Franklin will fit Swans culture: McVeigh

Sydney Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh says star recruit Lance Franklin will have no troubles with the AFL side's famed team-first ethos.

Jarrad McVeigh of Sydney celebrates.

Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh (Pic) says AFL star Lance Franklin will thrive under the Swans'. (AAP)

Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh is confident AFL superstar Lance Franklin's SCG assimilation will be just as seamless as the many recruits to precede him.

The AFL is currently examining the terms of Franklin's extraordinary contract, but provided it gives it the green light he will join the Swans on a nine-year, $10 million deal.

Franklin's manager Liam Pickering said on Saturday he was "very confident" the deal would be approved.

"There's no third party deals, no skullduggery," Pickering told radio station SEN.

Critics have questioned Sydney's cost of living allowance in light of the coup, but also whether Franklin can fit in - on and off the field - with the Swans' team-first ethos.

McVeigh suggested there would be no special treatment for Franklin, arguably the league's highest-profile player, and pointed to the club's track record of getting recruits to toe the line.

"He'll be like all the other players that have come to our footy club - Rhyce Shaw, Barry Hall and all those guys," McVeigh said.

"They've thrived in this culture and the city of Sydney.

"He'll be no different to any other player ... we're not a one-man team."

McVeigh confirmed, as was the case with the Swans' pursuit of Kurt Tippett last year, that the club's leadership group was consulted about the prospect of signing Franklin.

"You want good players in your footy team, so I was all for it," McVeigh said of Franklin, who has claimed two Coleman medals, two premiership medallions and four All-Australian berths.

"For a player of that calibre to want to play for us, it's a really good thing for this footy club."

Despite Franklin's many accolades, his social life has featured just as much in the non-stop commentary that has followed Tuesday's shock revelation the Swans were signing the 26-year-old.

McVeigh believed it wouldn't be an issue.

"Players love a beer," he said.

"But as long as you do it in the right environment and the right way, we've got no concerns.

"We've got rules in place for all our players and we stick to those, and if players don't, then we speak to them.

"There's no difference from a first-year player to a 10-year player."

McVeigh, who on Friday night won his second Bob Skilton Medal as the club's best and fairest, said he considered the Swans' 2013 season a failure as they couldn't repeat the highs of 2012.


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Source: AAP


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