LANCE Franklin has warned there's still plenty of improvement in his budding partnership with Kurt Tippett, as the surging Sydney Swans head into a Thursday night blockbuster against Geelong.
Coming off the bye, the Swans (6-3) have won five straight, with their much talked about forward line playing the last two games.
The developing combination, especially with Tippett playing as the deep forward, is already reaping dividends for Sydney.
Franklin and Tippett have kicked 14 between them in the only two games they have played together.
"It's really good having another forward up there in 'Tippo,'" Franklin said at the SCG on Sunday.
"I probably struggled at the early stages of the season, because it was just me and 'Reidy' (Sam Reid) up there.
"But with 'Goodesy' (Adam Goodes) and Tippo in the side, it takes the pressure off us other forwards and we've got another tall target in the forward line to go to.
"I've probably only trained three or four times with 'Tippo' over the six months I've been here at this stage.
"It's really good for the team that so far we've only played a couple of games and we're sort of jelling at the moment.
"But there's still a long way to go in terms of getting our form up to scratch where we want it and I'm looking forward to the second half of the season."
After battling quad issues in the pre-season and knee tendinitis in recent weeks, Franklin is getting closer to full fitness and top form.
He bagged his first five-goal haul for the Swans in their last match against Essendon and seemed to be moving more freely than earlier in the year.
"When I first got up here, I obviously had the little niggles with my quad and my knee, but probably the last couple of weeks I've sort of hit a little bit of form, which has been good for me," Franklin said.
Franklin expected Swans coach John Longmire to keep moving him around.
"I'll probably be finding myself a little bit deeper at times and then up the ground, but I think it's just a mixture of both at this stage," Franklin said.
After playing for Hawthorn in many memorable games against Geelong, Franklin was looking forward to facing the Cats for the first time as a Swan.
"Geelong have been the best side for the last 10 years and they are a quality outfit and we're going to have to be at our best to knock them off," Franklin said.
