Wreck It Ralph: Why an unpredictable Sydney is a force to be reckoned with
The Swans are flying high, and while they would love a prime Lance Franklin, it’s become clear his retirement has helped create the most complete side in the AFL, writes JON RALPH.
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Sydney is better this year without Buddy Franklin.
Not prime-time Buddy, when Franklin rode the AFL stage like a gunslinger taking down rivals with brutal efficiency.
But certainly the Franklin of his final years when he dominated this club – with his presence, his inside-50 targets and a reputation that made the Swans predictable, at times, in attack.
This Sydney team is something to behold. A force to be reckoned with.
Footy’s best team in attack – averaging eight points more than next-best Geelong.
And its most miserly in defence – averaging two points less than defence-minded Fremantle.
And also so much more unpredictable with so many targets who their opponents are finding it confounding to stop.
The differences, of course, are impossible to quantify.
Franklin still kicked 52 goals from 23 games in 2022 before the contract saga that finally saw him agreeing to a final season in 2023.
But in that finals series – as Sydney stormed all the way to the Grand Final – Franklin would kick only two goals from four scoring shots across three finals for 23 total possessions.
Then came last year’s 13-game, 19-goal season before Franklin tore his calf and disappeared from sight.
So what has his absence created that has been so critical to Sydney’s blinding start?
Salary cap space and opportunities.
For the first time in such a long time, Sydney could play offence rather than saving dollars to fit in Franklin and its young academy stars given a $10 million, nine-year deal that peaked in its final seasons.
Instead of going for cheap-as-chips recruits like Aaron Francis, Lewis Taylor, Ryan Clarke and Michael Talia – with the odd Tom Hickey thrown in – the Swans could get aggressive.
In came Brodie Grundy on a deal colleague Sam Landsberger has reported will see Sydney paying up to $750,000 a year.
When Taylor Adams inquired about joining the Sydney odyssey, the Swans had cap space to acquiesce.
They also had enough cap space to get into the race for unrestricted free agent James Jordon.
And if the price wasn’t massive – Melbourne received only an end-of-second-round pick – it was a move they could have never dreamt about when Franklin was earning big bucks.
When Franklin was paid $1.5m in 2021 they could never have even considered that haul.
Jordon has just taken down Lachie Whitfield, Jordan Clark and Sam Walsh in a trio of contests.
On Friday night, Jordon smacked Walsh – kept him to 20 possessions (12 less than his season average) while also winning 16 touches at 88 per cent efficiency, kicking a goal, setting up two more and having six tackles.
Sydney’s midfield is thriving under Grundy, who is having his finest season since 2021, and again spoke on the weekend about enjoyment, playing at a club who valued him.
A club-ranked 10th for points from stoppages and 17th for clearances last year is this year ranked second for stoppages and third for clearance differential.
Against Carlton, Sydney kicked five goals from stoppages and held the Blues goalless from stoppages after quarter time.
It is possible to argue that removing Franklin and Isaac Heeney from Sydney’s forward line has made it all the more versatile and dangerous.
In the Grand Final season of 2022, Franklin kicked 52 goals and Heeney 49 – ahead of Will Hayward (34), Tom Papley (32) and Chad Warner (20).
If Sydney was kicking inside-50 to a tall target, you knew it was going to Buddy.
Sam Reid (18 goals) and Logan McDonald (15) trailed well behind for inside-50 targets.
This year, anyone can take you down in Sydney’s forward line, and Heeney is kicking the same amount of goals from the midfield anyway.
Against Carlton, Sydney had five multiple goalkickers – Warner, Heeney, Tom Papley, Joel Amartey and Hayden McLean.
Will Hayward, Sam Wicks, Harry Cunningham, Jordon and James Rowbottom all kicked a goal and McDonald (0.2), Adams, Braeden Campbell and Nick Blakey all kicked points.
So 14 players hit the scoreboard in some capacity.
Why wouldn’t they, when the inside-50 targets are shared around so effectively?
This year, McDonald leads all inside-50 targets with 49, followed by Amartey (44), McLean (38), Papley (30), Hayward (25) and Heeney (20).
In 2022, 30 per cent of all of Sydney’s inside-50 entries were directed at Franklin.
This year, McDonald has 18 per cent of targets, Amartey (17 per cent), McLean (14 per cent), Papley (11 per cent), and Hayward (nine per cent).
Those close to McDonald and Hayward have been heard to quietly grumble at times about how they couldn’t wait to see the pair flourish out of Franklin’s shadow.
Hayward has been so effective, he has six-season contract offers and should sign a five-year Swans deal, while McDonald has just been solid, but still has 18 goals in 2024.
The question remains – can those key forwards fire in finals like Franklin did for so long across 28 finals, kicking 74 goals?
One report this year said the Swans were sick of Franklin by the end of his tenure.
It’s not really true – he was extremely popular with teammates, he and John Longmire had a strong relationship, and he invested in helping young forwards.
But as with any champion there is an aura around them. And at times that aura can be distracting, or the sideshow around them can take up a lot of emotional energy.
It would have happened with those delicate pay negotiations as Franklin pushed for more money amid rumours of a link to the Brisbane Lions.
And with discussion about whether the borderline reclusive Franklin endured an SCG farewell lap, which he finally agreed to in August 2023.
And with so many discussions and investment from the sports science department about his body in those final seasons – how to keep him in shape, when to risk him, how to manage him.
Right now, Sydney is a well-oiled machine, churning along with few distractions – apart from the Wicks episode, which the club believes is in the rear-vision mirror.
Franklin’s recruitment was one of footy’s great masterstrokes. Across eight seasons he kicked 486 goals, won 113 games, lit up the SCG with countless heroics and kicked four goals in a losing Grand Final that could have been his legacy item at the Swans.
Hawthorn made the tough call not to match a Sydney free agency bid on Franklin – and all that entailed – and the Hawks won the next three premierships.
The Buddy era is finally over at the Swans, and yet instead of doubts over what comes next, Longmire has never been in a better position to improve his 1-3 Grand Final record.
Originally published as Wreck It Ralph: Why an unpredictable Sydney is a force to be reckoned with
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