Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country on Tuesday 22nd March, 2016.
Never any doubt I would come back, reveals Buddy
Adam Pengilly
SMH, The Age, March 22
Swans star Lance Franklin admitted he never gave a moment of thought to not returning to the AFL despite battling mental illness, declaring his Sydney Cricket Ground return is "about having fun and not goals".
Having sat out Sydney's finals campaign last year to deal with a mental health problem, the Swans' $10 million man declared himself in the best physical condition since his spectacular switch to the harbour city on a nine-year deal that began in 2014.
Asked whether he ever thought he wouldn't return to the game, Franklin said: "There was never any doubt in my mind I was going to come back. I love playing football – that's what I love to do – and for me it was just about getting back on December 1 and training as well as possible.
After thanking one and all, now the fun begins for star
Neil Cordy
Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, March 22
Lance Franklin can thank fiancé Jesinta Campbell for helping reignite his passion for AFL.
“There was never any doubt in my mind I wouldn’t come back,” Franklin said.
“I love playing football, that’s what I love to do.
“For me it was about getting back here on December 1, training as hard as possible and getting my body in the best possible shape for Round 1. Now the fun begins.”
The Swans dynamo spoke at length publicly for the first time on the mental health issues that forced him out of last year’s finals as he prepares to face Collingwood at the SCG on Saturday night.
Franklin always planned to return
Adam Curley
AFL.com.au, March 21
Lance Franklin never considered retirement despite taking a temporary break from the game to battle mental health issues last year.
Franklin missed the Sydney Swans' finals campaign last season to seek treatment for an undisclosed mental illness, but returned to pre-season training in December and played in all three of the club's NAB Challenge matches.
The three-time Coleman medallist told a large media pack outside the Swans' headquarters on Monday that his treatment is still ongoing, and he had always planned to continue his career this season.
Swans star Lance Franklin had no doubt he’d be back
Will Swanton
The Australian, March 22
No one really knows what Lance Franklin is going through. Darkness is relative and we can only assume his longest days and nights continue to send him beyond the traditional shades of grey. But here he is for another season of the Australian Football League in which the fate of the Sydney Swans will depend heavily on the workings of his complicated mind and the industriousness of his prodigious left foot.
“It’s definitely ongoing for me,” Franklin said of his mental health issues ahead of his AFL premiership comeback against Collingwood at the SCG on Saturday night. “I’ve got a support network around me and that’s the most important thing. I’ve just got to continue to speak to those people around me and yeah, get on with it as best as I can.
“It’s about having those people around me that I’m able to talk to if I’m having a bad day or a good day. It’s just about being open with the way I speak to everyone and yeah, I just want to play football.”
Secure your tickets for our Round 1 blockbuster against Collingwood as we return home to the SCG!
