Franklin looks to bounce back for Swans

Buddy is back but he’s not like you remembered.

Lance Franklin gave a strong indication he’s ready to again have an impact in the AFL after a positive hit out in Sydney’s intraclub match at Henson Park on Friday.

But coach John Longmire hinted the superstar forward’s role may change this AFL season after he played across the ground in the clash.

Embarks on a return from mental health problems, Franklin played what can best be described as a roving centre half-forward role and covered plenty of kilometres playing all but the last few minutes.

The 29-year-old took a leave of absence on the eve of last year’s finals to address his mental health issues and is aiming to make his AFL return in round one against Collingwood on March 26.

The superstar forward returned to training before Christmas and looks to have benefited from a big pre-season.

“He was up the ground and running really well,” coach John Longmire said.

“Through the midfield area he was able to get his hands on the ball plenty of times. He had plenty of footy in the first two-and-a-half quarters and we pushed him forward deliberately in the last quarter and a bit.

“He was feeling really good and looked sharp, got across the ground really well and got plenty of footy.”

The three-time Coleman Medallist played across the ground and was made to do a lot of running – a workload he took in is stride.

At one point he even snuck in for a centre bounce however Longmire did not know if he would slot in there during the season proper.

Franklin had a few early jitters, turning over the ball with his first two touches, but soon looked back in the swing of things.

He was warmly applauded for his first touch and kicked his only goal of the afternoon after taking a clever intercept in the shadows of halftime.

After playing a full game in the Swans’ first intraclub clash in Coffs Harbour last week, Franklin will almost certainly turn out in next Saturday’s NAB Challenge game against Port Adelaide.

Tom Mitchell, Daniel Robinson and Isaac Heeney were the other standouts while Longmire said he was pleased with the progress of academy gun Callum Mills as the club attempts to shape him into a half-back having played midfield during his junior career.