What’s the most famous number in world sport? The number adoring fans might want on their playing uniform if a sporting dream could mysteriously become reality?

It’s difficult to go past #23. Among the sporting superstars identified globally by #23 are American basketball legends Michael Jordan and LeBron James, English soccer great David Beckham, and Australian cricketing legend Shane Warne.

Inside the Swans family #23 is historically synonymous with 1949 Brownlow Medallist and Team of the Century choice Ron Clegg, and today the keeper of the #23 is the one and only Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin.

The champion goal-kicker has played 316 of his 337 AFL games with Sydney and Hawthorn in jumper #23 and kicked 1017 of his 1043 AFL goals in #23.

Only ex-Adelaide Crows champion Andrew McLeod, who played his entire 340-game career in #23, has played more AFL games thank Franklin in the famous number, while Franklin is 183 goals clear of the second-ranked #23 goal-kicker, Geelong and North Melbourne star Doug Wade, who sits one spot ahead of Franklin on the AFL’s all-time goal-kicking list.

The only times Franklin has worn anything other than #23 in the AFL was in his first season at Hawthorn in 2005, when in 20 games he wore #38, and in Indigenous Round 2017, when he wore #67 for the Swans to commemorate the 1967 referendum which ensured indigenous Australians would be counted in the census.

Bud is a #23 man. So, it is predictable and appropriate that he has dominated Round 23 matches most often during the Swans’ 40 years in Sydney to earn top billing for this week’s ‘Remember When’ flashback.

It’s a combined Round 23 and Round 24 flashback given there have only been 17 home-and-away matches played beyond Round 22, but there’s no denying Franklin’s place at the top of the list.

He has had three especially memorable Round 23 moments in 2016, ’17 and ‘19 to dominate a period in which the Swans have had an overall 8-9 record in Round 23-24 matches – 6-5 at home and 2-4 away.

2016 – An Extraordinary Finish

In 2016 the Swans enjoyed their 12^th-biggest win all-time and their second biggest against Richmond when they blitzed the Round 23 clash at the SCG 25.14 (164) to 7.9 (51).

It was a win that secured the minor premiership, and although at the time it was 1^st v 13^th it took on a greater significance when Richmond won the 2017, ’19 and ‘20 flags.

Sydney were one of four sides on 64 premiership points after Round 22, with their percentage of 145.1% putting them ahead of Adelaide (142.3%), Geelong (137.7%) and Hawthorn (119.7%).

GWS, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs were locked together on 60 points, with the Giants percentage of 142.5% enough to add a little extra spice to Round 23.

The only side in the finals picture without something to play for was eighth-placed North Melbourne, whose percentage advantage of 15.1% over 9^th-placed St Kilda was enough to make them safe.

Although the top eight was set six of the nine games in Round 23 would have a direct influence on the rankings for the finals, which for the first time would start a week later after an all-teams bye.

It was Adelaide (2^nd) v West Coast (6^th) at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, followed by three Saturday games: Geelong (3^rd) v Melbourne (10^th) at Kardinia Park, Sydney (1^st) v Richmond (13^th) at the SCG, and GWS (6^th) v North (8^th) at Docklands. Hawthorn (4^th) v Collingwood (12^th) at the MCG would kick off Sunday, with the Western Bulldogs (7^th) v Fremantle (16^th) at Subiaco to close it out.

West Coast surprised Adelaide by 29 points, which meant the Crows tumbled from 2^nd to 5^th. Geelong smashed Melbourne by 111 points to climb to 2^nd, while Sydney’s 113-point win against Richmond not only secured top spot by 7.4% but gave the club its highest home-and-away percentage in 97 years at 151.2%.

Only twice in what is now a 126-year history have the South Melbourne/Sydney Swans posted a higher for-and-against average: 158.7% in 1919 and 157.0% in 1912.

On the Sunday of Round 23, 2016 GWS beat North by 37 points to jump one spot to 4^th, Hawthorn survived an almighty scare to beat Collingwood by a point and jump one spot to 3^rd and the Bulldogs hung on to 7^th spot despite a 20-point loss to 16^th-placed Fremantle, who had lost eight in a row.

Franklin was best afield in the Swans monster win with nine marks inside the forward 50m arc and seven goals to claim three Brownlow Medal votes. And it could have been an even bigger day out – he kicked 7-4.

The Swans possession stats made rare reading. While there are no records kept for such things, it was rare to see six players in the side have 30-plus: Josh Kennedy (37), Tom Mitchell (34), Dan Hannebery (31), Kieren Jack (31), Jake Lloyd (31) and Jarrad McVeigh (31).

It was a big day out for the ex-Hawks in the Sydney side, with Franklin, Kennedy and Ben McGlynn (five goals) sweeping the 3-2-1 Brownlow votes.

2017 – Not 13 … but 10

There are few genuine football fans who will not remember Lance Franklin’s career-best 13 goals for Hawthorn in 2012.

But Franklin’s second-biggest haul and his best in Sydney colors came in Round 23, 2017, when he kicked 10 in a 21.12 (138) to 8.9 (57) win over Carlton at the SCG.

It wasn’t enough to see the Swans improve on their sixth position on the home-and-away ladder, but it was an epic display in which Franklin out-scored the Blues on his own with 10.2 from 25 possessions (11 contested), 10 marks and 21 kicks. Quarter-by-quarter he kicked 1-2-3-4, leading an 8.2 to 0.5 final quarter blitz for three Brownlow votes.

A 3-1-3 finish in the Brownlow count gave Franklin an equal career-best 22 votes, which in most years would have him right in the finish. Not in 2017. He had to be content for fifth behind Richmond’s Dustin Martin (36), Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield (33), Hawthorn’s ex-Swan Tom Mitchell (25) and teammate Kennedy (23).

2019 – A Triple Celebration

The final home-and-away game of the 2019 season was Franklin-focussed for a different reason … it was a week-long celebration as the great #23 celebrated his 300^th AFL game.

But it wasn’t all about Franklin. He shared the spotlight with retiring club legends Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith, as they signed off on their AFL careers as a crowd of 33,722 packed the SCG on a Saturday afternoon.

Franklin, the 89^th player in history to reach 300, kicked a game-high four goals, while, with the game in the bank in the final quarter, McVeigh and Jack sent noise levels off the chart with farewell goals as the Swans beat St Kilda 17.7 (109) to 8.16 (64).

Former captains McVeigh and Jack were mobbed by every Sydney player after their perfectly scripted moment in the spotlight, which brought McVeigh to tears after he’d recovered from a string of soft tissue injuries to play one last game.

Jack, a homegrown former rookie, finished equal eighth on the Swans games list with close mate Heath Grundy, who had played his last game in Round 1 of the same season.

Jack had spent most of the day in defence before best afield co-captain Josh Kennedy (32 possessions, two goals) demanded his long-time mate push forward.

Said Jack in a post-game interview: “Joey said to me ‘get out of the back pocket and go forward’ so I had to get Tommy McCartin down back. For both of us it was a really special moment. I’ll never forget that.

McVeigh, who left the game third on the games list with 325 behind only Adam Goodes and equal to Jude Bolton, was similarly effusive. “I was just trying to get forward to snag one. Oh, what a moment. It is up here (with the 2012 Grand Final) this game. I don’t have any words. It is so overwhelming.”

After the final siren Franklin, McVeigh, Jack, Grundy and Smith were chaired from the ground in one of the more emotional moments of the Swans’ 40 years in Sydney.

1992 – Another Retiring Champion

Stevie Wright had been a stalwart of the Swans from 1979-92, through the days of South Melbourne at Lake Oval through the relocation to Sydney. The 171cm 73kg dynamo was a champion of the club. Winner of the Bob Skilton Medal in 1985 and 1990 and a member of the Swans Team of the Century.

So, it was a very special day in Round 24, 1992 when Wright, as tough and resolute as the come, played his 246^th and last game on a Friday night against Richmond at the SCG.

It was a chance for the Swans to get off the bottom of the 15-team the ladder against the 13^th-placed Tigers, but it didn’t happen. The visitors led all the way and won 18.17 (125) to 13.17 (95) as Swans coach Gary Buckenara pulled the curtain on his first season at the helm.

Wright, now equal 12^th on the all-time Swans games list, was third on the honour roll at the time of his retirement behind only John Rantall (260 games) and Mark Browning (251).

He was also ninth on the all-time goals list, having kicked one last major in his farewell game to take his career tally to 247 and past the great Laurie Nash (246).

Now 15^th on the goals list, he was 9^th at the time behind Bob Pratt, who had sat at the top of the list with 681 goals since 1946. Then followed Bob Skilton (521), Tony Morwood (397), Ted Johnson (385), Peter Bedford (325), Warwick Capper (317), Len Mortimer (289) and Austin Robertson (251).

2011 – A Great Win

With two games to play in the 2011 home-and-away season the Swans were one of three teams locked together on 42 premiership points in positions 6-7-8 on the AFL ladder. It was St Kilda, Sydney and Essendon. But North Melbourne and Fremantle were a game-and-a-half back. It was on.

The Swans were to play second-placed Geelong at Kardinia Park in Round 23 and 15^th-placed Brisbane at the SCG in Round 24. A win in one of the two would guarantee a spot in September, but they didn’t need two.

On a Saturday afternoon at the ‘Cattery’, as Sydney coach John Longmire and Geelong counterpart Chris Scott neared the end of their first season at their respective helm, they took on a Cats side which four games and six weeks later would win the flag and prevailed in sensational fashion.

With Adam Goodes playing his 297^th game at one end of the team list and Luke Parker his 10^th game at the other end, the Swans led at every change. But their lead was just nine points midway through the final term before a rapid-fire hat-trick of goals from Sam Reid, Parker and Jude Bolton put it beyond doubt.

It was Geelong’s last loss of the year. They thumped minor premiers Collingwood by 96 points in Round 24, and in the finals accounted for Hawthorn by 31 points and West Coast by 48 points before a 38-point win over Collingwood again in the Grand Final.

Such was the quality of the Sydney win over the eventual premiers 15.9 (99) to 12.14 (86) in Round 23 they swept the Brownlow Medal votes via Goodes (30 possessions, one goal), Rhyce Shaw (26 possessions) and Ted Richards (16 possessions).

It was a classic, and when they beat Brisbane by 52 points the following week, they finished seventh on the home-and-away ladder. They accounted for St Kilda by 25 points in the elimination final but a semi-final loss to Hawthorn ended their campaign.