' Wilson said.
"He can play anywhere - as a small or as a tall, in the ruck, down back or the forward line.
"Potentially, we could have a forward line of three talls - Schischka, Ernst and Conway - which is pretty exciting."
The selection issues are nothing new for a Storm side that has had multiple ins and outs every week.
"In terms of our game style and output I don't think we're quite there,'' Wilson said.
"Each week has served up a seperate set of issues. One minute you have Kal Geary, Shannon Geary and Lachy Sharp playing and the next minute you've got none of them playing.
"We're still a long way off, but the exciting thing is the improvement we've got from our young guys.
"(Mitch) Hallinan and (Tom) Bennett have gone to a different level and taken spots.
"The group of (James) Schischka, (Daniel) Clohesy, Riley (Wilson), (Cal), McCarty and those guys have had nearly two years of footy off and they're still only 20 to 21.
"They're still kids in my view and their output for this team has been huge."
With just one win against a top five side so far this season, the Bulldogs would love to claim a big scalp.
"It's an important game for us and the boys are ready to go,'' Carter said.
"Our goal from the beginning of the year was to finish inside the top three.
"we look forward to the second half of the season and improve on some things we need to do better.
"We feel as though we've already learned a lot through the first half of the season."
GOLDEN SQUARE v STRATHFIELDSAYE
2.20pm Saturday at Golden Square.
GOLDEN SQUARE
B: J. Merrin, L. Duguid, J. Coe
HB: W. Lee, J. Geary, L. Jacques
C: R. Hartley, J. Thrum, W. Thrum
HF: B. Vaz, T. Strauch, H. Morcom
F: R. Monti, J. Burke, J. Brett
R: M. Compston, J. Hickman, T. Reeves
Int: Z. Murley, J. Stewart, J. Fitzpatrick, L. Barrett
STRATHFIELDSAYE
B: J. Formosa, B. Lester, J. Mayes
HB: L. Ratcliffe, D. Clohesy, F. Payne
C: B. Slater, P. Blandford, R. Clarke
HF: L. Gill, J. Neylon, J. Schischka
F: C. Ernst, T. Bennett, J. Moorhead
R: T. Hosking, C. McCarty, H. Conway
Int: B. Stevens, M. Hallinan, M. Wakefield, R. Wilson, B. Alexander, B. Hore
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