Since time immemorial, politics has been an undercurrent in sport. Podiums become platforms and victory laps a chance to protest.

At the start of Sunday's AFL match against Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs (once known as Footscray) unfurled a politically loaded banner for the team run-through. It read: "At the end of the match we'll still be cheering, you'll still be worried about your negative gearing."

Melbourne's football clubs have traditionally reflected the political and social landscape of the city. Blue-collar Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne at one end and the moneyed Melbourne and Hawthorn at the other.

Predictably, one week into an election campaign partly focused on the highlighted tax write-off, the televised teasing achieved traction on social media. It has gone "gangbusters" according to its creator, comedian Danny McGinlay.