“We've played well at times when we haven't had him, and we've played not so well at other times. “He's obviously a big presence down there and when he's missing then other guys need to step up. We need more options to goal, and we were able to do it in patches [against the Giants]. We looked dangerous at times going forward.” Reid said his role didn’t change too much with Franklin missing, although his output increased after coach John Longmire publicly challenged him last week to lift. Reid delivered with two goals and five marks against the Giants, providing a strong target up forward and vital experience alongside an inexperienced forward line. “Tommy McCartin, myself and Nick Blakey probably had to play a little bit taller and we needed a longer option down the line at times, but not a huge amount [changed].

Upbeat: Reid believes the Swans can cope without Franklin if he's ruled out again. Credit:AAP With Franklin absent, the Swans appeared more unpredictable entering their forward line. Reid said while he would prefer Franklin to return, if he misses another week “we'll just have to more avenues to goal”. Franklin has kicked 11 goals in his five games so far this season, looking dangerous without dominating matches. Part of his struggle to impact the scoreboard has been Sydney's stagnant ball movement further upfield and poor ball use going forward.

Co-captain Josh Kennedy said the Swans must improve those areas if they are to trouble sides and start winning. “We can certainly use the ball better going inside 50, whether [Franklin’s] there and when he's not there," Kennedy said. But Kennedy believes his charges are about to turn the corner. “As long as we keep working hard, training hard, valuing those things, it'll turn. When? Not exactly sure," he said. "I know that we've been in this position before and it can turn pretty quickly, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen again either. So all we can do is just keep our head down, stick together, work hard and work on those basics and keep trying to turn it around.

Loading “We've got to have faith that it can turn.” Kennedy said it was hard to compare the club’s plight now compared to 2017 when the team started the season with six straight losses but recovered to make the finals. “It is a different group, there's been a lot of changes since then. But having said that, if anything that taught us is just how quickly things can turn," he said. Kennedy pointed to the evenness of the competition so far this season, including the number of upsets, as evidence that the Swans aren’t far off the pace.