The talented forward, who is just one straight kick away from reaching his 600th career goal, has hit a rich vein of form over the past month, resulting in him booting 12 goals across his last four games, including a standout five-goal performance against Essendon last time out in round 10.
Following an injury-interrupted start to the year which saw him battle a quad complaint and a knee issue early in the season, Franklin has been able to take part in the majority of training over the last three weeks, which ‘Buddy’ says has been vital to his improvement.
“My confidence is right up,” Franklin told SwansTV’s Beyond the Boundary, powered by Volkswagen segment.
“I think probably over the last couple of weeks I’ve been able to get out on the track and train, so that’s definitely helped my form.
“It’s good to kick a couple of goals, but the other forwards have been playing some really great roles for us and our midfield and backline has played some really good football as well.
“I wouldn’t be able to get my goals without those boys kicking me the ball.”
While he is just one goal away from being the 29th player to kick 600 goals, Franklin is the first to admit that practice makes perfect.
A week prior to his season-high five goals against Essendon Franklin suffered some inaccuracy in front of goal with a 2.7 performance against Hawthorn at ANZ Stadium.
While admitting it has taken time to settle into his new team, Franklin said any goal kicking ‘yips’ he’s suffered throughout the season have come down to lack of practice, rather than confidence issues.
“It wasn’t so much my confidence, but more just the practice side of things,” he said.
“I hadn’t been able to get out on the track and I think anyone who hasn’t been able to train for a little while and practice their goal kicking, it would hinder anyone.
“I’d done a fair bit over the pre-season but then in the last six or seven weeks I haven’t been able to get on the track and actually practice.
“In the last couple of weeks I’ve been able to get out on the track and have been able to practice my craft and against Essendon it ended up coming off.”
Franklin will be ably assisted up forward this week by fellow tall Kurt Tippett, who will play his third consecutive game after missing the start of the season with a knee injury.
The Swans number 23 said he was excited to be forming a dangerous partnership with Tippett, who he has combined with to kick 14 goals in the past two matches.
“The last few weeks have been really exciting for the football club,” he said.
“Me and ‘Tippo’ had only trained a couple of times together since I arrived at the football club, so to get out there with him was a pretty amazing experience.
“He’s obviously a special talent and to get him back out there was pretty exciting for me and the football club.
“The first two games we’ve played together have been good and I’m looking forward to us both making more improvements with each game we play.”
The Swans will face a confident Geelong outfit tonight, who will arrive at the SCG in form following their 20-point win over North Melbourne last week.
Franklin acknowledged the challenge ahead of his side this week, with the forward describing Geelong as one of the most imposing opposition in the competition.
“Geelong has been the best team for the last decade,” he said.
“You know that they’re always going to be in the contest and we’re going to have to play our best football to get a win.
“It’s going to take a good, hard, four-quarter effort to get over the line, so hopefully all our supporters can get down there on Thursday night and we can get the win for everyone.”
