GEELONG has fallen to Sydney by 30 points on a special night for Lance Franklin at the SCG on Friday.

Franklin kicked four goals to become just the sixth player in the history of VFL/AFL to kick 1000 goals to inspire the Swans to a 17.5 (107) victory over Geelong 10.17 (77).

Joining Tony Lockett (1360 goals), Gordon Coventry (1299), Jason Dunstall (1254), Doug Wade (1057) and Gary Ablett (1031) in a stratosphere that someone might not reach again.

The Cats started promisingly with goals to Jake Kolodjashnij and Zach Tuohy inside the opening five minutes, but the Swans responded with seven of the next eight goals, including a four-goal blitz within a seven-minute burst early in the second quarter to open up a 28-point lead. And they never looked back. 

The forecast for torrential rain almost never arrived, but just when Franklin needed another favour, the football gods delivered. The two-time premiership spearhead received a dubious free kick after young Cat Jack Henry fell in his back and Franklin did the rest. Moments later a pack of security guards filtered around the boundary. Only six to start with, but more would come after he slotted his third late in the third.

From there, it felt imminent. Everything Franklin did generated a standing ovation, even when he stood up off the massage table early in the final quarter. They howled when three Swans came to the bench at once and Franklin didn’t rotate back onto the ground. And rose moments later when he did return.

And then it happened.

Before the ball had even left Franklin's boot, hundreds of fans were over the fence and less than 20 metres away from the great man by the time it sailed through for his fourth. Chaos ensued in a moment we may never see again.

It took 36 minutes for play to resume, and if you believe in the football gods, then the sight of pouring rain tumbling down just as the players ran back onto the ground for the final six minutes was a sign from above.

A night the game will never forget, by a player the game will never forget.

CLOSE A STANDOUT FOR CATS

On a night which Sydney dominated forward Brad Close stood tall for the Cats with four goals from 18 disposals. The 23-year-old also had a game-high 11 score involvements and five tackles. He looked the player most likely to make something happen and was one of the few Cats who dealt with the slippery conditions well.

HEENEY ON THE CUSP OF THE NEXT BRACKET

Three weeks after putting his future to bed by inking a mega six-year extension, Isaac Heeney continued his ascension into the elite bracket. After kicking three goals in round one, Heeney exploded at the SCG. He booted four goals in the opening half, then added one more to go with 21 disposals. It might have all been about the man in the No. 23 guernsey, but this guy is well and truly on his way to superstardom.

COURAGEOUS CAMERON

Six days after departing the MCG in an ambulance, Jeremy Cameron returned at the SCG on Friday night following a week where his every move was monitored. The Coleman Medal winner was cleared of internal damage and discharged from hospital last Saturday night and made an impact in a game where most of the Cats' best players were below their best. Cameron finished goalless, but the easier option was to stay at home until he was 100 per cent fit.

PADDY POWER ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT

He had to wait 1352 days between matches, but only six days to do it all again. Paddy McCartin proved he could still play at the level last Saturday night, but this time he showed he has the tools to become a gun defender in the competition. McCartin took five intercept marks in the opening quarter alone, cutting the Cats to shreds with his precise right foot. The former No. 1 pick faded in the second half, but he looms as another unconventional recruit that could prove to be a shrewd move by Kinnear Beatson.

SYDNEY         4.3       11.3       15.4       17.5 (107)
GEELONG      2.4       6.7       8.13     10.17 (77)

GOALS 
Sydney:   Heeney 5, Franklin 4, Hayward 3, Gulden, McLean, Mills, Rowbottom
Geelong: Close 3, Atkins, Duncan, Kolodjashnij, Parfitt, Tuohy

BEST 
Sydney:   Heeney, Mills, Gulden, Blakey, Warner, Franklin, Stephens
Geelong:  Close, Selwood, Stewart, Smith

INJURIES 
Sydney: TBC
Geelong: TBC

Crowd: 36, 578 at the SCG