It will be one of many catch-ups between the pair which first started during their time together at Canterbury in 1999. Back then, Mayer, now the CEO of the Tigers, and Seward, his Eels counterpart, would head to Cafe D'or on Burwood to dissect life as employees of 'The Family Club'.

During their stints at Belmore they experienced the highs, including a premiership in 2004. But there were also the lowest of lows. The salary cap scandal. The Oasis debacle. Coffs Harbour.

It was during those rollercoaster days that a great bond was formed. Those setbacks also provided a great grounding to take the helm of clubs which face challenges of their own, but are on the up after finishing in the bottom two spots last year.

"Both of us could write a fair book on our days at Canterbury, very much so," said Seward, who holds an engineering degree.

"You learn from those experiences. I'll never forget the look on the faces of our fans, members and staff when those points were taken off. I wanted to make sure that if I ever got the opportunity [as CEO], I didn't want any members or fans to go through that.

"It showed what football clubs mean to people and the responsibility that administrators have to members and fans."

Another member of the Bulldogs office in those days was Todd Greenberg, who later became the club's CEO before taking on his executive role at Rugby League Central.

"We spent some good and bad times together," Mayer said.

"What it does is give you a stronger bond when you share the highs and the lows that sport can bring.

"Who would have thought that out of one little group of Bulldogs employees that three would become CEOs in the NRL?"

For Seward and Mayer, they have taken divergent paths to the top job but there have also been some parallels.

Both did stints at AFL clubs, Mayer with GWS and Seward with the Western Bulldogs. They leant on each other for advice then and remain close to this day.

"He's come from a fan's perspective to rise to one of the top sporting jobs in the game," Mayer said.

"He's the sort of person who would have had Bulldogs posters on his wall.

"Scott came to us [in 1999] when we needed some support staff and his first foray into the Bulldogs was as a receptionist.

"It was never his long-term goal but he saw an opportunity, grabbed it with both hands and started helping out in a merchandising and membership capability.

"We knew early on he had the potential to be much more than a receptionist. Before you know it he was running the Bulldogs merchandising in its entirety."

The friendship will be put aside for 80 minutes on Monday when two heartland teams aim to continue their resurgence. The stakes will be steaks at the Hillside Hotel.

"I look forward to eating, he can have a wine and I'll have a beer," Seward said.

"It will be his shout."