The Swans’ main men have praised Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett on their defensive efforts in Saturday night’s win against Port Adelaide.
Coach John Longmire and co-captain Jarred McVeigh believe the key forwards’ efforts embodied the Swans’ match-winning tenacity against the Power.
The duo laid eight tackles each and also combined for 27 disposals, 11 marks and four goals in the Swans’ 48-point triumph at the Adelaide Oval.
Speaking on Monday Longmire praised not only his key forwards, but “everyone else in the defensive aspects of the game”, on their ability to bottle the ball up, force turnovers and create scoring opportunities.
“To have your two key forwards leading the way with their press when the opposition has the ball is a good indicator,” Longmire said.
“We constantly talk internally about how it’s not always about possessions or goals, even though they’re always important, it’s all about your application when the opposition has the ball.
“That’s first and foremost in all our players’ minds and to have them leading the way is very helpful.”
McVeigh was equally impressed with the pair’s efforts which helped the Swans outnumber Power in the tackle count 76 to 52.
“Chasing, harassing, smothering…to keep the ball in our forward line is what you want those guys to do,” McVeigh said on the Sunday Footy Show.
“When the ball is on the deck they’re obviously very good at attacking but they’ve worked on the other side of their game as well.”
Franklin and Tippett’s pressure shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Franklin has amassed eight tackles in a game before (Round 16 v West Coast last year) while in his last 10 seasons in the system has returned 6 or more tackles per game on 18 occasions.
Tippett has returned 5 or more tackles on 14 occasions, including two games for his former club Adelaide where the 198cm, 102kg utility returned seven tackles.
Tippett’s eight tackles on Saturday was the highest count of his career and an impressive return considering he had next to no match conditioning leading into Round 1.
