Lance Franklin is a champion but Sydney’s reliance on him is unhealthy
LANCE Franklin could be the best player we have ever seen and he is on track for a remarkable 100-goal season. But Buddy’s crazy numbers are a giant red flag for the Swans, writes Matthew Lloyd.
Sydney
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LANCE Franklin is the best and most valuable player we have in our game.
Dustin Martin and Patrick Dangerfield are phenomenal, but Buddy is in a league of his own. Franklin is just so unique and has become an even better player this year due to his improved marking on the lead and his tackling pressure.
MAGIC MARK: WHY BUDDY CAN KICK 100 AGAIN
Franklin’s first three weeks have been a joy to watch.
You don’t have to barrack for Sydney to be able to sit back in your lounge room and appreciate that we may well be witnessing the greatest player that has ever played the game.
Leigh Matthews and Wayne Carey are ahead of him at the moment based on the totality of their careers but Franklin will be in the discussion by the end of his career, I have no doubt.
We all scoffed at the nine-year contract Buddy signed with the Sydney Swans at the end of 2013. Nobody believed that Franklin would see out that deal.
At 31, Franklin is now into his fifth season at Sydney having played 92 games for a total of 294 goals and he is covering the ground like he is 21, not a decade older.
Nobody now would be game enough to suggest that Franklin won’t see out the nine years as he is extremely durable and plays with a smile on his face.
Franklin has been everything and more that the Swans could have hoped for when he first joined the club, although the most important reward is still eluding them, the premiership cup.
In 2014 and 2016, the Swans were good enough to be grand finalists, yet they were not good enough to win the ultimate prize, losing to Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs.
In both those seasons, the Swans finished on top of the ladder but fell way short of the mark on Grand Final day.
Franklin was Sydney’s best player against the Hawks with four goals in 2014 but was not at his best in 2016, hurting his ankle early in the match against the Dogs which limited his running and impact on the game.
Buddy’s amazing start to 2018 prompts the $64,000 question — can Buddy’s deal with Sydney be a success if he doesn’t end up winning a premiership with them?
I think it can be because it never hurt Tony Lockett’s legacy in Sydney and Franklin brings people through the turnstiles like nobody else, which is what the Harbour City continually needs to do to attract new fans to the game.
Franklin is currently on 100-goal pace, averaging 19 disposals, eight marks and 4.7 goals a game.
On those numbers Franklin will win his fifth Coleman Medal — he would be the first man ever to achieve that milestone.
At the end of the day, though, Coleman medals mean nothing if he doesn’t have a
premiership medallion at Sydney to go with it.
It was unhealthy what went on in the first two rounds with the amount of times the Swans midfielders kicked the ball to Franklin.
As good as he was in Round 1 with his eight goals against the Eagles, kicking to Franklin 15 times inside forward 50m was far too predictable and it was only a matter of time before that game plan got pulled apart.
It only took seven days for that to happen as Port Adelaide not only outworked Sydney but found a way to support young Dougal Howard on Franklin.
Franklin was spectacular at times and got his four goals but he should be expected to kick at least that number given how much the Swans were kicking the ball to him.
It was Buddy or bust.
In hindsight, the loss could have been the best thing that ever happened to Sydney.
Franklin’s greatest legacy could now be how he made everyone else around him better if it results in the Swans winning the 2018 premiership.
After the first two rounds, Sydney had kicked the ball to Franklin 26 times inside forward 50m and the next most used player was George Hewett with six.
Now that is unhealthy.
Franklin’s field kicking is as good as any current player in the game and seeing Buddy play higher up the field against GWS last Saturday night made so many players around him better.
Sam Reid, Callum Sinclair, Isaac Heeney and Tom Papley all played with greater authority and confidence with Franklin further afield delivering the ball to them.
It is the growth and improvement of those players in the forward 50 that will decide whether Sydney can win a premiership, not whether Franklin kicks big bags of goals every week.
The Western Bulldogs and Richmond have proven in recent years that it is the most united and even team that will eventually prevail, not the side with the most superstars and top-end talent.
Franklin looks on a mission but just how many Swans teammates he can drag along for the ride is what stands between him and that elusive Swans premiership.
BALL MAGNET
Sydney’s F50m targets this year
32 Lance Franklin
11 Sam Reid
8 Callum Sinclair
8 Tom Papley
7 George Hewett
5 Gary Rohan
5 Isaac Heeney
4 Dean Towers
4 Luke Parker
4 Will Hayward
Source: CHAMPION DATA
Originally published as Lance Franklin is a champion but Sydney’s reliance on him is unhealthy