Lance Franklin will make his AFL return for Sydney this Saturday but even the most assured, complete performance won’t mean he plays every weekend as the Swans carefully manage his long-awaited comeback.
Coach John Longmire said on Monday that their star forward was set for a return against Adelaide on Saturday, ending an injury-riddled passage that has kept him off the park since the last round of the 2019 season.
Groin, hamstring and calf issues have hindered the four-time Coleman medallist but he showed enough in one half for the Swans’ reserves on Saturday to prove he was ready.
“He pulled up fine, so we expect him to play this week,” Longmire confirmed.
“He’s done a lot of work and he’s been training for quite a while, so it will be good to get him back in the team.”
But Longmire said the high-tempo football on show in round one only confirmed the need to ease the 34-year-old back into the top flight.
“We’re confident he’s done a fair bit of work, but there’s nothing like playing and as we all saw on the weekend … it’s a pretty solid game style that’s running around a the moment, up and back a lot,” he said.
“He definitely won’t play every week; we’ve got to make sure that we keep that working into him during the week, in the gym and physio and clearly that means not playing every week … even if he does go well and is feeling good.”
Franklin will slot back into a side full of confidence after they marched north to upset flag fancies Brisbane in the first round.
They quickly conceded the first three goals but then swamped Chris Fagan’s team, kicking 15 goals across the second and third quarters to run out 19.11 (125) to 14.10 (94) winners.
Debutants Errol Gulden (three goals and three assists from 19 touches), Logan McDonald (three goals) and Braeden Campbell (12 disposals) were standouts.
“We picked them to help us win first and foremost so it was great to see those young players go out and contribute,” Longmire said.
“We’ll work through that (selection options with Franklin now available); Lance is not going to be playing every week and we need a full squad in form.
“Whether it’s (Josh) Kennedy, (Luke) Parker, (Dane) Rampe; they work really hard to teach them the right way on and off the field.
“Lance has been a part of that, just that he hasn’t been playing and he adds another layer to that and we need to make sure we don’t go away from what works.”
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
"To be eligible for a medical substitution, the club doctor must decide that an injured player will be unable to play a game in the next 12 days. Club doctors must provide the AFL with a medical certificate on the first working day after the match as evidence the substituted player sustained the injury. Should a subbed-out player recover from an injury other than concussion before the next match, he may be granted to play provided his return is ticked off by the AFL Medical Officer. Any club found to be breaking the medical substitute rule can be sanctioned "for conduct unbecoming, or prejudicial to the interests or reputation of the AFL, or to bring the game of football into disrepute"."
MARTIN WYLIE
Roar Rookie
If this scenario were a market I could bet on, then I would put down $50 on it right now.
Chris M
Guest
The Swans players were able to select the right targets inside the forward 50 against the Brisbane Lions and hit them. Lance Franklin's teammates would be well advised not to be too Buddy-centric against Adelaide. They should only kick to Buddy when he is the best option or a more-than-likely option, especially as he may be rusty on his first outing in over 12 months. Buddy may need to put a number of consecutive games together to shake off the cobwebs, but it also seems he will need to be game-managed over the course of the season. I am not sure what the coaching staff and medical team are considering. From a marketing perspective, the Swans would probably want Buddy to be playing most SCG games or every SCG game, if possible. Maybe that will mean Buddy missing games when there is a short turnaround time, or possibly a few selected away games. Hayden McLean will probably be the player to make way for Franklin this week. Nonetheless, McLean handballed to Logan McDonald for a goal and also, after dropping a mark, he recovered to handball to Errol Gulden for a goal. The high draft pick, Logan McDonald, is worth keeping as the third tall behind Franklin and Reid. However, as an 18 year old first year key position player, McDonald may also need to be managed over the course of his first season, just as the elderly statesman, Franklin, may need to be. Hayden McLean played his role in the win over Brisbane, and if he is permitted to string a number of games together in the top grade, it would be interesting to see if he can prove his value to the team as a key forward. Neither Franklin nor Reid are getting any younger and McDonald still won't be coming into his prime for a few more years to take the responsibility of being the No 1 key forward. I am also interested to know how Paddy has been going in the Reserves, and how he will go in the Reserves, especially when the weather becomes more amenable to tall marking forwards. The Swans will find that having a couple of quality key forwards will make them more dangerous as future premiership contenders, like Kennedy-Darling, Lynch-Riewoldt or Hawkins-Cameron are for the Eagles, Tigers and Cats.
DTM
Roar Rookie
This is where teams will use their 23rd man. Assuming no other Swans injuries, Buddy will play the first 2 and a bit quarters then get subbed out with "calf or hamstring tightness". A fresh player will come on and an ageing champion will be saved for next week. No criticism of the Swans, all other teams will exploit this rule at some stage during the season.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Hmmm...back into the team after the sum total of half a game in the rezzies in well over 12 months. And not plugging an obvious gap in the existing lineup... Courageous decision Minister!