Selection shock as Swans name Franklin for Dockers clash
Andrew Wu
SMH, May 18
Sydney has dropped a selection bombshell by naming Lance Franklin, days after coach John Longmire had publicly ruled out the superstar forward from facing Fremantle.
The Swans also welcome back another All Australian in Dan Hannebery, who returns after missing the past three weeks due to a groin injury, while Greater Western Sydney has again left out former number one draft pick Jonathon Patton for the game against North Melbourne.
Franklin was facing an uncertain future after a comeback last week was aborted but he has made rapid progress in his recovery from a bruised heel to the surprise of the Swans match committee.
The four-time Coleman Medallist was given the green light after completing the club's main training session for the week on Thursday.
"I ruled him out on Monday, that's how unsual the injury was," Longmire said.
"He had a scan again on Tuesday and surprisingly showed it was getting better really quickly, again on Wednesday it got better and better ... to the point he was able to train.
"He got through really well, in the end he's going to play."
No avoiding the spotlight as Nick hits 200
Neil Cordy
The Daily Telegraph, May 17
FEW quality players fly as low under the radar as Nick Smith.
The Swans defender brings up his 200th game on Saturday night but has been almost invisible to the casual observer. In the process he has made his opponents disappear as well.
The 29-year-old has taken on and beaten the best small forwards of the modern era, including Eddie Betts, Stephen Milne and his old Scotch College school mate Cyril Rioli.
Swans premiership hero Leo Barry said Smith makes life easy for John Longmire and will be one of the first names on the team sheet for Saturday night’s clash with Fremantle at the SCG.
“He’s very rarely beaten,” Barry told the Daily Telegraph.
“He’s taken the role Jared Crouch took before him. He’s probably not as big a pest as Crouchy but his ability to shut down players like Eddie Betts and Stephen Milne and Michael Walters is priceless. Those guys can be as damaging as the key forwards.”
South Coast culture under the SCG lights
Joel Erickson
Narooma News, May 16
When the Sydney Swans run out for the Marn Grook game against the Carlton Blues on Friday, June 1, they’ll carry a piece of the Far South Coast out with them.
The Swans Indigenous guernsey, a special guernsey they will wear as part of that match, has been designed by Tilba-based artist Cheryl Davison.
Davison is originally from the Wallaga Lake region, and plies her trade up and down the South Coast.
The Swans found Cheryl through the Blak Markets, an organisation that supports small Aboriginal businesses.
“I sometimes do the Blak Market,” Ms Davison said. “The Sydney Swans absolutely loved my paintings, and it went from there.”
The guernsey design is striking, with a black swan cutting through the Swans’ traditional red and white colours.
“I had to think about that a bit, and we’ve got a South-coast Dreamtime story about how the Black Swan was created,” Ms Davison said.
“That’s my story about the Black Swan, it’s really important.
“I stylized the swan the way I normally do with my art. I made it as bold as possible, and used some of the Aboriginal motif in the design.”
