Hawthorn's Lance Franklin. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
GWS coach Kevin Sheedy has urged his club to recruit out-of-contract Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin.
"If it was my advice and it was on the table, I would say go after him," Sheedy said on Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night
"If you have a package of money left after (Israel) Folau, then you get it right."
Sheedy said key forward Franklin was a better player than high-profile Sydney Swans recruit Kurt Tippett, and the Giants would "blossom" with another great player in its ranks. He compared the possible impact to that Tony Lockett had when he left St Kilda to join the Swans, becoming a crowd-pulling cult hero as he broke the VFL/AFL all-time goalkicking record with the expansion club.
He said the injection of the tall, dynamic indigenous star into Sydney "would be fantastic ... it would absolutely enormous".
Franklin has postponed contract negotiations with Hawthorn until the end of the season, when he becomes a free agent.
"I would think it is a great opportunity ... if Franklin is ever thinking of leaving Hawthorn, and he could be – nobody thought Lockett would leave St Kilda at the time, or Barry Hall," Sheedy said.
"But the greatest thing the Swans ended up getting was those two key forwards."
GWS was granted extra "promotional" funds by the AFL to recruit Folau, previously a rugby league star, who terminated his contract with the Giants two years early at the end of last season. It was estimated his deal was worth up to $6 million over four years, money the league considered well spent given the promotional value of having a rugby league "convert" play for GWS as an 'ambassador' in its highly competitive sporting market. But Folau struggled to learn the new code, and managed only 13 mediocre games before turning his back on the AFL.
The runaway success of first-year A-League franchise the Western Sydney Wanderers has led to AFL figures, including Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, to suggest more needs to be done to make the Giants competitive quicker.
AFL legend and broadcaster Kevin Bartlett backed Sheedy with his editorial on SEN radio Tuesday, saying the Giants needed a "major weapon" to combat the Wanderers.
"They need someone to capture the imagination of those new to the game. Franklin is needed for the AFL's biggest fight," Bartlett said.
He pointed out that each major recruiting success story in recent Swans history – Warwick Capper, Barry Hall and Tony Lockett – had been goalkickers like Franklin.
Backing up his comments on SEN radio Tuesday, Sheedy said GWS had to make some "really serious decisions about winning over Sydney". But he denied recruiting Franklin would only be a marketing exercise.
"It's about finding the best players to fit into your club. We just need good players to come up and show the way."
Sheedy insisted Franklin would be an invaluable teacher for GWS key position tyros Jemery Cameron and Jonathan Patton.
"How many teams in Melbourne have had to learn about building a club? None! They've been here 100 years these clubs... These clubs (GWS and Gold Coast) have been around 100 minutes.
"So we've got to get out there, get in the marketplace, get great players up here and support these young players."
No comments:
Post a Comment