Lance Franklin retirement: Will Buddy be best remembered for breakout years at Hawthorn or prime years at Sydney?
Buddy the Hawk or Lance the Swan? NEIL CORDY analyses which club got the best of an all-time footy great.
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Rarely has such a stellar sporting career been so equally divided.
Lance Franklin played nine seasons for Hawthorn and then, after losing all of 2020 to injury, nine seasons for Sydney.
His 172 games for the Swans fell 10 short of his 182 for the Hawks but, despite playing fewer games in red and white, he claimed four more victories (113 Sydney, 109 Hawthorn) in the Harbour City. He booted 580 goals for the Hawks and 486 goals for Sydney, but he was significantly more accurate in front of goal and won more of the footy for the Swans in both kicks and marks.
When it comes to development, the Hawks can rightfully claim the credit. They saw the raw talent of a young Buddy and transformed him into the most potent forward in the game. But could it be argued the Swans got the best of him after he arrived at the age of 27 as an established superstar?
Let’s analyse the case for both clubs.
THE CASE FOR HAWTHORN
Jason Dunstall scored his 1,254 goals in a much different manner to Buddy but knows his career better than most having followed his progress from day one at the Hawks and then at Sydney through his highly successful media career.
He believes Hawthorn saw the best of Franklin’s football.
“Hawthorn got the best because we had his development years as well as the good years,” Dunstall told CODE Sports. “Sydney got him in his prime. We brought his numbers up to where they were when he arrived in Sydney.”
The key years for Franklin in Sydney were from 2014 to 2018 when he won two Coleman Medals (2014, 2017) and claimed four All Australian selections (2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018) including the captaincy in 2018.
Dunstall argues he had a longer span of dominance at Hawthorn following his third year breakout season in 2007 (73 goals), which preceded his century of goals (113 goals) the following year as part of the 2008 premiership team.
Despite playing another 16 seasons after 2008, his fourth season was clearly the pinnacle of his amazing career in Dunstall’s opinion. And Franklin’s remaining years at Hawthorn were also stunning in their output.
In the seven seasons from 2007, he won two Coleman Medals (2008 and 2011), four All Australian selections (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012) and two premierships (2008, 2013).
“Those prime years at Hawthorn were better than the prime years in Sydney,” Dunstall said.
THE CASE FOR SYDNEY
Former Swans chief executive and now board member Andrew Ireland was the architect of the Franklin move, which shocked the footy world at the end of the 2013 season.
He signed Buddy on a record nine-year, $10 million contract.
Most thought the deal was extravagant in dollar terms and in length.
He ended up extending his contract for another year to take him to 2023.
“When you look at the relative records at Hawthorn and Sydney they are very similar,” Ireland said. “Hawthorn got him from a young lad and saw him blossom. He came to us in his prime and he became a real pro.
“What we saw was how hard he trained, how competitive he was and his love for the game and then the actual performance you are just lucky.”
Critics point to the lack of premierships during Franklin’s time at the Swans. He played in three grand finals in Sydney colours but lost each of them. In 2014 Hawthorn gave him a welcome home and belted the Swans, in 2016 the Western Bulldogs produced an upset win and last year Geelong had a stroll in the park to claim the flag.
Ireland argues that Franklin shoulders no blame for those runner-up seasons.
“There’s a lot of players in an Aussie Rules game, it’s not like basketball or other sports with fewer participants,” Ireland said. “One player can have an incredible effect on the outcome of a game but footy isn’t like that and as good as Lance is you need other players around him.”
Dunstall concurs, adding that much of Franklin’s impact in Sydney cannot be charted by wins, goals or on-field metrics, but rather by memberships, ticket sales and broadcast ratings.
“The big thing for Sydney was what it did from a marketing perspective and the brand that it grew in Sydney for the club,” Dunstall said. “The Swans and Buddy had their chances but it just didn’t happen. You need a lot of luck to win flags.
“He won two at Hawthorn, he’d be happy with that, and lost a few at the Swans, which would disappoint, but he still had a great career at both clubs.”
FLAGS AND LOVE
Gold Coast Suns chief executive Mark Evans was Hawthorn’s football manager when Franklin was recruited via the 2004 draft and negotiated his contracts during his time there.
He adds a nice perspective to the debate.
“Buddy won more premierships, kicked more goals and played more games at Hawthorn and became this irresistible force and a superstar,” Evans told CODE Sports.
“But he probably ended up with more universal love in his time at Sydney. That was encapsulated by the 1,000th goal. Every single person connected to football will remember that forever.
“When you talk about contribution to the game there was strong respect and admiration for his time at Hawthorn but he got universal love in his time in Sydney.”
Dunstall will forever remember Franklin as a young, human highlight reel.
“Goals at the MCG in particular stand out, the goal against Cale Hooker and the one against Collingwood where he hurdled the players in the middle of the ground and kicked it from inside the square,” he said.
“You are seeing things that others can’t do. That was the thing with Bud.”
Ireland, meanwhile, marvelled at Franklin’s longevity.
“I spoke to Buddy (on Monday) morning,” Ireland said. “He said, ‘I’ve been doing this for 19 years. When I started I couldn’t have believed I would have done that.’”
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