Jordan Lewis has full confidence Lance Franklin will have another dominant year, despite his latest injury setback.
Lewis knows his former Hawthorn teammate better than most and said the Swans have done a good job managing him to keep him fresh during the season.
“Take Shaun Burgoyne for example. I don’t think he’s done a pre-season since he’s been (at Hawthorn), but he has been able to go out there and perform during the season because they’ve managed their load in pre-season,” he told SEN Drive.
“That’s a bit like Franklin. He won’t need to manage his load during the season if you are doing it already in the pre-season.
“They’ve been forced to in a way which I think has benefited them long-term.
“When we all got drafted I thought Bud would have been the first person for his body to let him down, but he’s still going and (Jarryd Roughead) and I are finished.
“If he’s fit, he’s playing. He wants to be out there and winning games.
“They’ll manage him through this period and he’ll be frustrated, but I believe he will come back and have a sensational year because he is just that good.”
Lewis added it’s disappointing for Franklin, who was excited for a full pre-season.
“I spoke to him after the season had finished and it was one of those things where he was excited to come back for pre-season,” he said.
“The time that he has been up there, I don’t think he has completed over 60 per cent of a pre-season because he’s had niggling injuries that they just haven’t gotten right so he has had to go in for late-season surgery.
“So he was really excited about just being out there and training in pre-season and now he gets this injury and this little clean up.”
Lewis expects Franklin to see out his contract with the Swans, which will see him playing until age 36.
“He’s not done. He’s the most freakish player I have ever seen,” he said.
“I feel these players although they might not be as frequent in games, they still show you a bit where you go, is he ever going to lose that innate ability to do something we’ve never seen anyone at that size do before?
“I don’t see him slowing down. I think he’ll get another All-Australian if he plays all year. If he’s playing, he’s playing at a top level.”