Lance Franklin turned a nightmare night into a dream return against his old club as Sydney beat Hawthorn by 19 points on Friday at ANZ Stadium.
Playing his first match against the club he helped to win two premierships, Franklin started the the night by kicking 0.7 in the first three quarters and conceded six free-kicks.
He redeemed himself in the last quarter to grab the lead back for Sydney with two crucial goals to help seal a 15.17 (107) to 13.10 (88) victory.
The Swans kicked six goals to two in the final quarter to overrun a brave but wounded Hawthorn side, who dominated the middle quarters.
Adversity hit the Hawks before the game when the decision was made to pull Luke Hodge due to hamstring tightness.
Further misfortune hit them in the third quarter, when Cyril Rioli came off with what appeared to be a hamstring issue.
After passing up a couple of other shots, Franklin kicked a set shot from around 50 metres to regain the lead for Sydney with the first goal of the final quarter.
He then skilfully swivelled onto his left foot and soccered the ball through.
Nic Malceski, Hawthorn’s 2012 grand final nemesis, snapped truly with his left boot to establish a 16-point buffer.
Jarryd Roughead then kicked two quick goals to get the margin to within four.
Jonathan Simpkin kicked successive behinds and a rushed behind put Hawthorn back within seven.
Outstanding Sydney midfielder Daniel Hannebery, who had 40 touches, iced the game with a goal and Lewis Jetta added one more.
The Swans scored the first 21 points and led by as much as 24.
Kurt Tippett kicked four goals for Sydney, whose new-look forward line threatened to blow the Hawks away.
With his quartet of prize forwards all available for the first time this season, Sydney coach John Longmire rotated them on and off the ground to keep Hawks counterpart Alastair Clarkson guessing.
The first quarter was notable for an incredible amount of smothers, with Hawthorn in particular guilty of not getting enough height on their kicks.
Hawthorn kicked four goals to two in the second quarter to get within seven at halftime.
With Shaun Burgoyne exerting increasing influence, the Hawks kicked five goals in the third quarter to lead by three going into the final term.
