“We can look at that last incident but the fact of the matter is we were up by 30 points. It’s easy to look at the last play,but we should have iced the game. For 75 per cent[of it] I thought we were pretty good,we had a 25 per cent lapse,especially in the third quarter,there’s some things we reckon we could have done a little bit better.
“At the end of the day,everyone will look at the last play and the what ifs,but the fact of the matter is when you’re 30 points up you probably shouldn’t lose.”
Swans coach John Longmire said he hadn’t reviewed the incident and wasn’t sure what had actually happened.
“I don’t know,I heard there was a holding free kick paid at the same time as the siren,” he said.
Sam Reid,Franklin’s long-time foil,kicked three goals,while Will Hayward had two in his 100th game,and Chad Warner (27 disposals) and Luke Parker (26 disposals) ran the midfield.
In the context of the season,this was huge for Sydney. Had they lost,their top-eight position would have been at risk,and any ambitions grander than that seriously dampened. Their continued in-game inconsistency will,however,be driving Longmire absolutely mad.
With Melbourne (away),Port Adelaide (away) and St Kilda (home) to come,there are more choppy waters ahead,but this was a result and a performance that they can build on.
Peter Ladhams contests a high ball.Credit:Getty
Franklin was at his scintillating best,but could be in the crosshairs of the AFL’s match review officer after a clash with Cotchin in the dying stages of the second quarter,when the game was going against them. A frustrated Franklin appeared to strike Cotchin in the chin with an open hand as they argued off the ball and was pinged for a free kick,which could be followed by a suspension if the contact made is deemed to be forceful enough.
Sydney were missing several key players,including injured ruckman Tom Hickey (toe),Josh Kennedy (hamstring) and young gun Nick Blakey (flu),who was a late withdrawal. Blakey’s drive across half-back has become pivotal for the Swans and so it was no surprise that they were much less fluent with the ball between the arcs without him,their sloppy ball use playing right into Richmond’s hands.
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When they belatedly found their composure,it was no surprise that things began to click into place for Sydney.
“Sometimes it can be all sorts of different things you look at. We just didn’t win enough of those contests compared to Richmond,” Longmire said.
“There were some moments we had to do a bit better and break even,which we didn’t do in that first half. We were very good in the second half ... cleaner and better around the ball.”
Coming into this match,there was no splitting the two teams. Both Sydney and Richmond had a 6-4 record with a percentage of 120.4,although the former was coming off two months of patchy performances,and the latter a run of wins that had bounced them quickly up the ladder.