LANCE Franklin has been given the licence to add the set-shot snap to his trick bag by the man who introduced it to the competition.

The four-time Coleman medallist's budding relationship with new Sydney assistant Steve Johnson is already rubbing off in front of goal.

Franklin's use of the 'J-Curve', made famous by the former Cat and Giant known as 'Stevie J', has increased significantly since Johnson's arrival at the Swans last November.

The Buddy arc or the J-curve?

Lance Franklin has adopted the modern set shot style attributed to now @sydneyswans assistant coach Steve Johnson. pic.twitter.com/zV3EJVhGuR

— AFL.com.au (@AFLcomau) July 3, 2018

In an interview with the AFL Record ahead of the Swans' clash with Geelong, Johnson said his aim as forward coach was to give the game's ninth-greatest goalkicker different goalkicking options.

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"I haven't necessarily told him to snap from certain positions but what I try and do at training is give the players the opportunity to take shots from different positions with different kicks," Johnson said.

"At the end of the day, it's whatever they feel comfortable doing and if they've got the repetitions in and that's what they're comfortable with, well (they can) go ahead.

"I have noticed that he (Franklin) does work extremely hard on his goalkicking and has been practicing them (snaps).

"It's good he's felt comfortable to take a couple of shots (in games) that he may not have in the past. He's been kicking pretty well this season and as long as he's kicking goals I'm happy."

Johnson's approach to snapping set-shot's inside 50 divided opinion throughout his 293-game career, but Champion Data statistics prove Franklin has taken the model on board.

In 11 games this season, Franklin has used the new style on six occasions for a 50 per cent success rate.

Five of the six shots have come from the right forward pocket, favouring Franklin's left boot.

It comes after he used it just 16 times and went at 37.5 per cent in his previous 89 games as a Swan between 2014-2017.

Franklin has managed 35 majors this season, sitting second in the race for the Coleman Medal behind North Melbourne's Ben Brown with 42.

Franklin's J-Curve

Ahead of Sydney's round 16 clash with Geelong at the SCG, Johnson speaks about his relationship with Franklin and his comparisons to another superstar he played two premierships alongside – Gary Ablett. Read the full story in this week's AFL Record.