Lance Franklin dominates as Sydney snare first win at Perth Stadium against West Coast
Braden Quartermaine
Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, March 26

IT WAS Jake Lloyd who had the honour of kicking the first AFL goal at Perth Stadium and Luke Parker who kicked a magical sealer.

But the record WA footy crowd in attendance will remember Sunday night mainly for the Buddy show.

Sydney has gone about its pre-season with the application of a team that started last season 0-6 and the Swans were ready to make a statement.

West Coast had no shortage of motivation of its own as it opened its new home amid predictions of a slide down the ladder, but the Eagles had no answer to Lance Franklin.

Even more significantly, they didn’t have their own star spearhead at the other end of the ground with Josh Kennedy sidelined.

The underdog Eagles kept coming and were full of heart. The home side won the inside-50 count 60-52, but while Franklin was a magnet at one end on the way to his haul of 8.1, there was no such target for West Coast. 

Franklin steals the show as Sydney see off spirited West Coast
Brad Elborough
The Age, March 26

The opening of Western Australia’s new stadium needed a West Aussie to set the game alight.

And it got one.

But to the despair of most of the 53,553 fans at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon, that player was wearing the red and white Sydney Swans jumper.

A clearly fit Lance Franklin terrorised the Eagles for the first three and half quarters in the Swans' 29-point win over West Coast – 18.7 (115) to 13.8 (86).

He kicked eight goals to lead the Coleman Medal after round one by two goals, and took the lead in race for that award just nine minutes into the third term when he booted his first goal of the second half and his sixth for the game.

The prolific Sydney forward's contested marking against usually reliable Eagles defenders was a highlight – and he showed plenty of pace.

That sixth goal seemed to break the back of West Coast, who had gone forward three times prior to Franklin kicking it. But they could manage only three behinds for their efforts, taking the margin out to a game-high 30 points.

But the Swans seemed to stop and the Eagles quickly took over the momentum. 

Rush of Budd
Jon Ralph
Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, March 25

AN AUDIENCE with Lance Franklin carries a significant sense of expectation.

When you are summoned to Sydney to talk shop with footy’s most enigmatic figure, you need to get a headline out of him.

It’s Journalism 101 — attack the controversial topics with a frenzy.

When will he retire? Is he worth the cash? Does he need a Sydney flag?

For so long “Buddy” has been questioned about what he might not do.

He might not win the premiership many believe is the sole arbiter of his contract’s success for Sydney.

He might not see out a contract that the Swans will have to pay every cent of for five more seasons.

Yet he is almost never asked about what he has done.

Which is compile one of the most brilliant, highlight-packed, durable, unforgettable careers this game has seen. 

Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin a fitting headliner for new stadium
Steve Butler
The West Australian, March 24

Long before Perth had a sparkling new stadium, Lance Franklin’s path to football greatness was taking shape in the fields of WA’s central Wheatbelt.

“It was an old ground, but the main thing I remember playing and growing up in Dowerin was that the oranges at half-time were massive,” Franklin recalled in an exclusive interview with The Weekend Westahead of tomorrow’s first AFL battle at Optus Stadium between West Coast and Sydney.

“I remember that part of it, along with the wet grounds in the morning and having fun with your mates. It not only brought my family together, but also the community.

“It was a massive part of me growing up and for the Franklins it was a special time. You always think back to where you’ve come from.” 

The red and white Fox on the run
Andrew Wu
Sydney Morning Herald, March 25

At some point on Sunday, there will be a powerfully built Sydney backman dashing out of defence like his life depended on it. And there's a strong chance the majority of Swans fans at home will be wondering: "who is this number 42?"

His name is Robbie Fox. Only the most ardent of the the red and white faithful would remember him from early last year when he was one of a number of newcomers thrown in the deep end during the club's ghoulish start.

Back then he was cast in an unfamiliar role as a forward, now he is a defender who has been instructed to tuck the ball under his arm and run - much like Rhyce Shaw used to do in his 143 games for the club. In fact, it's Shaw who gave Fox the licence to thrill.

The Swans have most positions covered but they have not been able to find a player who can break the lines out of defence since Shaw's retirement in 2015.

Of course, the fourth-gamer will have to stay true to the Swans' mantra of team defence but if he can be a Fox on the run then watch out.

"If I get the chance to break my line and use my legs he wants me to do it every time," Fox told Fairfax Media in the lead up to the Swans' round one clash with West Coast in Perth.

"If it goes 40 metres off the boot he'd take that every time and gain 80 metres rather than do a dinky little handball five metres away.

"It's good I have a licence to take the game on." 

Sydney CEO Andrew Ireland hopes Lance Franklin signs a contract extension with the Swans
Neil Cordy
The Daily Telegraph, March 24

THE man who orchestrated Lance Franklin’s nine-year, $10 million deal says he wouldn’t be surprised if the Coleman Medallist stayed at the Swans beyond 2022.

Andrew Ireland is standing down as Swans CEO at the end of this season so he won’t be around to negotiate any contract extension, but he says the two of them have already joked around about Franklin staying on at the Sydney club.

“I sometimes joke with Lance about that (a contract extension),” Ireland told The Saturday Telegraph.

Franklin turned 31 in January and has another five years to run on his agreement, which will reach the halfway point in the middle of this season. He is showing no signs of slowing down, winning his fourth Coleman Medal and his seventh All Australian last year.

Franklin is also on a 50-game streak of continuous football since the end of the 2015.

“When we did the Alistair Lynch deal and he signed for 10 years, I wouldn’t have thought he would have signed an extension at the end of it, and he did.”