Healthy returns and Buddy huge win
Neil Cordy
The Daily Telegraph, August 5
THIS was a win for the true believers — for the fans who believe in miracles.
Six goals from Lance Franklin led the Sydney Swans to an emotion-charged two-point win over a courageous Collingwood at the SCG last night.
The victory stopped the rot for Sydney, who had lost four of their last five games and dropped from fourth to ninth. The Swans had held an 18-point lead early in the final term but the Pies came roaring back and eventually claimed the lead late in the contest through Travis Varcoe’s fourth goal.
But the home side were not to be denied and two minutes from the end, a bizarre matchwinner came from the boot of Tom McCartin.
The young forward, while lying on the turf, managed to squeeze the ball through for a decisive goal.
Alex Johnson hadn’t played in almost six years after undergoing five knee reconstructions and 13 surgeries, but helped inspire the Swans.
Sydney fought with the heart he has shown in the 2136 day-gap since his last senior game. He finished with 16 possessions and 11 marks.
“Alex had a big ask,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
“Coming in and playing on a big man who has been in very good form in Mason Cox. We thought we’d get a competitive effort and that’s what we got from him.
“He got a taste of AFL footy for the first time in a long time and played an important role.”
Johnson thrilled after ‘unbelievable’ comeback
Neil Cordy
The Daily Telegraph, August 5
All the pain. All the surgeries. All the lonely rehab sessions.
It was all worth it.
Alex Johnson let out a roar, 2136 days in the making, as he celebrated the Sydney Swans’ remarkable victory over Collingwood at the SCG.
His last match at the top level was the 2012 grand final against Hawthorn. One of his opponents that day was Lance Franklin.
Johnson was thrilled to get back on the field after so much heartache.
“Unbelievable,’’ Johnson said. “You know how hard I’ve worked for this. I’ve spent a lot of time in the dungeon in the depths of the SCG to get back here and I’m just rapt, absolutely rapt.
“I’m sure Mum’s crying right now. I’m rapt for them, (my parents) have worked as hard as me and they’ve been on this rollercoaster ride as well.’’
Johnson’s five-and-a-half years of hell behind him
Neil Cordy
The Daily Telegraph, August 5
ALEX Johnson wants more than the fairytale return he celebrated on Saturday night.
He’s making up for lost time. Lots of it, five-and-a-half years of it.
For such a long spell out of the game, his return was seamless and helped in part by Dane Rampe, the man who took his spot in the team after he ruptured his ACL for the first time in February 2013.
Rampe played 133 games in Johnson’s absence and until Saturday night had never played alongside Johnson.
In a nice piece of symmetry it was Rampe who provided Johnson his first touch of the footy at the top level in 2136 days.
“Once I got my first kick I was away,” Johnson told The Daily Telegraph.
“It was appropriate it was ‘Ramps’ who gave me my first possession, he took my position after all. I remind him of that every now and then.
“Ramps has been an unbelievable player, he came in 2013 and I did a pre-season with him and saw what he was able to offer.”
Buddy's back: Franklin bags six as Swans sink Magpies in SCG thriller
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 4
Lance Franklin made a mockery of the adage that you "play as you train" by putting on a clinic as Collingwood edged further towards their injury tipping point in a Saturday night thriller.
The Swans marked Alex Johnson's comeback game by renewing hope in their finals campaign with a heart-stopping two-point win over the gallant Magpies at the SCG.
Tom McCartin was the unlikely match-winner, dribbling a wormburner through with just under two minutes remaining to edge the Swans in front.
Missing close to half their best team, the Pies were dealt another blow on Saturday night with Darcy Moore hurting his hamstring.
Moore was the man they could least afford to lose as they had come into the game without five of their taller defenders.
It proved a match-defining development as it exposed two first-year rookies to the best forward of his generation.
Franklin had already kicked three of his six goals when Moore broke down but it was his third term that swung the match in their favour.
Swans' hopes riding on Franklin's golden left boot
Andrew Wu
SMH, August 5
Lance Franklin's virtuoso performance against Collingwood has revived Sydney's push for the finals but coach John Longmire knows the Swans cannot rely on the superstar forward to win games off his own boot.
The Swans are back in the eight and need at least two more wins to stay there, starting next Sunday against Melbourne in a high stakes match that is likely to play a big part in shaping both clubs' September aspirations.
With three rounds left in the season, the Swans' fortunes are mirroring those of their spearhead, who turned in one of his best performances of the year to lift his team back into the eight.
Quiet in the Swans' losses to Gold Coast and Essendon, Franklin bagged six out of 11 in the victory on the weekend. The four-time Coleman Medal winner had also been influential in the club's narrow win over North Melbourne.
Former stars Dermott Brereton and Matthew Lloyd have both said the Swans would not have beaten the Magpies had defender Darcy Moore not broken down, leaving Franklin to prey on debutant Jack Madgen and first-year rookie Brody Mihocek.
He could have another inexperienced opponent this week in Melbourne's Oscar McDonald.
The match: Buddy leads Swans to epic win
AAP
The Daily Telegraph, August 5
Hobbled superstar Lance Franklin’s six-goal haul and a stunning matchwinner from Tom McCartin have dragged Sydney back into the AFL’s top eight, with the Swans pipping Collingwood by two points at the SCG.
Franklin defied a restrictive heel injury, which has prevented him training this season, to boot three goals in the first quarter then ignite a third-quarter fightback.
The Swans triumphed 11.7 (73) to 10.11 (71) on Saturday night, when Darcy Moore became the latest victim in the Magpies’ injury-cursed season.
The Swans, down by 17 points at the major break and fearing a defeat that would all but ensure they miss finals for the first time under John Longmire, sparked to life and held a 18-point lead when Franklin slotted his sixth goal about 17 seconds into the final term.
The Magpies, who were without Moore for almost three quarters because of a suspected hamstring injury, rallied in style and reclaimed the lead when Travis Varcoe kicked his fourth goal of the night.
Franklin hit the post, for the third time in the low-scoring arm-wrestle, before McCartin somehow got boot to ball at the bottom of a pack to kick a scrubby goal with two minutes remaining.
A frantic series of smothers, spoils, tackles and kicks under immense pressure followed, with Isaac Heeney holding a clutch mark in defence to defuse the visitors’ final foray forward.
Sydney Swans defeat Collingwood: Lance Franklin makes history, kicking bag in season-saving win
Max Laughton
Fox Sports, August 4
IT’S not like it was a surprise.
As an opposition coach, you go into a game against Sydney knowing there’s a chance Lance Franklin will just decide to be unstoppable and therefore you cannot win.
Especially when you’re Nathan Buckley and Collingwood, and dealing with an injury plague that can only be described as biblical.
A massive performance from Buddy powered the Swans to a season-saving win on Saturday night, keeping his side well in the mix for September footy.
The sure-fire Hall of Famer’s first goal of the night put him in rare air, as just the second player to kick 45 or more goals in 12 consecutive seasons.
The other to do so was Collingwood great Gordon Coventry.
By the end of the night, Franklin had bagged six goals - a 6.4 scoreline showing how many chances he had to impact the scoreboard. It was his 14th haul of five or more at the SCG.
Only two players have had more than that at the ground - Warwick Capper (17) and Tony Lockett (29).
“They won that game because of (Lance) Franklin,” Dermott Brereton said on Fox Footy post-match.
In fact, the closeness of the game resulted in Round 20 setting an all-time record with five games decided by less than goal - and three games left in the round.
Collingwood probably thought it had a bit of a chance to clamp down Buddy with Darcy Moore in action.
The swingman’s season has been ruined by injury, like so many at the club, meaning it was even worse news than usual when he didn’t return to the game after halftime due to another hamstring concern.
To be fair, it wasn’t like Buddy was being stopped early in the game - he kicked three goals in the first quarter, but that was a feat matched by Travis Varcoe, hardly a forward of his caliber.
