SYDNEY Swan Sam Reid believes fellow forward Lance Franklin has plenty of magic left in him ahead of Saturday night's important clash with Collingwood at ANZ Stadium.
Reid grew up in Melbourne as an Essendon supporter, admiring and dreaming of emulating the feats of Bomber spearheads Scott Lucas and Matthew Lloyd.
Then in 2008, at the age of 16, Reid and the rest of the footy-watching public saw Franklin take the game by storm, the Hawthorn spearhead kicking 113 goals en route to his first Coleman Medal.
'Buddy' seemed to add to his highlight reel on a weekly basis as he claimed the first of his two flags and landed the first of four All Australian awards.
"He was young at that time and everyone was pretty in awe of how amazing this guy was," Reid told AFL.com.au.
"An incredible footballer."
Fast-forward six years, and Reid and Franklin are now teammates, just one game into what is hoped will be a long, fruitful partnership in the Swans' forward line.
Franklin has averaged better than 68 goals in his five full seasons since 2008, including 60.37 last season when he played higher up the ground and then-teammate Jarryd Roughead claimed a Coleman of his own.
Somehow considered a spent force by some, the 27-year-old Franklin still has plenty left in his bag of tricks, according to Reid.
"He works really hard and I'm looking forward to playing alongside him and just seeing him first-hand," he said.
"I'm sure he's got plenty of good years ahead.
"The Swans have shown a lot of trust, and I’m sure they wouldn't have done that if they didn't think he could last the journey.
"I'm looking forward to the next few years and continuing to play with him."
Like most of their teammates, Reid and Franklin were below their best in the Swans' opening-round upset loss to Greater Western Sydney.
They hope to show improvement against the Pies and then take further steps each week.
Franklin is looking forward to the partnership growing, and is also eagerly awaiting the return of Kurt Tippett from his knee injury.
"It's a challenge for me as it is for the club," Franklin said of gelling with his new teammates.
"But it's a challenge I'm looking forward to.
"Especially playing with young Reid and when 'Tippo' gets back in the team too, it's going to be exciting."
It's a mantra repeated by Reid, who signed a five-year deal with the Swans back in 2011 and has also played very little football with Tippett.
The former Adelaide Crow was suspended for the first half of the 2013 season, while Reid then missed the back half of the year with a recurring quad injury.
"The more games we get together, the better it's going to be," Reid said.
"I played a few pre-season games with Kurt last year, I've played a couple with 'Buddy', and the more we play together the more it's going to gel and get that cohesion and a better understanding of the way we like to play.
"It's not going to happen instantly, it could take a few weeks, but we've got plenty of time."
