Lance Franklin turned back the clock to claim another piece of footy history – but his 350th game celebrations were spoiled by St Kilda and two contentious 50-metre penalties which helped the visitors to a 14-point win over Sydney.
In what will almost certainly be the last major milestone match of his storied career, Franklin moved clear of Doug Wade into fourth on the VFL/AFL all-time goalkickers with a two-goal haul that brought his career tally to 1059.
He can no longer move like he once did, and finished with only six touches, but there were hints of the Buddy of old in his craftiness under the ball and hunger around the ground, and it was clear from the outset he wanted to put on a show at the SCG on Thursday night.
Sydney were on track to deliver him what he really wanted – the four premiership points – but two 50-metre penalties within three minutes given away by Errol Gulden and Angus Sheldrick brought Mitch Owens and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera within set-shot striking distance.
Both converted, turning Sydney’s six-point lead at three-quarter-time into a handy buffer for the Saints, who gained all the momentum at a critical moment at the start of a see-sawing final term – and they saw it out to seal a precious 12.8 (80) to 9.12 (66) victory, and their first at the SCG in almost 14 years.
On a night where goals were at a premium, those two incidents – the first a ‘stand’ rule infringement by Gulden, the second a protected zone breach by Sheldrick – put the Swans on the back foot, and follow-up goals from Jack Higgins, Cooper Sharman and Max King’s third of the night provided the knockout blow.
Lance Franklin is chaired off the SCG last night.Credit: Getty
It was a boost to St Kilda’s top-four ambitions and a bitter blow for Sydney’s finals hopes, which may be further complicated by an injury to star backman Nick Blakey, who was subbed off in the third quarter with suspected concussion after a tackle from Dan Butler – although he struggled through ankle discomfort all night, leaving him with a pronounced limp.
Butler, will be subject to match review scrutiny for the action, which could see him miss next Saturday night’s clash with Richmond at the MCG.
The 30,123 fans who turned up to celebrate Franklin had to endure a scoreless opening term from the Swans – the lowest-scoring quarter the AFL has seen since 1999 – as both sets of players struggled to adapt to the slippery conditions, fumbling, panicking and miskicking repeatedly. The quarter ended with the Saints ahead 1.1 (7) to the Swans’ 0.0 (0).
The only goal in it came from St Kilda’s Mattaes Phillipou, who was a three-month-old toddler when Franklin made his debut for Hawthorn in the opening round of the 2005 season.
St Kilda’s Jack Higgins celebrates after kicking a goal.Credit: Getty
Sydney had been seeking out Franklin repeatedly with their inside 50 entries but either failed to hit him up, or, when they did, he either dropped the ball or wasted it. They didn’t register their first major until the 10th minute of the second quarter, when Tom Papley crumbed a Franklin two-on-one and slammed the ball home from 50 metres out to bring the home crowd alive.
Then Franklin, 36, juggled another mark despite being again outnumbered by Saints defenders and converted his set shot to go clear of Wade at the same end of the SCG where he kicked his 1000th goal last year. With the nearest active player on the list, Richmond veteran Jack Riewoldt, almost 300 goals behind him, Franklin’s achievement will stand the test of time.
It was the highlight of an eight-goal second term in which the Swans went 20 points clear – only for St Kilda to reel them back in with a run of four consecutive goals either side of half-time to snatch the lead again.
From there, it was a gritty armwrestle – but it was the Saints who held their mettle in the key moments, and the Swans only have themselves to blame.
Sydney’s midfield, which was without the suspended Luke Parker for the first time in three years, held up across the board and generated more inside 50s (54-51) than St Kilda but couldn’t convert their chances.
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