Sydney coach John Longmire has revealed Lance Franklin spent two days in bed sick before last week’s loss, but forced himself to play due to his side’s injury crisis.
Longmire says expectations “have to be adjusted” for the 36-year-old forward, who was held goalless for a second consecutive week in the 17-point loss to Fremantle and has managed only seven goals in six games this season.
He defended Franklin against calls for him to retire, saying he was still crucial to the Swans and continued to take the best defender each week, creating opportunities for teammates.
Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
NEW FOX FOOTY PODCAST — AFL’s terrible trio, are Crows a real contender?
Listen below or subscribe in Apple Podcasts or Spotify
“I spoke to (Franklin) Friday afternoon at 4.30 and he had spent all day in bed; he wasn’t going to play,” Longmire said.
“For him to be able to climb out of bed last week and get on the footy ground was just extraordinary.
“Clearly at 36 it’s a challenge for him, but he knows that we desperately need him at the moment.”
With Joel Amartey (hamstring), Peter Ladhams (arm), Logan McDonald (ankle) and Sam Reid (hamstring) all unavailable, Longmire said Franklin was selfless to put his hand up and should not be criticised for struggling on the field.
“The only other option we had was (Aaron) Francis to play forward, but we had to use him back; there was no one else,” Longmire said.
“In our VFL team, all of our forwards were sort of 180cm … it’s a credit to Bud to put himself in a position to compete – as far as I’m concerned I think Bud’s always absolutely team-first.
“The realistic opportunity for us at the moment is we need him playing and he’s doing everything he can to get himself right every week to get out there.”
Key defender Tom McCartin, who began his career as a forward and would be a potential left-field option in attack, will again be missing against the Kangaroos in Melbourne as he battles concussion symptoms.
“Tom McCartin won’t be in the team this week but Pete (Ladhams) we expect will be if he gets through training,” Longmire said.
He said in-form midfielder Angus Sheldrick was among a number of VFL players in contention for a call-up this week, with tighter defence and more efficient ball use in the forward half the focus for the selected side against North Melbourne.
“We’d like to be more efficient going forward and have less easy goals kicked against us,” Longmire said.
“That’s what we’d like to be able to do and do it for longer. Unfortunately, we’ve had lapses in games and that’s what we’re trying to fix.”