SWANS superstar Lance Franklin threw an early psychological barb towards his old side on Tuesday, declaring Hawthorn as the better team ahead of Saturday's Grand Final at the MCG.
Franklin is the focal point of this year's decider, preparing to lead the Swans into battle against the club that he helped to two premierships during nine highly successful seasons at Waverley.
He was met by an enormous media scrum at Tuesday's press conference, which brought with it a mix of predictable and leftfield questions from a combination of football, general news and entertainment reporters.
Buddy then vied with Adam Goodes for the crown as the most sought after photo or autograph during an open training run at the SCG, which the Swans appeared to navigate without a hitch.
One of the questions Franklin faced was how the Swans had turned around their 1-3 start to the season, and he steered his response towards the last match between the grand finalists, won by the Hawks in round 18.
The teams split their match-ups this year, with the Swans prevailing by 19 points at ANZ Stadium back in round eight, before Hawthorn's 10-point triumph in the return clash at the MCG.
"It probably comes back to winning the ball. That was the biggest thing," Franklin said of a Swans side that has won 16 of its past 18 matches since that poor start.
"We just had to go back to the basics of football.
"Once we did that, we got on a roll and won those 12 games in a row, and then got knocked off by the Hawks down in Melbourne.
"Once again they showed that they're the better team at this stage, so we'll just have to wait to Saturday and see what happens."
Not always the most comfortable media performer, Franklin was asked a stream of questions about his former teammates, his time in Sydney to date and what it would mean to win another flag.
He was also quizzed over whether the Swans had attempted to buy a premiership with his $10 million contract, before the press conference slipped into a bizarre stretch, including a question about what he dreamed about at night.
But on-field matters are Franklin's only concern, including his poor goalkicking record against his former team this year.
He managed a total of 5.12 in those two matches, while he also misfired in the 2012 Grand Final against the Swans, when he finished with 3.4.
Franklin has otherwise been solid in front of goal this year, kicking a healthy 75.49 through 21 games to date, and knows he needs to fire on Saturday afternoon.
But he also expects to get plenty of help.
No less than nine Swans have kicked 15 goals or more so far in 2014, led by Kurt Tippett (33 goals), Goodes (28), Luke Parker (25) and Ben McGlynn (23).
"It's something I'd spoken about earlier in the season, in the big games, kicking the goals that count," Franklin said.
"It's something I've been working on and hopefully on Saturday I'll be able to convert.
"In saying that, we've got other forwards in the team that can kick the goals and hopefully we can share the workload.
"It's not just me kicking the goals, it's all the other boys, and the midfielders."
Franklin expects good mate Josh Gibson to be his main opponent on Saturday, and says he is sure to experience some nerves on game day.
He rates Swans' co-captains Kieren Jack and Jarrad McVeigh highly as leaders and feels both clubs have stars "all over the park".
Booed heavily in the round 18 game against the Hawks, Franklin was also asked if he expects a similarly hostile reception on Saturday.
"It's a Grand Final, you expect anything," he said.
"There's going to be a hundred thousand people there cheering or booing.
"It is what it is, but I can't wait to get out there and play in front of the big crowd, and hopefully get a win."
