It’s a daunting thought, knowing that you’ll be lining up against one of the greatest forwards in the AFL. Even more so when you recall that in your last encounter, that same player booted a tidy bag of five goals. 

For young Hawk Kaiden Brand, it must have been a mixture of relief and pride when the siren sounded on Friday night, and Buddy Franklin’s stat sheet read just one goal and 13 disposals at 38 per cent efficiency. 

Brand was pivotal in curbing Franklin’s usual dominance, while also collecting 18 disposals for himself (including five intercept possessions) in one of his most impressive performances of the season.

“I knew during the week that I’d be getting [Franklin] so I did a bit of studying in the lead up,” Brand said after the match. 

“It’s obviously really pleasing that Buddy was kept to one goal, but it was a real team effort down there in defence, so I got a lot of help. 

“I think I’ll have to buy a few of the boys beers to say thanks for giving me a hand.” 

Read: Five talking points Hawthorn v Sydney

The Hawks overcame the Swans by six points, bookending Sydney’s winning streak that spanned seven matches since the Hawks narrow victory in Round 10. 

“I’ve actually been lucky as I think I’ve played in three wins and one loss against Sydney, but It’s always a tough game when we come up against them,” said the young defender. 

“Each week we are improving in little bits, and we take a lot of confidence in beating the in-form side of the competition.”

With four rounds to go, the Hawks are still an outside chance of making finals, however regardless of how the next few weeks play out, Hawthorn’s post-bye turnaround is sure to give fans plenty of hope for what’s to come. 

“The more we play together, the better we are getting, the more confident we become,” said Brand. 

“We’ll keep pushing to see if we can make finals, but if not we’ll keep pushing for the future and try and get that next premiership as soon as we can.”

Read: Clarkson - The boys are growing in confidence