SYDNEY coach John Longmire insists his side isn't too reliant on superstar forward Lance Franklin, and he was happy to see a greater spread of goalkickers in the Swans' win over Greater Western Sydney on Saturday night.
Franklin was the Swans only multiple goal scorer in their round two loss to Port Adelaide, but they had six players in that category against the Giants, with Callum Sinclair booting three, and Sam Reid, Tom Papley, Gary Rohan and Will Hayward all joining Franklin with two apiece.
GWS co-captain Phil Davis kept Franklin scoreless until late in the final term, but the Swan still managed 22 disposals, 10 marks and nine inside 50s.
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Sydney's even contributions helped the home side to an important 16-point win, but Longmire said it wasn't a surprise to see his forwards share the goals.
"We've been able to kick goals (without Franklin) before," he said after the match.
"Lance is obviously a good player but I think we had five guys with 20+ goals last year so we think we can share it around.
"It's not always about hitting the scoreboard, when he's up the ground he provides opportunities for others as well."
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Reid played his first game of the year after missing the first two rounds with a hamstring issue, and while he wasn't dominant inside 50, his presence gave the Swans another tall avenue to goal.
"He's an important player for us, we really missed him last week," Longmire said.
"He provided a real target in our front half and did what we wanted him to do."
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Sinclair was also influential against the Giants, especially after Rory Lobb was forced out of the ruck with a knee injury.
The West Australian was strong at the contest whenever he flew for his marks and gave his team a real physical presence.
"His ability to compete in the ruck then go forward and give us a real contest in the air was important for us," Longmire said.
"He was a real threat in the forward half."
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Longmire was full of praise for another forward who didn't hit the scoreboard but was just about Sydney's most important player.
George Hewett had the job of keeping GWS defender Lachie Whitfield quiet and played his role to perfection.
Whitfield had just seven possessions to three-quarter-time and the Giants missed his run and delivery off half back.
"He's pretty disciplined George when he sets his mind to a task, especially something like stopping a really good player and trying to limit their influence on the game," Longmire said.
"He (Whitfield) is as good a half-back as there is going around.
"George is a good country kid and doesn't get too flustered, so we just tell him what the job is and he says 'no worries'.
"He probably couldn't have done it much better, so we were thrilled with how he went."