Robbie Tarrant didn't see Lance Franklin's heroics against Hawthorn, but the 'Buddy factor' could weigh heavily on the North Melbourne defender's mind once he catches a replay.
Despite being starved of supply, the superstar Swan still bent Friday night's dour clash to his will by unloading a jaw-dropping 75m goal and following up with another bomb to snuff out his ex-teammates' challenge.
Those cameos were enough to give any backman nightmares, even though Tarrant – who could play on Franklin for the first time in his career – knows pinning down the Coleman Medal leader won't be a one-man job in the upcoming SCG blockbuster.
"I didn't watch the (Hawks-Swans) game. I don't watch too much footy before we play, but I'll have a look at it during the week," Tarrant told AFL.com.au after North's comfortable win over Carlton on Saturday night.
"Scotty's (Thompson) done the job on him before but he's a super player and if the ball comes in, he's going to be hard to stop.
"The coaches will set the match-ups and we'll go from there, but I think it will take the whole team to stop him."
Tarrant, who hauled in seven marks and had 22 touches against the Blues, has the speed and power to mix it with Buddy.
However, the 196cm defender said North's backline will rely heavily on pressure up the ground – a hallmark of the Roos' surge to the top of the ladder this season.
"Our midfielders and our forwards are putting a lot of pressure on and it makes our jobs as defenders a bit easier," Tarrant said.
"(The Swans') forward line, their midfield, they're a quality side all over the park. It's going to take all 18 to get the job done.
"We don't fear them, but we know that we'll have to play to our structures to win the game."
Friday night's clash will be Tarrant's 32nd game from the past 33 matches, after the 27-year-old only made 39 appearances in his previous five seasons due to a horror run of shoulder and leg injuries.
The former No.15 draft pick is finally fulfilling his potential and filling a crucial hole in coach Brad Scott's premiership puzzle by holding down the League's monster forwards.
"We've had real confidence in Robbie over a long period of time, the challenge for him has purely been continuity," Scott said after the win over the Blues.
"Our job was to help him get fit and to stay out on the park … he's playing great footy at the moment.
"But he would be the first to tell you he's part of a group that's improving all the time and in Scotty Thompson and Michael Firrito he's got some really good experience next to him down there."
