Sydney players have hilariously recalled the crazy scenes following Lance Franklin’s historic 1000th AFL goal, with Dane Rampe even caught eating a pie on the centre of the SCG.
As tens of thousands of footy fans flooded the field after Franklin reached the milestone only five players achieved before him, Swans players were quickly mobbed as things got chaotic.
Luke Parker laughed as he recalled someone tackling him, while Dylan Stephens said fans were trying to “rip” his jumper off.
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“I think I hit the deck pretty quick and I was on the bottom of a few fans pretty quick,” he said.
“People were everywhere, tackling you, asking for your boots, trying to rip your guernsey off.”
While Chad Warner and Ollie Florent found themselves outside of the SCG, walking on the street among fans in a bid to get back into the rooms, it was Dane Rampe’s tale that proved hilarious.
Teammate Isaac Heeney said Rampe was “having a picnic” out on the SCG amid the chaos after spotting a friend.
“He said, ‘Mate you want a beer?’ I said, ‘Mate, I’d bloody love a beer but the big fella (John Longmire)’s sitting about 20 metres over there at the race so I’ll have to pass,” he laughed.
“He goes, ‘alright mate, we’ve got a couple of pies from the Merivale stand from the stands up there and would you like one of those?’ I said, ‘Mate, absolutely’.”
Photos later showed Rampe eating a pie in the middle of the SCG before the clash with Geelong had even finished.
Justin McInerney says coach John Longmire was immediately concerned for Franklin’s welfare.
“Horse was yelling, ‘someone get to him, help him out!’
“I was trying to do a headcount – we’ve got six minutes to go and I’m trying to find the team,” Longmire added.
It was a “rock star” moment for Franklin that no footy fan will ever forget.
Chad Warner, the player who hit Franklin on the chest to set up the 1000th goal, said he had considered going for goal himself, but thought better of it.
“Once I kicked the third goal, you could feel the fans were coming down to level one,” Franklin recalled.
“I said (to Chad Warner), ‘mate if you get the ball just please look for me’.”
“To be honest, my first thought was to bomb it over his head and have a shot at goal. Probably usually would have, but it was his night,” Warner laughed.
“Once I saw Chad I was like, ‘thanks so much mate’.”
Franklin said the milestone moment was such a “special night” for his family.
“I was lucky enough to get the ball back – it could be in the cinema room or one of the kid’s bedrooms at the moment,” he laughed.
“(Son) Rocky will have that forever and so will (daughter) Tallulah.”
