Apart from the highly anticipated return of the football season, Swans star Lance Franklin is looking forward to sharing more time inside 50 with fellow big man Kurt Tippett in 2015.

Speaking before training at Lakeside Oval on Tuesday afternoon, Franklin was eager for the new season to get underway as the countdown to Saturday’s season opener against Essendon ticked under four excitement-fuelled days.

“We’re really excited about this weekend, playing Essendon it should be a great game,” Franklin said, who averages five goals a game against the Bombers.

“The pre-season has been a long one so the boys are just really keen to get out there and play some football.”

Franklin, who has fully recovered from his head knock suffered against GWS in Canberra on March 22, was also keen to see Tippett back in the forward line.

The Franklin-Tippett combination has been rolled out on 12 occasions since the former Hawk landed at SCG headquarters at the end of 2013.

Knee issues plagued Tippett’s 14-game season.

When the duo played together the Swans reaped the rewards, with certain games yielding double-figure hauls including Round 21 and 22 (vs Port Adelaide and St Kilda) where Franklin and Tippett combined for 12 and 10 goals respectively.

Their nine-goal performance in last year’s preliminary final against North Melbourne will also be fresh in Swans supporters’ minds.

“It’s about building that relationship and building that bond and connection between each other,” Franklin said.

“We’re still learning from one another so hopefully we can play some consistent football together and go from there.”