QUESTION: Who won the unlikely match-up between Sydney superstar Lance 'Buddy' Franklin and Western Bulldogs skipper Easton Wood on Saturday evening? 

What isn't in doubt is that Wood, who conceded 12cm and 21kg in the David and Goliath-like battle, took the points up until half-time.

Franklin ended the night in outright ninth place on the all-time goalkicking list and claimed the honours in the last two quarters, when he kicked all three of his majors.

Opinions varied wildly on who came out on top at the final siren, including the pair's overall influence.

AFL.com.au, while acknowledging Wood's herculean effort, named Franklin best afield, arguing he was the difference in a seven-point contest that ended in the Swans' favour.

AAP used the same "difference" description for Buddy's impact, as well as writing that Wood "did a great job". 

On the flipside, News Corp and Fairfax placed Wood in the Dogs' best players and excluded Franklin from Sydney's. 

The coaches awarded Franklin two votes (of a possible 10) and Wood none, while 3AW and Triple M didn't give votes to either player.

But what do the numbers reveal?

Franklin finished with nine shots at goal – above his previous season average of 6.3 – and scored 3.4 from 16 disposals (eight contested), 10 marks, eight score involvements and four inside 50s.

His seven marks inside 50 were almost three times his 2.7 average from the previous three rounds and his contested marks (four to 2.7) were also up.

Eight of Franklin's nine shots were on the right flank, an oddity given the Swans entered the forward 50 through the corridor more often than any other match this year.

None were directly in front and only one was inside 30m, so Wood may have influenced this pattern, or it could have been Franklin's doing. 

Sydney targeted the champion forward more in round four (14) than his season average in the first three rounds (10.7) despite the Swans having only 42 inside 50s.

Wood had 18 disposals (five contested), seven marks, five intercept possessions, four score involvements, three tackles and three rebound 50s on the night.

He returned to defence from the forward line in round two and was involved in almost twice as many one-on-one contests against Sydney (five to three) as his previous two games.

Wood took seven intercept marks across rounds two and three, but none on Saturday.

Of those five one-on-one contests between them, Franklin won four, including hauling in two marks, and the other was considered 'neutral'.

Wood also defended Franklin on five leads, four of which resulted in the Swan marking the ball, while the Bulldog snuck one spoil in.

Worth noting is that Franklin was involved in 15 chains, including 12 after a Bulldogs turnover, which didn't help Wood's cause.

But in Wood's favour was that his side's pressure increased after half-time (from 171 to 184), with the Dogs forcing Sydney to win a greater share of their possessions in a contested fashion.

The statistics suggest Franklin won the war, although it is all subjective, as Wood's coach Luke Beveridge was generally pleased with the outcome.

"We gave (Wood) the short straw and he did a terrific job for a big portion of the night," Beveridge said.

"He got some good assistance from Aaron Naughton and Bailey Williams … and he fought the good fight one-on-one and he halved some, won some and got rolled on a few others.

"But Lance is such a colossus that you take 3.4 on any given day."

On a side note, the Swans have targeted Franklin with 39 per cent of their kicks to a forward-50 option, which is the highest percentage in the competition.

The injured Sam Reid was targeted 11 times to Franklin's six in his one game for the year, meaning the latter was targeted 47 per cent of the time in the other three matches.

As a comparison, most club leaders are between 23 and 28 per cent.

IS SYDNEY'S RELIANCE ON BUDDY UNHEALTHY?

HAWKS MIGHT BE OK WITHOUT RIOLI, POPPY

Hawthorn looks set to be without small forwards Cyril Rioli and Paul Puopolo for up to six weeks because of respective knee and hamstring setbacks on Sunday.

The Hawks missed both of them from rounds 15 to 21 last year, a period they won four of seven games (drawing another), ranked sixth for points for and fifth for converting an inside 50 into a goal.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn's 113 tackles against Melbourne is a club record and the fourth time it has had a triple-digit tally.

The Hawks had 39 more tackles than Melbourne – the 13th-biggest differential ever recorded and their third-most – while their 60-tackle increase from round three is the equal-10th biggest.

100+ TACKLES IN A GAME

GRUNDY IN RARE TERRITORY
We knew Collingwood big man Brodie Grundy had a night out against Adelaide on Friday night, but we probably didn't realise just how good he was. 

Grundy's 33 disposals (23 contested), 40 hit-outs and one goal made him one of just two VFL/AFL players to ever have 30-plus possessions, at least 40 hit-outs and a major in one game.

The other? Former Footscray and North Melbourne ruckman Gary Dempsey, the 1975 Brownlow medallist, who achieved the feat playing for the Roos in 1980 against the Bulldogs.

Dempsey's numbers were 33, 42 and one, for the record. Thanks to @sirswampthing for this one – and he can, and should, be followed on Twitter.