Richmond assistant coach Ross Smith knows only too well the capabilities of Sydney’s superstar spearhead Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin.
Smith was a member of the coaching panel at Hawthorn, when a young Franklin was regularly mesmerising opposition defences for the Hawks with his unique brand of brilliance.
Franklin’s dominant 113-goal season in 2008 was a major factor in Hawthorn’s premiership triumph that year.
Eight years on, Smith believes Franklin is fast approaching that form again with the Swans.
Richmond dedicate Round 8 to the Alannah & Madeline Foundation
Franklin leads the race for the 2016 Coleman Medal, with 29 goals after seven rounds, including a haul of six against Essendon at the SCG last round.
Fortunately for Richmond, star key defender Alex Rance is available to take on the big Buddy challenge in Saturday night’s Round 8 clash at the MCG, after serving a two-match suspension.
“I went up to Sydney and had a look at them last week. It reminded me a lot of when he (Franklin) was in full flight at Hawthorn, when he kicked 100 goals,” Smith said on this week’s edition of Roar Vision’s ‘Opposition Analysis’.
“Really important we’ve got Rance back.
“He’s had some success on him of late. ‘Buddy’ sometimes has got the better of ‘Rancey’ as well. So it’s going to be a really good match-up, and really important to the result, I think.”
Sydney has three of the competition’s top six contested-ball winners at the moment, in star midfielders Josh Kennedy, Dan Hannebery and Luke Parker. The Swans’ midfield bats particularly deep, with the likes of captain Kieren Jack and Tom Mitchell also providing first-class back-up.
Smith, however, believes the Tigers have the capacity to match it with Sydney on the inside.
“One area of our game we’ve been really pleased with the last couple of weeks, has been our contested ball,” Smith said.
Round 8 Richmond v Sydney Match Day Info
“Even though we’re not getting the wins on the board at the moment, inside we’re winning the battle. I think that’s going to be important in relation to winning our next game.
“They’re certainly a contested side as well. And, most of their midfielders are very experienced in age, which helps them a lot, too.
“So, it’s a good opportunity, and a good challenge for our midfielders this week.”
Another key component of Richmond’s planning for Saturday night’s match, has revolved around the ability of Sydney defenders such as Dane Rampe, Heath Grundy and Jeremy Laidler to take intercept marks.
“Every side going in against Sydney is trying to curtail their ability to mark the ball behind,” Smith said.
“They go for their marks . . . and, certainly, it increases your chances of scoring on the turnover if you can mark the ball.
“They’ve been able to turn defence into attack really quickly off the back of these marks as well.
“We’ve got to be able to bring the ball to ground . . . we can’t just let them mark.”
Alex Rance had the better of Lance Franklin the last time the two sides met
