TUESDAY'S press conference with Hawthorn premiership forward Lance Franklin was a tale of two cities, with a third the hot topic of discussion.

As Melbourne media joined Franklin at AFL House and Sydney-based journalists watched a live feed, Franklin ruled out the prospect of joining the new Gold Coast team that had just been granted the competition's 17th licence.

"We know we've got a great group of boys who won a premiership last year and we want to keep having success," he said.

"That's going to keep the core group together and the leaders. We want to stick together and hopefully win some more premierships."

Franklin, last year's Coleman Medallist, said he hoped to remain with the Hawks for the rest of his career and took some early pride in being a one-club man.

"I never looked like leaving. I love the club," he said.

"We all want to stick together as a team. If that means taking pay cuts then that's what we’ve got to do."

With ruckman Robert Campbell (hamstring) and defender Stephen Gilham (knee) set to return for Saturday night's game against the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium, Franklin said he had fully recovered from his own interrupted pre-season.

"I had surgery on my shoulder and my thumb," he said. "I was a little bit underdone and probably three or four weeks behind the other boys as they started their pre-season.

"I was confident going into the practice match against the Eagles that the body was right to go.

"I had a few problems with my thumbs, a few jars here and there. My shoulder’s fine I haven’t felt that at all. I suppose that is a positive."

Franklin kicked five goals in last Friday's loss to Geelong and, along with Jarryd Roughead, almost forced an upset after the Hawks trailed the Cats by 43 points early in the final quarter.

While his personal contribution was one of Hawthorn’s highlights, Franklin said the team had plenty of work to do to get on the winners list.

"We went against our team rules and I think our structures fell away for three quarters. In the last quarter we stuck to our guns and worked as a team and got back into the game," he said.

"By then it was a little bit too late. It was a four-quarter game for us and if we can stick to our structures all day and work hard we’re a good chance of winning the game."