Lance Franklin reported for high bump, John Longmire says hit was low impact

VOTE: Lance Franklin faces a nervous wait after being reported for a high bump against Richmond but John Longmire believes it was low impact.

Lance Franklin and John Longmire celebrate after the game.

SYDNEY faces a nervous wait on Lance Franklin’s availability for Friday night’s crucial clash with Essendon at the SCG after the star forward was reported in Saturday’s stirring come-from-behind win over Richmond at the MCG.

After trailing by as much as six goals in the second term, the Swans kept their season alive with a five-goal-to-one final term, over-running the Tigers after kicking eight of the last nine goals to win by nine points.

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But it was Franklin’s report on a charge of rough conduct on Connor Menadue in the second term that was the talking point out of the game.

Sydney coach John Longmire said he was unaware Franklin had been booked until quizzed about it in the after-game press conference.

However, he was quick to point out Menadue got to his feet after the incident, which sparked a feisty push and shove between Franklin and Alex Rance, who kept him to only one goal.

Lance Franklin tussles with Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance.

“I didn’t know he got reported,” Longmire said.

“Did the bloke (Menadue) get up? The bloke got up afterwards. I can’t comment if he got reported.”

Menadue had his head down over the ball in the clash and turned late when the leader in the Coleman Medal race collected him.

The Swans coach heaped praise on Rance for his rare ability to win one-on-one contests, but was pleased Franklin worked his way back into the contest in the final term when he drifted further up the field.

Lance Franklin has been reported for this incident involving Connor Menadue. #AFLTigersSwans pic.twitter.com/xznwsXVYpJ

— AFL (@AFL) June 17, 2017

“I thought he (Franklin) was pretty important in the last quarter ... in that last 20 minutes or so (he) made his presence felt around the contest and won some important footy,” he said.

Longmire admitted the Swans had little “wriggle room” in chasing what only a few weeks ago looked an unlikely finals berth, after winning five of their past six matches.

“We know we have to bring our maximum effort every week from now on, and to our credit, after not being in it in the first half, we were able to turn it around,” he said of the win over the Tigers.

“It should give the players some confidence. They are a good team, Richmond ... so we needed to max it out in the second half to get our noses over the line.”

“We clearly didn’t start well, and it was a bit of a concern getting six goals down. To our players’ credit, they kept persisting and it turned. I thought a few of our younger boys, in particular, were fantastic.

“We started to win some contests. I am just pleased we were able to dig in.”

He gave credit to players such as Nic Newman and Zak Jones, who worked hard all day, and said although Josh Kennedy struggled for three quarters, his 11 touches in the final term and his hard edge when it counted played a key role in the revival.

Asked about the importance of winning at the MCG, Longmire said the venue didn’t matter as much as the four premiership points.

Originally published as Lance Franklin reported for high bump, John Longmire says hit was low impact