Franklin set to let boots do his talking

Sydney AFL star Lance Franklin is in a good space as he prepares to face Port Adelaide on Saturday in his comeback from a mental health issue.

Sydney Swans Lance Franklin.

Sydney AFL star Lance Franklin is in a good space as he prepares to face Port Adelaide. (AAP)

Sydney can look forward to at least four seasons more of their formidable key forward duo Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett wreaking havoc on AFL defences.

On the eve of Franklin making his comeback following a mental health issue, Sydney have revealed forward-ruckman Tippett will extend his initial four-season deal by two years to the end of 2018.

"It's a great result when you put performance-based incentives in contracts and the player activates them," Swans manager Tom Harley told afl.com.au.

Superstar forward Franklin was named on Thursday in the Swans' 29-man squad for their NAB Challenge match against Port Adelaide.

The Hawthorn dual premiership winner and triple Coleman Medallist hasn't played since round 23 of last season, when the club went public on his mental health issues and subsequently ruled him out of their finals campaign.

About to start his third season with Sydney, Franklin had a run in a Swans intra-club hitout last week.

Saturday's game at Blacktown will provide the first real measure of his form and condition.

"As a lot of people have been writing, he's had an exceptional pre-season," Swans' midfield star Dan Hannebery said.

"We're really excited just by the fact that he's in a good space and he's looking forward to playing against Port this week."

Franklin's return will be the major point of interest in a game which will not feature several other prominent players from both clubs.

Port will contest the match without captain Travis Boak and vice-captains Brad Ebert and Matthew Lobbe.

Other senior stars not playing are Robbie Gray, Hamish Hartlett, Jay Schulz and Justin Westhoff.

Midfielder Jared Polec will play for the first time since round five last year.

New Sydney recruits Callum Sinclair and Michael Talia will play, but several familiar names will be missing from the side.

Among the injured Swans not participating are Ted Richards (calf), Sam Reid (hamstring), Gary Rohan (hamstring), Ben McGlynn (calf) and Jarrad McVeigh (knee).

McVeigh will be head coach of the team in place of John Longmire.

"The thing that we wanted to stress is there's no disrespect to Port having him there," said Hannebery, a new member of the Swans' 2016 leadership group.

"It's another way we can develop our leadership skills, for Macca and also the other leaders on the ground to take more of a coaching role in their different areas."


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world