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Swans must prove they're more than a one-man band

1st July, 2015
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Expert
1st July, 2015
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The so-called ‘Bondi Billionaires’ will take no part in the Swans’ Thursday night match against Port Adelaide at the SCG, leading many to ask whether the Swans have a Plan B.

It won’t be the first time the Swans have played without key forwards Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett since their expensive acquisitions, but it would have given the selection committee plenty of headaches nonetheless.

And while the Swans demolished a hapless Brisbane by 79 points the last time the twin towers were unavailable to play, the adversary won’t be so easy to conquer this time.

Despite Port Adelaide’s underwhelming first half of the season, they still have the personnel and capacity to challenge the undermanned Swans.

Indeed, the Power should draw on the memory of challenging the Swans in their last game at the SCG, where they lost by a mere four points.

And on that day, in Round 13, while the score differential was four points, the real difference boiled down to one man: Lance Franklin.

Franklin kicked two goals in the second half to get the Swans over the line: the first of which was a 70-metre bomb, the second – also from outside the 50-metre arc – that bent back in a way only Buddy could muster.

But the Swans won’t be able to rely on Buddy’s brilliance this time.

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And with fellow big-bucks forward Tippett also out for a week through suspension, there has never been a more important time for other Swans to stand up.

But who?

Young gun Isaac Heeney and the ever-reliable Ben McGlynn will make their respective injury returns through the NEAFL this weekend, so the answer won’t be found there.

And while veteran Adam Goodes has regained form since his own stint in the NEAFL, the majority of his goals have come from opportunistic crumbs.

Without Franklin and Tippett drawing the footy and several defenders at marking contests, Goodes may struggle to be as potent in the forward line.

Sam Reid, then, seems like the obvious choice to go forward.

Until the acquisition of the Bondi Billionaires, Reid was the Swans’ fledgling superstar, a member of the 2012 premiership team at just 20 years old.

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Reid has been swung back in defence and, at times, has looked dangerous, particularly given his strong marking ability.

But he hasn’t played consecutive games in the forward line this year.

What’s more, when he has played forward, he has struggled to find harmony alongside fellow talls Franklin and Tippett.

This will therefore be a mammoth ask of Reid, particularly given the adjusted role he has been made to play in a team so focused around one player in the forward line.

So is this all just a little bit of history repeating?

Alastair Clarkson might think so. In fact, it was Hawthorn’s over-reliance on Buddy – an over-reliance that led many to conclude lost Hawthorn the 2012 flag – that resulted in Clarkson’s complete remodel of the Hawthorn forward line.

Now, the depth in Hawthorn’s forward line is formidable: Roughead, Gunston, Breust, Puopolo, Rioli and more.

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The Swans have found themselves in a predicament that proves lightning does indeed strike twice, with the Buddy-centric formula proving too predictable.

In the Swans’ most recent loss to Richmond, Sydney repeatedly searched for Franklin in the forward half, regardless of how many defenders were playing on him or how rattled he was after being reported.

Without Franklin, and to a lesser extent Tippett, the task of taking on a less than impressive Port Adelaide has become all the more difficult.

Robbie Gray will have benefited from the bye after his concussion against Carlton two weeks ago.

And Paddy Ryder may prove a handful for the suddenly-shorter Swans, who will head Mike Pyke against the Ryder-Lobbe duo.

If there was ever an opportunity for Port Adelaide to turn their season around, it would be this week against the Swans.

And if there was ever an opportunity for the Swans to prove they were not over-reliant on Franklin, it would be this week against the Power.

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The last time the Swans met the Power at the SCG, Buddy may have proved the difference, but it was Sam Reid who punched the ball across Port Adelaide’s goal-line to secure the win in the dying seconds.

Reid will need to be even more influential to secure the Swans’ tenth win of the season.

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