THE SYDNEY Swans announced a record membership tally on Tuesday - a sign they are starting to enjoy some of the benefits of adding Lance Franklin to their list.
 
The Swans have faced a barrage of negative recent press related to Franklin's form, his supposed negative influence on Dan Hannebery, dust-ups at training and even queries over the company he keeps at Bondi Beach.
 
But an all-time membership record of 36,370 is an indication Franklin's arrival will also generate plenty of positive outcomes for the club, which has set a target this year of 40,000 members.
 
They have been gradually building their membership numbers in recent seasons, but the spike of more than 4,500 members compared to this time last year could surely only be put down to one man.
 
"I think it'd be quite ignorant and naïve of me to think not," Swans midfielder Josh Kennedy said.
 
"It's great what he's brought and I guess you have to take the good with the bad."
 
Kennedy echoed the thoughts of others at the club when he said the Swans were prepared for the level of media attention Franklin brings, adding they do their best to make light of the situation.
 
"Obviously he's under a fair bit of scrutiny, there's a lot of noise going on outside the football club," Kennedy said.
 
"We knew getting him here that was going to be the case and it's certainly not disrupting the way we go about things inside the club.
 
"Things like that (photos of Franklin at Bondi Beach) were a bit over the top and the thing with Ryan (O'Keefe) earlier in the week, it's just completely out of nowhere and quite laughable really.
 
"We have a bit of fun with it and get on with what we can control."
 
 
O'Keefe is battling to retain a place in the Swans' deep midfield, however, only featuring in the round one defeat to GWS due to the late withdrawal of co-captain Kieren Jack.
 
With Jack expected to return from his back complaint against Collingwood on Saturday, O'Keefe could again be under the pump for a spot in the 22, but Kennedy believes the 33-year-old has plenty of football left in him.
 
"It's a huge credit to the way the young players have developed," Kennedy said of O'Keefe's initial omission from the team.
 
"Ryan's such a champion player and has been for so many years and still is and is still extremely highly regarded within the walls of the Sydney Swans.
 
"I'm just glad I'm not in the match committee, to be honest."
 
Kennedy will celebrate an impressive milestone against the Pies, bringing up his 100th appearance for the Swans, while teammate Nick Smith also plays his 100th career game.
 
In an era of rotation policies, Kennedy's durability is incredible and he admits he finds it hard to believe himself, having only managed 13 games in three years on Hawthorn's list.
 
"The last four years have gone incredibly quickly," he said.
 
"But to think back then (when he joined the Swans) I'd be standing here playing my 100th Swans game, it seemed so far away.
 
"The transition has been really fruitful for me and every day I pinch myself and wonder how it came to this."
 
Kennedy, who is contracted until the end of 2017, now hopes to play out his entire career with the Swans.
 
But not everyone in his family has fully embraced his move to Sydney, particular his grandfather John Kennedy senior, one of the greatest figures in Hawthorn's proud history.
 
"I think I've succumbed to the fact that John senior will never be a true 'Blood'," Kennedy said.
 
"But the rest are coming around."