Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country on Monday 11th April, 2016.
Haul of famer
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, April 11
LANCE Franklin, it’s time to reset your goals.
The Sydney Swans superstar full forward is one of the major beneficiaries of the AFL’s more free-flowing, high-scoring playing style this season. And he’s now within reach of two targets that have become rarer than an all-in brawl — 100 goals in a season and 1000 goals in a career.
Former Swans full-forward Barry Hall is convinced Franklin can reach the lofty goals but cautioned that the 29-year-old will have to adapt his style as he ages.
This year’s rule changes introduced exclusion zones around the mark, restricting defending teams from slowing play down.
Interchanges have been reduced and umpires are hot on deliberate out of bounds, helping speed up and open the play.
Hall kicked 80 goals in a season twice (2005 and 2010) and believes there are two players capable of a ton, a feat not achieved since Franklin’s 2008 season.
“A hundred is gettable for a couple of players and Buddy Franklin is definitely one of them,” Hall said.
Swans star Lance Franklin leading the way in new-look forward line
Andrew Wu
SMH, April 11
We've seen him as the glamour forward and a match winner. Now it's Lance Franklin the leader on show.
The three-time Coleman medallist is not in the club's official leadership group but his experience in the Swans' new-look forward line has proved to be just as important as his goals.
The form of Franklin and their senior midfielders, led by Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery and Josh Kennedy, has enabled Sydney to play their newcomers while remaining serious top-four contenders.
With Adam Goodes retired and Kurt Tippett spending more time in the ruck, Franklin is the most experienced player in the Swans' forward 50 – and by a considerable margin.
GWS now a Giant threat to big bro
Neil Cordy
Sunday Telegraph, Herald Sun April 10
THE Swans are still the big brother in the Harbour City after their 25-point win over the GWS Giants last night.
However, Sydney now has a genuine rivalry after GWS made the red and whites fight all the way. Sydney remain perfect in 2016 and move at least temporarily to the top of the ladder. Lance Franklin kicked four goals in a contribution which was the difference between the teams.
His second and third were vintage Buddy as he converted set shots from outside 50 and close to the boundary line. The next came from at least 60m out and his last, a questionable free-kick, put the game out of the Giants’ reach.
In another dominant display by the Swans midfield Luke Parker, Dan Hannebery, Josh Kennedy, Tom Mitchell and Kieren Jack gave their key forwards plenty of supply and an amazing 67-47 inside 50 advantage. Hannebery was at his very best with a game-high 31 disposals and two important goals. Parker won the Brett Kirk Medal for best afield and was outstanding for a third week in a row with 30 disposals and one goal. His overhead marking was again a feature of his high quality play.
“There were a couple of big 50-50 balls in the centre of the ground that Luke went for and helped set the tone for the midfield and the group,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
Goodes laps up the adoring applause
Neil Cordy
Sunday Telegraph, April 10
THERE was nothing but cheers and applause for Adam Goodes on his lap of honour at the half-time break between the Swans and Giants at the SCG.
The dual Brownlow medallist was joined by fellow retiree Mike Pyke as the crowd of more than 30,000 gave the pair a standing ovation as they walked around the boundary line.
It was the first chance for Sydney’s fans to show their appreciation to Goodes of his amazing career after he chose to miss the traditional grand final parade for retiring players.
“I want to thank all the fans for their support of me and our team the Bloods,” Goodes told the crowd.
“It’s a big thank you to all of you for coming out tonight and supporting our boys and I hope you will continue to do that, it’s been amazing, thank you.”
Swans rule the day but rivals take giant strides
Andrew Wu
SMH, April 10
Sydney remain a red and white town – for now – and for that the Swans can thank Lance Franklin after a night where for long periods it seemed the balance of power was in danger of heading west.
The suspicion heading into the ninth derby was that the gap between the two sides has never been narrower – and so it proved.
For years Greater Western Sydney have talked a big game but, apart from round one two years ago, they have not been able to deliver. They came to the party this time and it took some crucial, some might say divine, interventions from Franklin to keep them at bay.
Although they prevailed by 25 points it took until 27 minutes into the last quarter for the Swans to finally finish off their cross-town rivals. The victory preserves their unbeaten start to the season and keeps their perfect derby record at the SCG intact while the Giants lost no admirers.
The Swans dominated the inside-50 count 67-47 but it was not until the final quarter that they were able to get bang for the buck.
Critics wrong to write off Bloods: Cameron
Andrew Wu
SMH, April 10
Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron says critics have prematurely written off Sydney, who he believes are again a topfour team.
The Swans have again surprised pundits who had expected them to drop off after their finals exit last September was followed by the retirements of several key players. But their regenerated side made it three from three on Saturday night, overcoming the Giants in an arm wrestle at the SCG.
The victory extended their derby dominance to 8-1 but it was a much more keenly fought game than many of the previous encounters. The Giants will have reason to be encouraged despite the defeat. They have now defeated a topfour aspirant and proven very competitive against the Swans.
‘‘Those that wrote off the Swans at the start of the year jumped the gun. They’re a top-four team, no doubt about that,’’ Cameron said.
The shifting rivalry
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, April 9
ONCE upon a time Lance Franklin and Steve Johnson were part of the biggest rivalry in modern football.
It’s Hawthorn versus Geelong, which began in earnest when the Hawks beat the Cats in the 2008 grand final.
Today, Franklin and Johnson are the headline act in the ninth instalment of a growing conflict between the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants.
The Swans are unbeaten after two rounds while the Giants are coming off a game-changing win over Geelong.
“It’s a rivalry that’s building every time we play and it’s great for football in Sydney to have two teams coming off good wins,” Johnson told The Saturday Telegraph.
Adam Goodes failed by unthinking culture of the pack
Patrick Smith
The Australian, April 9
Legendary jockey Roy Higgins used to call it a bushfire. It would start as a crackle — a whisper, innuendo, wink, raised eyebrow, an aside. They would then all come together as one until the crackle became a roar, a 747 of heartbreak and trouble.
Higgins hated it. It might begin with a mean observation that a jockey didn’t like it on the fence. It would leap from a punter on to a stable, then from course to course. No one questioned it but everybody did it. Higgins saw too many of his colleagues in the burns unit.
It happens in every sport. This week in Melbourne the AFL experts deemed Trent Cotchin, the Richmond captain, as responsible for the Tigers’ clumsy and unthinking loss to Collingwood on April Fool’s Day.
It took over talkback on Melbourne’s sport station SEN, Fox Footy panels and discussion on free-to-air television. There were half a dozen critical errors made by Richmond players in the last minute. None of them were Cotchin’s fault or responsibility. But he was swallowed up in the bushfire that was set upon him.
The great Paul Salmon, a champion ruckman in any era, a member of the AFL Hall of Fame and dual Essendon premiership player, was burnt to a cinder by Bombers fans. Whatever went wrong with Essendon was Salmon’s fault. He was jeered and booed. He left to become a dual Hawthorn best and fairest winner. He returned to play a final year with Essendon. He shouldn’t have.
Football is, of course, theatre. We boo the baddies and cheer the goodies. Most of the time it is inoffensive, occasionally funny. But when it develops into the unthinking culture of the pack it can cause deep hurt and do irreparable damage.
This afternoon at the SCG Australian sport acknowledges one of its greatest. Adam Goodes won two Brownlow Medals with the Sydney Swans, played in two premierships and was four times named in the All-Australian team. He was also named in the indigenous team of the century. But his spread of influence was not contained by the borders of the AFL game. Rather, he was named Australian of the Year for 2014.
Such was the behaviour of supporters last year around the AFL grounds this is not so much a farewell and thanks but an apology and time of deep regret.
Swans keen to embrace the ‘Sahara effect’
Samantha Lane
SMH, The Age April 9
In John Longmire’s sport-oriented household, a shift of monumental proportions has occurred of late.
The Swans coach and his wife, Shelley, have two boys who play footy. Thomas and Billy Longmire are 13 and 11, respectively. They are already members of the Swans’ junior academy, which was established in 2010 to nurture AFL talent in NSW.
The Longmires also have a daughter, Sahara, who, it’s fair to say, hadn’t exactly hit it off with Australian football, despite her lifelong (10 years) exposure and rare access to it. That was until recently. Everything changed when Sahara joined her mixedgender school AFL team this year. When she picked up an oval ball and started running with it.
While not exactly her team’s leading goalkicker like her dad, the erstwhile North Melbourne champion, was growing up, that matters naught. More significant is the fact that playing AFL has more than piqued Sahara’s interest in the elite end of the code.
‘‘She’s absolutely loving it!’’ her father exclaims, clearly still astounded by the transformation. ‘‘She’s turning up, she has got her friends doing it, they’re all playing it and they’re loving it. And now her interest in the game itself is unbelievable. She was never interested in the Swans, for instance ... Now she loves going to the footy and to see her at that level is really exciting,’’ he said.
Parker reveals the agony of missing finals after leg injury
Andrew Wu
SMH, April 9
The siren had just sounded in one of Sydney’s best games of 2015. But instead of being out in the middle of the SCG amidst the hugs and backslaps after a backs-to-the-wall victory over Collingwood, a drugged-up Luke Parker was sitting in an ambulance at the back of the famous ground contemplating the end of his season.
The morphine had well and truly taken effect, dulling the pain from his leg that only minutes earlier had been broken in three places. Parker knew as soon as his leg buckled underneath him in a tackle that he was in strife.
‘‘I felt the ankle and foot get caught and go the wrong way,’’ Parker recalls of the tackle from Magpie Taylor Adams that put him out of the finals. ‘‘You get to the point where you feel the initial pop and break. Once we pushed on that spot there was a bit of crunching going around, so we knew.’’
Buddy Franklin stars as Swans outclass Giants in Sydney derby
Adrian Warren
AAP, The Australian, April 9
Four is proving a winning number for Lance Franklin, as Sydney continued their dominance of the harbour city AFL derby with a 25-point win over GWS Giants.
The Giants slashed a 31-point last quarter deficit to 12, but the Swans steadied to record a 14.9 (93) to 10.8 (68) victory at the SCG on Saturday to move to a 3-0 record and top spot.
Franklin kicked four goals for the third straight round and tallied 18 disposals and six marks in a busy display.
Franklin’s fourth major and Kurt Tippett’s second finally quelled the Giants resistance.
Only cheers as Swans fans finally toast Adam Goodes
Adrian Warren
AAP, The Australian, April 9
This time there were only cheers for Adam Goodes.
Sydney’s all- time games record holder got a rousing reception on Saturday, as the Swans supporters finally got the chance to give him the thanks they were denied, when he announced his retirement after last season’s semi-final loss.
Goodes and ruckman Mike Pyke were acclaimed by the SCG crowd at halftime of the ninth Sydney derby between the Swans and Giants. The Swans went on to win the match 93-68.
The boos for Goodes that marred so many games in his final season seemed a distant memory.
