LANCE Franklin looms as the Western Bulldogs' biggest headache in Saturday's Grand Final, and the freedom he's given by Sydney Swans coach John Longmire makes him almost impossible to shackle.
Franklin kicked 74 goals in the regular season, and has 80 in total for the year, using his freakish athleticism to terrorise opposition defenders inside 50, and just about anywhere else on the ground.
The 29-year-old failed to trouble the scorers in the Swans' qualifying final loss to Greater Western Sydney, but just like his teammates did, Franklin bounced back to his best against Adelaide and Geelong.
The three-time Coleman medallist had just seven kicks against the Cats, but booted two goals, and set up a few more chances for the Swans from further up the field, with Longmire admitting he gives Franklin free rein to put his brilliant footy brain to use on game day.
"We don't go in with an absolutely specific role, it changes all the time," Longmire said.
"As opposition defences change, forward lines change as well.
"It just depends on the state of the game, what we think needs to happen at a certain point in time, or where Lance (Franklin) thinks he needs to go.
"We have a bit of flexibility with that, we don't have a set plan about him playing in a certain part of the ground, and Lance has a pretty good feel for the game.
"If we need to change it we do, it's as pretty simple as that."
Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh said having Franklin the star forward, as well as Franklin the midfielder in his team, was a bonus, but he's still a little bit shocked when he sees the gun goalkicker bounding through the middle of the ground next to him.
"Well he'll be calling for it no doubt," he laughed.
"He's a beautiful field kick as we've seen, probably the best in our team.
"When he's there you want the ball in his hands around the footy, but when you see him leading up as a forward, he's always in the best spots.
"With those big arms out you can't miss him, but we've got a lot of options up there that we can use."
McVeigh praised Franklin's affect on his teammates, especially when it comes to young forwards Isaac Heeney, Tom Papley, and George Hewett, and said his leadership deserves more credit from those outside the club.
"He doesn't speak a hell of a lot, but when he does we all sit up and listen," McVeigh said.
"He's always spot on with how he sees the game.
"The way he's taught the younger players in terms of their leading patterns and the way the game should be played, they've taken a huge amount of confidence out of it.
"They're always picking his brain for certain scenarios and situations.
"His performances speak for themselves, he rarely plays a bad game, and we look forward to running out there with him.
"We all stand taller when we stand beside him."
