Lance Franklin has been a wonderful servant for the Swans, surpassing all key performance indicators during his time in Sydney.
He and his family have my sympathies in this time and I hope we have not seen the last of the mercurial talent that is Buddy.
But his time at the Swans has been a failure.
He was considered to be the final piece of the puzzle brought in to win premierships in 2013. While the Swans have made it to the big dance twice since, neither time did they look close to winning the flag.
Now, little of this can be attributed to Franklin himself, who has given his all each and every match. But it is nonetheless a failure for a side that has not been starved of success recently.
Under Paul Roos, the Swans played an unapologetically defensive style that won them games and eventually a drought-breaking premiership.
But under John Longmire, they have only managed to win one premiership, which can in large part be attributed to the coaching and recruitment of Roos in 2012.
Longmire has overseen a period in which the Swans have choked at the last hurdle multiple times in something similar to Nathan Buckley or Brad Scott, both of whom have overseen similarly successful periods at Geelong and Collingwood. They did not, however, sign the most talented player of this generation, with a preternatural ability to kick goals and turn games on their head.
Franklin was the hottest commodity coming out of his contract at Hawthorn in 2013.
(Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
His time at the Swans has been personally successful, but not for the club.
He won the Coleman in 2013 and 2017, as well as winning four successive leading goal kicker medals at Sydney, along with two Brett Kirk medals (awarded to the best on ground in the Sydney derby between Greater Western Sydney and the Swans).
But these are an indictment on the Swans’ playing style – far too dependent on a ‘kick it to Buddy’ paradigm. The Swans targeted Buddy even with other accomplished forwards such as Kurt Tippett, Sam Reid and Tom Papley there.
They’ve developed other avenues to goal with the drafting of Nick Blakey and the improvement of Tom Papley and Ben Ronke, however this does not change the fact that the signature of Franklin must be considered a failure for the Swans as an organisation.
swanniesr1
Guest
Faded in the 3rd quarter? Yeah they had that problem for a long time Can't tell you how many times I've sat either at the ground or in my lounge room screaming "they've done it again, they went to sleep in the 3rd,they've got to learn to wake up in the 3rd" I definately remember those words in 2007 though "Leo Barry you star" and in 2012 I sat in my lounge room screaming at the TV "they can't catch us they're out of time we've won we've won" Hubby kept telling me to shut up but he just doesn't understand this great game
swanniesr1
Guest
I'm a HUGE Swans fan but as much as I love Buddy we have "forgotten" about the fact that we have many other great goal kickers up forward As such I believe we use him way too much While he's been out the Swans may not have been winning but more importantly the team is bedding in a top class bunch of "newbies" and letting them find their place in the team This will be the way forward for us
Dee
Guest
This is a very simplistic view. No premiership does not equate to failure. Sydney's membership has just about doubled since Franklin's arrival, he has been an outstanding mentor for their younger players, and for him personally, it seems he has matured so much there. When Barry Hall was playing, it was the same argument: the Swans are "too focused" on getting the ball to Barry. Now they're "too focused on kicking it to Buddy". I kinda thought that was the point of having a star forward: having a reliable kicker to go to. What I think has hurt the Swans since Franklin signed on, is an ageing core leadership group, retirements and injuries. I think they've stayed competitive throughout this period precisely because they have Franklin.
Davico
Roar Pro
And yet your whole premise is that the Buddy deal is a failure!
Davico
Roar Pro
Who was the bloke wearing 23 for Hawthorn in 2008? Who was the bloke wearing the same number in 2013? Was it 2 different people as they sure looked alike!
Davico
Roar Pro
Please provide the proof of all this money the AFL is pumping into the Swans! Does not seem like it from what I have read: http://www.hpnfooty.com/?p=31622 Or just another Vic conspiracy theory because the Swans are a well run club who missed the Finals for the first time in a Decade last year? 2019 was also the club has not posted a profit since 2010. How about YOU provide some FACTS!
DS
Guest
Sorry, that should have read as 2008 & 2013.
DS
Guest
He has two (2008, 2003).
Mooty
Roar Rookie
Buddy has one premiership medal, not two
HR
Roar Rookie
If the quotation marks around “family reasons” were genuinely to quote him verbatim, rather than to imply that the rationale was spurious, I apologise. I think that the move was probably the best option for all concerned (had he stayed with GWS he might have retired even sooner).
Mooty
Roar Rookie
“one of the most successful clubs in the industry” what is your basis for that opinion, the amount of money the AFL has had to pump into them, and still does
Davico
Roar Pro
And??
Davico
Roar Pro
Did I mention anything about the contract he signed? I said he had a cry (just like plenty of other Vic players), so he could go home to Melbourne.
DS
Guest
No, he didn't, but then again, it is a team sport. Individual players can't deliver premierships. Wayne Carey never would have made a GF if he wasn't in the same team as Archer, Stevens, Schwass, Bell, Martin etc.. and didn't have Pagan as coach. On the other hand Gary Ablett, whom some consider to be the best player of the past 20 years, didn't do well at GC. You really don't understand how team sport works. Also, Sydney have done amazingly well during the Buddy years. Only four clubs have done better. They have not failed. I note that in one of your comments down below, you say that not winning the flag is a failure. That is a terrible attitude to take. Clubs may strive for the flag ever year, but they can't 'expect' it every year, and not winning it is not failure. It's life.
HR
Roar Rookie
Boyd had some genuine mental health struggles that he hoped he could resolve by moving to be closer to his family. Implying that he moved to the Doggies for a bigger contract is disingenuous.
Davico
Roar Pro
Pretty much shows you know pretty much nothing about the Swans as an organisation or the fanbase. How does it sting? Where has the club come out to say anything of the sort? It seems that you have a chip when it comes to the Swans and that is about it! I find it a bit rich for an Essendon fan to be throwing rocks at any club or player. Kind of fits with how Paul Gallen is carrying on these days though!!
Jonboy
Roar Rookie
Pavlich.
Simoc
Guest
He would have been recruited to put bums on seats, get folks watching Swans on TV and get Sydney media coverage being the best player in the game. And he has come up trumps.
Charlie
Roar Rookie
I think you're a little confused. You say in this post that you "don't call Buddy himself a failure" in the article, but in another post you say "And compare that to the overall growth in the fan base. Are you attributing all that to buddy? And the answer is no you can’t attribute that all to buddy, what you can however, is on field results." So despite saying you don't, you actually do attribute on-field results to Buddy. Perhaps you should actually read the piece, then maintain the same opinion in your comments. Other reasons this is a poor article: - You talk about a 'kick it to Buddy’ paradigm. Where is your evidence that that is what actually happened? - You talk about surpassing all KPIs, but then only use 1 measurement - premierships - to define success. - You obviously don't understand the difference between "fact" and "opinion" - You say "neither time did they look close to winning the flag" - but at the 17 minute mark of the last quarter in 2016, they were only a one point down. That seems pretty close to me.
Marty
Roar Rookie
Don’t agree with the whole ‘unless you win a premiership the season is a failure’ argument. Teams rarely win flags in isolation, more often they improve over a number of years until they’re good enough to contend. To suggest that those preceding seasons were a ‘failure’ is a pretty simplistic way of looking at things imo.