SYDNEY has named star forwards Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett for tonight’s blockbuster at ANZ Stadium but questions have been raised over the chemistry in their forward line.
The duo, who trained strongly on Wednesday night will play their first game together tonight against Hawthorn after overcoming respective knee and rib injuries.
Franklin has played six games in his debut season for the Swans after crossing from the Hawks, while tonight’s game will be Tippett’s first of the year.
The pair are Sydney’s only inclusions for tonight’s game, with Mike Pyke (injury) and Brandon Jack (omitted) the two to make way.
Franklin and Tippett will join Adam Goodes and Sam Ried in Sydney’s new-look forward line that rivals the best in the competition on talent alone but Hawthorn Coach Alastair Clarkson has already questioned the chemistry between the star quartet.
"The intriguing part about it is we don't know and neither does Sydney," Clarkson said as the Hawks departed Melbourne on Thursday.
"They've never played together before, so that could mean what we get tomorrow night is something that's unbelievable or it could be that they really battle with it.”
Franklin and Tippett have never played together – not even in a pre-season game - and Franklin hasn’t yet played with Goodes (he was subbed out for Goodes with injury in his return in Round 6).
Franklin has also only played four matches with Reid (that includes two pre-season games), before the young Swan succumbed to injury. He returned last week.
Interestingly, despite joining Sydney from Adelaide last year, Tippett has only played one game with Goodes and one quarter with Reid and never with both of them.
After serving a 12-week AFL imposed suspension, Tippett made his debut for Sydney in Round 13 – the same game in which Goodes was subbed out in the third quarter with injury and didn’t play again for the rest of the year.
Reid didn’t play in that game due to a quad injury.
Tippett played his first game with Reid in Round 15 against Melbourne, but the partnership didn’t even last the opening quarter as Reid suffered a recurrence of his quad injury.
He also didn’t play again that year.
Tonight, Sydney’s four-pronged attack seems to be a coming together of individuals who have little to no experience playing together under match conditions. And, given the injuries each have sustained over pre-season, very little training together, too.
Whether or not they gel remains to be seen. All we know is, individually they’re all outstanding players and it’ll take Hawthorn’s best defensive effort to stop each of them.
Round 8
Sydney v Hawthorn
Friday 9 May
ANZ Stadium, 7.50pm
SYDNEY TEAM
B: Nick Smith, Ted Richards, Dane Rampe
HB: Nick Malceski, Heath Grundy, Rhyce Shaw
C: Dan Hannebery, Craig Bird, Kieren Jack
HF: Lewis Jetta, Lance Franklin, Ben McGlynn
F: Harry Cunningham, Adam Goodes, Luke Parker
Fol: Tom Derickx, Josh Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh
I/C: Jeremy Laidler, Jake Lloyd, Sam Reid, Kurt Tippett
Emg: Brandon Jack, Lewis Roberts-Thomson, Dean Towers
In: Lance Franklin, Kurt Tippett
Out: Brandon Jack (omitted), Mike Pyke (hamstring)
HAWTHORN TEAM
B: Kyle Cheney, Josh Gibson, Ryan Schoenmakers
HB: Luke Hodge, Ben Stratton, Matthew Suckling
C: Grant Birchall, Shaun Burgoyne, Bradley Hill
HF: Cyril Rioli, Jack Gunston, Isaac Smith
F: Luke Breust, Jarryd Roughead, David Hale
Fol: Ben McEvoy, Jordan Lewis, Mitch Hallahan
I/C: Billy Hartung, Paul Puopolo, Taylor Duryea, Will Langford
Emg: Jonathon Ceglar, Derick Wanganeen, Jonathan Simpkin
In: Kyle Cheney, Ben Stratton, Will Langford
Out: Sam Mitchell (hamstring), Angus Litherland (omitted), Brian Lake (calf)
