Butler will be subject to match review scrutiny for the action, which could see him miss next Saturday night’s clash with Richmond at the MCG, but the fact that Blakey was not concussed will help his case.

The 30,123 fans who turned up to celebrate Franklin had to endure a scoreless opening term from the Swans - the lowest-scoring quarter the AFL has seen since 1999 - as both sets of players struggled to adapt to the slippery conditions, fumbling, panicking and miskicking repeatedly. The quarter ended with the Saints ahead 1.1 (7) to the Swans’ 0.0 (0).

The only goal in it came from St Kilda’s Mattaes Phillipou, who was a three-month-old toddler when Franklin made his debut for Hawthorn in the opening round of the 2005 season.

“You’re not always going to get a goalfest,” Saints coach Ross Lyon said.

“Sometimes you’ve got to respect the conditions, how difficult it is. That ball’s like soap, and then you’ve got these bodies flying around. We hit the scoreboard pretty well in the second half and the last quarter, I thought we dominated them. Hopefully that was an easier watch for you. It was for me.”

Loading

Sydney had been seeking out Franklin repeatedly with their inside 50 entries but either failed to hit him up, or, when they did, he either dropped the ball or wasted it. They didn’t register their first major until the 10th minute of the second quarter, when Tom Papley crumbed a Franklin two-on-one and slammed the ball home from 50 metres out to bring the home crowd alive.

Then Franklin, 36, juggled another mark despite being again outnumbered by Saints defenders and converted his set shot to go clear of Wade at the same end of the SCG where he kicked his 1000th goal last year. With the nearest active player on the list, Richmond veteran Jack Riewoldt, almost 300 goals behind him, Franklin’s achievement will stand the test of time.

Franklin’s first was the highlight of an eight-goal second term in which the Swans went 20 points clear, and he kicked his second to another rousing reception - only for St Kilda to reel them back in with a run of four consecutive goals either side of half-time to snatch the lead again.

From there, it was a gritty armwrestle - but it was the Saints who held their mettle in the key moments, and the Swans only have themselves to blame.

Sydney’s midfield, which was without the suspended Luke Parker for the first time in three years, held up across the board and generated more inside 50s (54-51) than St Kilda but couldn’t convert their chances.

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.