To know how much the AFL Indigenous round means to Swans superstar Lance Franklin is simply to admire the canvas of tattoos inked across his bulging arms.
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The face of his mother Ursula is tattooed on his right forearm, while further up is a depiction of his father, Lance snr.
On his left arm is a detailed mosaic of Aboriginal lore, including the face of an elder, a kangaroo, a tree and a didgeridoo – a collection of Indigenous symbols he uses to represent his heritage.
"Buddy" will celebrate that heritage at the SCG on Friday night against his old side Hawthorn in the Swans' annual Marn Grook fixture, as the contribution of Indigenous Australians to the national game is honoured across the league.
He'll brandish his Aboriginal history, and those wonderfully woven tattoos, with pride.
"Having the Indigenous heritage means a lot to me, so I ended up looking at some books and exactly what I wanted to put together as a story," Franklin said.
"It's a picture of my mum and my dad and everything else.
"To be able to play in Indigenous round is very special, not only to me but to everyone. It recognises exactly what Indigenous players bring to the game.
"Any time you come up against the Hawks as a club we look forward to that. What a night, Friday night, Indigenous round, it's going to be a special one."
A traditional corroboree dance and smoking ceremony will precede the game, with indigenous singer-songwriter Dan Sultan performing in the lead-up to the opening bounce.
At half-time, about 90 per cent of the Auskickers participating will be indigenous kids from across NSW.
Friday's game is crucial for the in-form Swans ahead of next weekend's bye, and a win would move them to within a single win of the top eight – a scenario that seemed almost impossible four weeks ago when Sydney left the MCG with an 0-6 record after losing to Carlton.
They've won three straight since then, while Hawthorn head into the game off a disappointing loss to Collingwood last weekend, where they blew a 43-point lead.
Hawks midfielder Tom Mitchell returns to the SCG for the first time since being squeezed out of the club during last year's trade period, fresh from an astonishing 50-possession game in Saturday's loss to Collingwood.
Franklin, who won two premierships with Hawthorn before switching to Sydney for the 2014 season, said locking down Mitchell would be crucial as his side chases a fourth-straight win.
"There's no doubt that we'll be spending a bit of time on Tom and making sure that we curtail his influence around the contest," Franklin said.
"He's been unbelievable hasn't he. He's never had an issue finding the ball; to get 50 touches is a super effort.
"He was a super player here and he's taken that form across to the Hawks, but he's not coming back is he. They've got so many other dangerous players that play some good football too so we're going to be on our game."
Veteran Jarrad McVeigh will miss a second straight game as he recovers from the hamstring injury suffered in the round-eight win over North Melbourne.
Harry Cunningham will be out for roughly six weeks after tearing a ligament in his foot, while ruckman Sam Naismith has been ruled out with a knee injury.
Former co-captain Kieren Jack trained on Wednesday as he looks to overcome a hip injury that has plagued him since preseason, although coach John Longmire may choose to rest the veteran again.
