Sydney Swans Blueprint: After one year of the Lance Franklin gamble, Sydney are 0-1
SYDNEY’S 10-year gamble on Lance Franklin is all about premierships. Right now the Swans’ ledger stands at 0-1, writes David King.
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THE Sydney Swans and John Longmire took the game’s biggest gamble last off-season signing Lance Franklin to a $10M deal that is all about winning premierships. The balance sheet will be of fascination for years but right now reads 0 from 1 of 10 years.
Finishing top of the table with seventeen wins and again the best defensive ranking of any competitor for the second time in three seasons and the best forward in the league, the Swans appeared complete.
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Sydney saved their poorest performance for the biggest day on the AFL calendar. Grand Final day is everything as the AFL’s cut throat nature doesn’t allow the luxury of best of three or seven series like other codes.
PROS
Sydney’s ability to win the ground ball game was possibly their most prevalent asset in 2014. Josh Kennedy clearly the AFL’s best having won almost 50 more hardballs than the competition next best, Patrick Dangerfield, but to also have Luke Parker ranked 3rd and Keiran Jack in the AFL’s top 15 ensures it’s a weapon. Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis humbled them in tight in the Grand Final as the Hawks won 28 more ground balls, the Swans poorest effort since round 6 of 2011.
The Swans are a team that like to go-forward with possession, lock the ball inside the forward half and protect their defensive end. Star power loaded into the forward line and it’s an expectation that they harass and tackle to force turnovers. The AFL’s 3rd best time in forward half averaging almost 5 minutes more than their opponent and obtaining 5 goals per week from opposition turnovers in the Sydney forward half. A method that worked all year but in the Grand Final the Hawks refused to concede scores as they moved the ball out of their defence, conceding only 4 behinds on turnover yet Hawthorn still scored 7 goals on defensive half rebounds.
Lance Franklin is the AFL’s greatest brand. A walking billboard for the code and he delivered considerably more than just his Coleman Medal winning 67 goals represents. Are there any concerns second year in Sydney?
Josh Kennedy and Luke Parker were AFL top 10 for total disposals and contested possessions again but they missed the consistent impact of Dan Hannebery. A less than elite preparation to the season evoked a slow start that saw Dan finishing outside their top 10 in the best and fairest despite playing 19 games.
CONS
Sydney don’t have many on-field issues and 2014 was a success albeit for that one day in September but what we saw in 2014 will represent Sydney again on 2015’s campaign. The list was unable to engage in the trade period and therefore through the cost of living allowance diminishing it will get more difficult from here on in for the Swans to achieve premiership success.
Are the Swans becoming the Hawks of 2012? Do they target Buddy Franklin too often? Franklin is the focus for their Inside 50 entries approximately one in every three times and he kicks one in every five of Sydney’s goals. They lack a goal scoring spread of contributors and only had 10 goal kickers on three occasions, in comparison to Hawthorn’s mix and system allowed 10+ goal scorers on nine occasions.
The adjacent table highlights why Al Clarkson made the decision he did and John Longmire would be stewing on these numbers throughout the preseason period.
It poses the question as to what position is Franklin’s best for the team?
In the final versus Fremantle it was only when Lance was moved higher up the ground that Sydney took control. Buddy’s a star in any position but it’s the balancing act that lost its way in the second half of the season.
Tom Mitchell’s absence this season was curious to say the least. Others may have gone past him but only six games? Will the loss of Nick Malceski their moment maker in their Grand Finals be as significant as Nick was their only playmaker across the half-back line?
Sydney will be amongst the challengers again next season but the only concerns will be the health and form of Franklin who they may now rely upon too much.
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