Sydney Swans successfully challenge Lance Franklin’s one-match suspension

Lance Franklin’s one-game striking ban has been downgraded in a blow for Essendon’s finals hopes. The successful tribunal challenge puts the 1000-goal milestone within reach.

Lance Franklin kicks the ball in match against Fremantle.Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Lance Franklin is free to play in Saturday night’s clash with Essendon at the Gabba after having his one-game ban overturned at the AFL tribunal on Tuesday night.

Sydney successfully argued that Franklin’s elbow to Fremantle defender Luke Ryan’s head deserved to be graded as low impact instead of medium impact.

The AFL tribunal agreed, deliberating for almost 30 minutes after an hour-long hearing before fining Franklin $3000, but clearing him to take on the Bombers.

They found the Swans forward had been “twisted” off balance just prior to the incident, and deemed the force — and the fact that Ryan was not injured — did not justify a one-game ban.

It was a huge win for the Swans in having a player of Franklin’s capabilities available for a clash with massive finals implications, and his availability also enhances his prospects of reaching the 1000-goal mark this season.

Franklin is 17 goals short of 1000 career goals and now has four home-and-away matches — plus finals — this year to join the likes of Tony Lockett, Gordon Coventry, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ablett Sr and Doug Wade in the most exclusive of AFL goalkicking clubs.

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Lance Franklin is pounced on by unhappy Dockers. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Sydney was granted an application to use three examples outside of the AFL tribunal guidelines — incidents involving Richmond’s David Astbury (Round 1), Brisbane’s Joe Daniher (Round 1) and West Coast’s Luke Shuey (Round 16).

Two of those incidents happened in games against the Swans.

In each, the players were fined instead of being suspended after having their incidents graded low impact, which Swans counsel Duncan Miller argued should have been the case for Franklin.

AFL counsel Jeff Gleeson argued that Franklin’s elbow to Ryan’s head warranted a one-game suspension, saying it had been “good luck and not good management that there wasn’t an injury to (Ryan)”.

Gleeson said Franklin had swung his arm all the way across his body, which was “an indication of the force with which he throws his arm back.”

He stressed that the fact that Ryan wasn’t injured and played out the match should not have resulted in a change of classification.

Miller said Franklin was out of bounds when the incident happened and had been dragged backwards “twisted and contorted”, saying the Swans player’s body language was the action of “someone trying to break free.”

He argued that Franklin had tried to chop Ryan’s arms, with the initial contact being with Ryan’s shoulder, not the head.

The Swans are four points behind Port Adelaide in fourth and remain in the hunt for a double chance as they prepare to take on the Bombers, St Kilda, North Melbourne and Gold Coast as part of a soft run home.

The Bombers are two points outside the eight and have a challenging fortnight ahead against the Swans and Western Bulldogs, followed by Gold Coast and Collingwood.