Sydney have shored up their status as the AFL’s form side with the help of Lance Franklin, outgunning Greater Western Sydney by 13 points in an enthralling derby at Spotless Stadium.

Franklin booted four goals on Saturday night as the Swans made it nine wins from their past 10 matches, triumphing 14.12 (96) to 12.11 (83).

The thirteenth edition of the league’s newest derby did not disappoint.

The scoreboard confirmed it was the closest match between the Giants and Swans but failed to convey the drama that unfolded in front of a record crowd of 21,924.

The visitors, who had lost the preceding three derbies, took the lead late in the first quarter and never relinquished it despite some magnificent football from GWS.

Franklin and Giants co-captain Callan Ward, who won a game-high 18 contested possessions and epitomised his side’s stoicism after copping a painful blow to the arm in the first quarter, were joint winners of the Brett Kirk medal.

The Giants were rocked by the pre-game withdrawal of gun forward Jeremy Cameron and then were forced to play a man down for most of the night after Matt de Boer was knocked out early.

Sydney youngster Nic Newman drew blood when he accidentally clipped De Boer’s head with an errant arm, having attempted to break a tackle.

Despite the setback, GWS dominated the clearances 56-32 and reduced the margin to six points early in the final term after Steve Johnson snapped goals either side of three-quarter time.

Franklin steadied with a showstopping goal that travelled almost 60m, then delivered the sealer after yet another GWS comeback.

The epic clash pulled in a record attendance for Spotless despite the fact Arsenal were playing across the road, beating the crowd of 21,895 who watched a 2001 NRL match.