‘Buddy’ Franklin wayward in front of goal against his old team, but scoreboard has last laugh.
Lance Franklin missed a host of opportunities, but the former Hawthorn star kicked two vital goals as Sydney beat the Hawks by 19 points at the Olympic stadium on Friday night.
Both sides’ accuracy at kicking for goal was average at best, but the Swans finally got the better of their rivals, 15.17 (107) to 13.10 (88).
The Hawks were hit hard by the late withdrawal of Luke Hodge to join midfielder Sam Mitchell and key defender Brian Lake on the sidelines.
Sydney started much the stronger, leading by 3.3 to no score after 11 minutes, but the home side failed to put the Hawks away.
The Swans led by as much as 26 points in the second quarter, but the Hawks hit back to be just seven points down at the main break.
Hawthorn kicked five goals to three to hit the front at three-quarter time, with a three-point lead.
Franklin had looked nervous all night, missing shots left and right. He finally scored at his eighth attempt to give the Swans the lead after seven minutes of the final term, and then he brought the crowd to its feet with a dribbled goal to give the home side a 10-point lead.
Nick Malceski then booted his second of the night, before a double to Jarryd Roughead brought the scores back to just six points.
But Jarrad McVeigh kicked a vital goal for Sydney and the Swans finally ran out the game to seal their fifth win of the season.
Kurt Tippett finished with four goals, while Roughead had three for the Hawks.
Both teams will have worries out of the game. Franklin may face the judiciary after making contact to the head of a Hawk player in the first half.
For Hawthorn, Cyril Rioli injured his hamstring, defender Josh Gibson injured his shoulder, and Roughead is another player in trouble after a high hit on Ben McGlynn that left the diminutive Swan being checked for concussion.
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