AFL 2024: Brodie Grundy key to ‘flexible’ Sydney Swans midfield

Sydney coach John Longmire has dismissed any suggestion his club “had enough” of retired star Lance Franklin in his final season as he hailed the confidence new ruckman Brodie Grundy had instilled in his young midfield through the club’s unbeaten start to the season.

Longmire pointed out the ferocious follow-up work at stoppages Grundy provided as a solution to his team’s biggest weakness in 2023.

Sydney ranked a lowly 17th in the AFL for clearance and first possession differentials last season but beat Melbourne 45-34 at the stoppages in the opening round and held its own against a Collingwood on-ball division that was ranked No.2 for clearances last season.

A prominent midfield role for Isaac Heeney and the inclusion of Grundy has coincided with a strong pair of games from Chad Warner and James Rowbottom after the pair occasionally struggled against bigger-bodied midfields in 2023.

Longmire said Grundy, who has had 13 clearances and 12 tackles across the first two games, had given the other on-ballers a lift.

“Grundy’s presence around the ball has been really good, to be able to have Brodie come up and compete in the ruck and give us a ground-level presence as much as aerial presence has been really important for us,” he said.

“I think because of his experience he’s been important in our midfield, and that’s why it’s important to have Isaac (Heeney) in there as well, because they’re really young.

“I think that’s exciting for the now but also for the future of the footy club to have such a young midfield group contributing and playing well.”

Longmire said Luke Parker (wrist) and Taylor Adams (knee) were both still “a couple of weeks away”, with Adams ramping up his training after losing his knee brace in recent days.

Amid claims from AFL legend Leigh Matthews that the Swans were better off without Franklin, who retired at the end of last season after a Hall of Fame career that netted 1066 goals, and that his presence held the club back in 2023, Longmire was effusive in his praise for the star goalkicker.

“No, we hadn’t had enough of Lance,” Longmire said.

“He’s not a bad player Lance Franklin. He wasn’t a bad one to help us through for a fair while and so I’ve got the greatest respect for him.

“One of his great legacies … (was) his ability to be a star player and win us games, but the other part was he allowed our younger key forwards to come through.

“His last year or two was as much about that as what he was able to deliver for us winning games. His legacy at this footy club is far-reaching.”

Longmire said a decision was yet to be made on whether the Swans would again walk around the outside of the SCG before entering the field for their warm-up after the nod to the home fans was warmly received in opening round.

“It was fantastic, I think everyone loved it,” Longmire said.

“(The players) thought it was a lot better than what they expected … but like anything, everyone’s got different views, and we’ll work through that.”