Sydney's gamble on Lance Franklin will pay off, according to club boss Andrew Ireland. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: Philip Hillyard / News Corp Australia
SYDNEY boss Andrew Ireland says he is certain the recruitment of Lance Franklin will be vindicated despite an off-season of controversy and negative headlines.
Franklin last night played his former side Hawthorn for the first time amid uncertainty over whether the 27-year-old will fulfil his nine-year $10 million contract.
BUDDY FRANKLIN'S REUNION WISHLIST
But Swans chief executive Ireland said the club had already broken through its membership record of 37,000 and was up $1.5 million in corporate sales and hospitality this year.
They could yet hit 40,000 members, and expect to rank No. 1 in the competition for corporate hospitality sales — much of it due to the "Buddy Show".
He said Franklin had shown his devotion to the cause already by playing hurt in the critical Round 5 win over Fremantle and would be a success over the life of the contract.
Franklin kicked six behinds in the first half against Hawthorn. Picture: Phil Hillyard Source: News Corp Australia
"We have always said the judgment on Lance can't be over weeks or months, it will be over years,'' he told the Herald Sun.
"We weren't naive enough to think there wouldn't be extra scrutiny on our team or how he performs, but the real judgment will be over a longer journey. We are sure he will be a good player for us.
"He jarred his knee when we played Adelaide and his effort to play the next week against Fremantle was really great. He hadn't trained much but we were without (Adam) Goodes and (Sam) Reid and he did a really good job in getting out on to the ground in discomfort."
Franklin's deal rises to well above $1 million per season in its latter years, but Ireland said the salary cap would be significantly higher by the time Franklin is in the final stages of his contract.
Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland. Source: News Corp Australia
"Let's be frank, Alastair Lynch's (10-year) contract was embarrassing at the end given his output,'' said Ireland, who also sealed that deal at Brisbane.
"I don't think the salary cap will increase as much in this period as it did then, but our view of Franklin is based on a three per cent (salary cap) increase every year when most times it is more than that, so we would be hoping over the journey of the contract it won't be anywhere near as big a percentage (of the salary cap).
"People forget Lynchy busted his collarbone twice in his first year and then had glandular fever in the next year, but by the end of his 10-year deal he had played in three premierships and played 12 years in the end."
While there are estimates the AFL could win a $1.5 billion windfall for its next TV rights deal, some club figures believe it could be far in excess of that figure.
Should that be true, the players would win another big pay rise for the next collective bargaining agreement and Franklin would take up less of the salary cap.
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