LANCE Franklin will walk back into Sydney's side when he's recovered from a heel injury, but while the superstar is out his teammates are confident they can cover his absence.
Franklin missed last week's stirring comeback win over Geelong at GMHBA Stadium when the Swans' makeshift forward line of speedsters rose to the occasion to help inspire the unlikely result.
Will Hayward (three goals), Oliver Florent (two), Robbie Fox (two) and debutant Ben Ronke (two) were the only multiple goalkickers on Saturday afternoon, while Gary Rohan, Luke Parker and Zak Jones were the others to hit the scoreboard.
Young midfielder Isaac Heeney said on Tuesday that Franklin (bruised heel) and fellow tall target Sam Reid (quad) would again be missed against North Melbourne on Saturday night at the SCG, but last week's trip to the Cattery proved that the Swans' attack could function without its biggest weapons.
"It's giving us other options to explore (in terms of) kicking goals," he said.
"Obviously without 'Bud' and 'Reidy' there we need the little fellas to create a contest and bring it to ground, then go to work.
"You look at the younger fellas like 'Foxy', Ollie and Ronke all kicking two or three goals each so it's exciting.
"It shows that sometimes we don't need him (Franklin) and we can kick goals in other ways, which is important.
"There's younger players that have stepped up and it shows the depth in our team."
Heeney got a close-up look at a brilliant return to form for his captain Josh Kennedy against the Cats, when the star Swan gathered 17 contested possessions and 13 clearances in a vintage performance.
The performance came after two unusually quiet weeks for Kennedy, but Heeney never doubted the three-time club champion and triple All Australian's ability to bounce back.
"Quality players respond and he's definitely a quality player," he said.
"He's so consistent and he was always going to respond in a way that ultimately got us the win and drove us other fellas to help him along the way.
"Having leaders like 'Joey' (Kennedy), 'Parkesy' (Luke Parker) and Cal Sinclair really perform drives the rest of us, and it's about adding layer after layer after that.
"It's not just the midfield either, you look at our defenders and our forwards, everyone on the day played their role and it was a great feeling."
Franklin and Dan Hannebery (groin) have already been ruled out of Sydney's clash with North, and Dean Towers (eye) is also unlikely after he failed to train with the rest of the squad on Tuesday.
The forward copped a poke in the eye at last week's final training session and spent Tuesday watching his teammates from the sidelines.
