Sydney Swans coach John Longmire laughs off suggestions his side will physically target fiery Hawks star Lance Franklin.
Lance Franklin dances through traffic in the 2012 Grand Final. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun
SWANS coach John Longmire says his club will not look to poke the bear and go after Hawthorn superstar Buddy Franklin with niggling tactics in Saturday night's grand final rematch at the MCG.
Franklin was this week labelled irritable and a ticking time bomb after lashing out recklessly in back-to-back goalless performances.
However, Longmire said any attempt to provoke the Hawthorn power forward could backfire spectacularly.
"My experience with the very best players is that's not something you try to do," Longmire said.
"I saw some niggling tactics applied to Wayne Carey and they weren't that successful.
"So we go about our business to try and make sure we beat them as we should, and that's in a good strong honest contest - and that's what we expect.
"We played them three times last year and every one of those were really high-quality contests and we expect nothing different this year.
"(Franklin) has had seven shots at goal (in the past two games). His athleticism is such that he does make some defenders get concerned about what he can do.
"We all know what he can do when he's playing at his best.
"He looks as if he's competing really well and working really hard.
"I just think there have been a couple of weeks where he has missed a few shots at goal.
"He has been working hard and presenting.
"The best way to play well is just to keep doing the things he has been doing well.
"You know they'll turn, particularly with the best players, and he is one of the best."
Rather than focus on Franklin, the Swans identified Hawthorn defender Brian Lake as a contest changer, making it much more difficult for key Sydney targets Mike Pyke, Sam Reid and Shane Mumford to dominate in the forward line.
Having joined the Hawks from the Bulldogs during last year's trade period, the former two-time All Australian defender has added depth to the club's ability to stop sides with as many options up forward as the Swans have.
"That's what makes them a bit of a different proposition," Longmire said of the Hawks.
"That'll be a challenge for us.
"We have to make sure that we just don't kick the ball to Brian's advantage because he and (Josh) Gibson are two of the best spoilers in the game.
"You can't expect to just bang it into your forward line."
The Swans have been hit by more bad news on the injury front, with rebounding defender Rhyce Shaw's return from an abdominal strain delayed until at least round nine.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Sydney Swans won't bug Buddy
Dengan url
http://caraseopemula.blogspot.com/2013/05/sydney-swans-wont-bug-buddy.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Sydney Swans won't bug Buddy
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar