This was published 4 years ago
My goodness. What a historic night!
It’s been a pleasure bringing you Lance Franklin’s 1000th goal tonight and I hope people also recognise that was a special win from the Swans who look a serious contender for the premiership this season.
Geelong will bounce back. This was all about Franklin tonight.
Thanks for all your comments and interactions.
Please have a great evening and join us for your Saturday AFL blog tomorrow.
Bye for now.
They came to witness history. They got it, and it was absolutely perfect. Lance Franklin kicked his long-awaited 1000th goal in the final quarter of a match that will live long in the memory of everyone who saw it unfold in the flesh.
On a magical night at the SCG, almost every single member of the 36,578-strong crowd indulged in a good old-fashioned pitch invasion when Franklin booted his fourth goal in Sydney’s compelling 30-point win over Geelong – a result that further strengthened their premiership credentials.
But the game itself, by that stage, had become the sideshow. Almost irrelevant. It was all about celebrating a signature milestone for one of the best players to ever lace up a boot; a man seemingly born to be the main event.
Cats coach Chris Scott spoke to the media post-game.
Chris, incredible night. Take us through your perspective and how it unfolded and how you dealt with the break and what you spoke to your players about during that time?
Look, the night always had the potential to be Buddy’s night and Australian football in Sydney as well. We’ve got nothing but good things to say about the great man. Their team played really well tonight. It was bit of a strange game from our perspective in that we thought the conditions were good early but almost looked like a wet weather game for us. The problem was it didn’t look like a wet weather game for them. The way they handled the ball. We were beaten around the ball. Not often you get beaten by 30 points and have more scoring shots. It was strange. Those numbers speak to the quality obviously. They took their chances. Not the first time we’ve come here and kicked a lot more points than goals. They were the other way around. 17-4 or 5 was the final number? They kicked exceptionally well. Again, there was always the potential that this would be a celebration in Sydney. I’m a huge advocate for footy north of the Murray and I think if the takeaway from this night is that we’re really disappointed and had to suck it up a little bit while Sydney celebrated, we can live with that.
Does part of you cherish the moment you were here to have Geelong here for that moment?
Swans coach John Longmire spoke to the media post game.
How does that sit among what you’ve achieved and seen in football?
Never seen that. Never been a part of anything like that. That was one of the most special moments you’d probably get, certainly I can look back on. I just said to the players after the game we were all privileged to, in my instance coach, Lance but also the players he has played with over the years, both at Sydney and Hawthorn, Alastair as well. We’ve just been able to watch one of the all-time greats go about his business. To sit there and watch that tonight was pretty special.
You took the players into a private room post game. What was the feeling like in there and what was said to Lance? Did he address the room? What was said down there?
Swans midfielder Chad Warner kicked the ball to Franklin for his 1000th goal and he spoke to Channel Seven post game.
You kicked the footy to him. Absolutely nailed the kick.
It was crazy. I had that much room to myself, I was about to bomb it over his head.
I was about to bomb a goal as I do from 50m, I thought, “Where’s Lance?“. If anyone else, I would have goaled it but you’ve got to kick it to him don’t you?
The two clubs have given Lance Franklin a guard of honour as he walked off the field which was a classy act from the Cats after a tough night for their side.
The Sydney Swans have scored a big win on an unforgettable night defeating Geelong as Lance Franklin kicked his 1000th goal.
Franklin kicked four goals in the win but the Swans performance was exceptional as they controlled the match for all but the opening minutes of the night.
The Swans dominated possessions, field position and were efficient in front of goal as Isaac Heeney kicked five goals and Will Hayward kicked three goals.
Brad Close kicked a career-best four goals for the Cats who had a disappointing night.
Geelong had more forward entries than the Swans but Sydney were far, far more effecient.
Brad Close has been Geelong’s most reliable player tonight and he has kicked a career-best four goals.
Swans 107, Cats 76 with a minute to go.
The game has restarted but Lance Franklin has started on the bench.
The rain looks quite heavy so it could be a different contest to the one we have enjoyed tonight.