Kurt Tippett has made a successful return for Sydney in their nine-point AFL win over North Melbourne.

Missing since the Swans’ round-12 loss to GWS on June 12, Tippett has recovered from hamstring surgery and made his comeback at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval on Saturday.

Playing ruck around the ground and sharing the centre with Sam Naismith, the 29-year-old finished with 17 hit outs, 11 disposals and two behinds.

“He played probably 75 minutes and going into the game the plan was that if he was able to get to that point, that would be good,” coach John Longmire said.

“He took a couple of really strong contested marks and had a couple of shots at goal so it was a good start for him and we know we can build on that.

“He said he felt really good after the game which is important.”

A knock to the hip for Lance Franklin saw the star forward take a back seat in the game, which the Swans won 12.13 (85) to 10.16 (76) to put them atop the AFL ladder.

Longmire expects Franklin to be fit for Saturday’s meeting with Richmond, when he wants a more balanced performance from his men who were dominated at times on Saturday.

“A few players were really good and a few players were down a little bit – we need a little bit more of a consistent performance next week,” the coach said.