Giants forward Harry Himmelberg will cop Lance Franklin reaching 1000 goals on Saturday if Greater Western Sydney can start the season with a win.
The Franklin storyline is dominating headlines leading into Sydney Derby XXIII, which both clubs hope can break their record attendance of 60,222 from the 2016 qualifying final.
A combination of the state being starved of live AFL football for much of last season, a derby, round 1 and the Franklin factor is set to give the Giants and Swans a fighting chance.
“I hope we win for starters and if we do, I don’t really mind what goes on down the other end,” Himmelberg told News Corp about Franklin’s milestone chase.
“But playing on guys like (Sam) Taylor and Phil (Davis) throughout the pre-season; I don’t think it’s going to be easy for big ‘Bud’ to kick five on those two boys.
“It’ll be a cracking game and that obviously adds another little element of excitement for the fans.”
Like most players, Himmelberg thinks it would be “a cool experience” if fans were allowed to burst onto Accor Stadium once Franklin slots goal 1000 but “won’t be unhappy if it doesn’t happen in our game”.
The 25-year-old’s responsibility in attack increased last season after Jeremy Cameron’s defection to Geelong, and he will take on even more with co-captain Toby Greene suspended for the first five rounds.
Himmelberg responded with arguably his best individual campaign, even if his numbers were almost identical to his 2019 season.
“Numbers-wise, it was quite similar but I think it was more so the consistency,” he said.
“For me, the year before was pretty disappointing. One of the main things to come out of it was I wasn’t consistent enough and I wasn’t performing – I was having up-and-down games.
“The ultimate thing for an AFL player is finding consistency and all the best players are consistent.
“Last year wasn’t about the numbers as much, but that sort of came through consistency, (anyway), so I’m keen to build on that this year.”
The structure around Himmelberg, particularly in Greene’s absence, remains a work in progress.
Jesse Hogan is certain to be there if he’s fit, after kicking 20 goals in only nine games last season, but injuries to Brent Daniels, Conor Stone and Zach Sproule complicated matters.
Jake Riccardi looks primed to bounce back after an underwhelming second season, while Tim Taranto, Stephen Coniglio, Bobby Hill, Daniel Lloyd, Tanner Bruhn and ex-Eagle Jarrod Brander will have roles.
“We’ve got some guys who are really mobile and can play a variety of different roles,” Himmelberg said.
“I think we’ll probably experiment through the next couple of weeks until we find a system that works for us.”
