The rivalry between the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs has never needed extra fuel. 

Yet on Friday night at Allianz Stadium, a small detail on a big screen managed to spark a fierce debate.

In the Round Two derby, the Roosters failed to display South Sydney's name and branding on the stadium scoreboard, instead listing them simply as the “visitors.”

South Sydney chairman Nicholas Pappas has spoken out about the decision.

“I have never seen that done before at an elite sporting event,” Pappas told The Herald.

“It was thoroughly discourteous and clearly a bit of a jab at us, and symptomatic of the way our desire for us to return to what is a public asset has been viewed by Venues NSW. Our club deserves an unreserved apology.

“Coming from a state-of-the-art stadium with a sophisticated scoreboard, it was really disappointing and thoroughly unprofessional.”

On the surface, it's easy to understand why South Sydney took offence. 

The two clubs are not just competitors on the field; they are one of the longest-standing rivalries in the game and have also been locked in a long-running debate about who truly belongs at Allianz.

Souths had pushed for a return to Allianz as their home ground, arguing the venue is significantly closer to their traditional heartlands of Redfern and Maroubra than their current home at Accor Stadium, which sits more than 30 kilometres away. 

Their request was rejected last June, leaving the Roosters as the primary tenant of the redeveloped venue.

Against that backdrop, the choice to display ‘visitors' was a statement heard loud and clear.

But here's the question: does it actually matter? Well, yeah. 

Professional sport is built on presentation and respect between clubs. 

A stadium capable of displaying every graphic imaginable, choosing not to show the opposition's name is, at best, unnecessary theatre. 

In a league that prides itself on professionalism, it does feel petty.

There's also the context of the night itself. 

The derby carried extra significance for South Sydney star Alex Johnston, who was on the brink of a major milestone. 

Understanding in regards to their fierce rivalry, but distasteful in regards to Alex Johnston's pending milestone achievement.

Still, the irony is that the scoreboard drama ultimately became irrelevant.

Despite the Roosters claiming the two competition points, Souths managed to write themselves into the National Rugby League history books anyway. 

The moment overshadowed the attempted jab and reminded everyone that reputation in rugby league isn't decided by stadium graphics.

In the end, the Rabbitohs didn't need their name on the screen to prove who they are or what they mean to the game.