The pair combined for two first quarter goals in the club’s first round loss to GWS, which was also Reid’s first game back for the Swans after missing the bulk of the 2013 season with a quad injury.
Speaking to SwansTV ahead of Tuesday’s training session, Reid said building a strong on-field relationship with Franklin was on top of his to-do list this season.
“It was good to be back and it was good to play a full game and get through it unscathed,” Reid said.
“But I’ll be looking to improve on that game and try and build a bit more of a relationship with Buddy on field, and get that feeling and get it to gel.”
Reid said he was confident their relationship would improve with every match together, adding that Franklin was still finding his feet at his new club.
“It’s going to be a work in progress obviously with Buddy coming to a new club,” Reid said.
“It’s a different game plan, so it’s going to take time to get used to the way we play and as individuals the way we like to play.”
The 22-year-old will also need to continue to develop his relationship with the club’s other big forward Kurt Tippett, who he played alongside just once in 2013.
Reid and Tippett were on-field together for less than ten minutes in the Swans’ round 15 match against Melbourne last year, before Reid re-injured his quad and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
With Tippett still battling knee tendonitis this weekend, Reid said the Swans’ forward structure had a lot of potential, but was still under development.
“The more games we get together the better,” he said.
“The more we’re out on the park the more it can hopefully help us towards a better combination.”
There will be plenty on the line for both teams this weekend, with the Swans and Magpies suffering losses in the first weekend of the split round one.
Reid said the Swans had made the most of their extra preparation time in the lead up to Saturday night’s match.
“We’ve been preparing for this game for a week and a half, which is longer than usual, but we’re ready to go,” he said.
“It was only round one and that was our first loss, so we’re looking to turn it around quickly and we’ve had some hard hit outs on the track.
“We’ve done a lot of contested ball stuff and a lot of running and just getting that good feeling amongst the group again.
“We’re all feeling good going into Saturday.”
