Glenn’s 10: Amazing goals, huge marks highlight Lance Franklin’s top 10 performances
LANCE Franklin’s stunning effort against Port Adelaide was one of his finest but where does in rate in his 10 greatest performances?
Glenn McFarlane
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BUDDY Franklin’s stunning performance to hold Port Adelaide off last week ranks right up there with the greatest performances from the former Hawthorn and now Sydney spearhead. But how do you compare what Franklin has done in 193 matches and his 611 goals by cutting them back to 10 games.
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE BUDDY PERFORMANCE BELOW
It’s subjective, but this column has had a crack at it. Let’s just say there were plenty to choose from. And on the face value of last week, there could be many more to come.
1. A BAKER’S DOZEN
Round 10, 2012
SuperCoach points: 235
North Melbourne coach Brad Scott labelled it as one of the best individual performances he had since, and worthy of comparison with the game’s greatest forwards. Franklin’s 13 goals at Aurora Stadium was a stunning afternoon for those who were there, unless you were associated with the Kangaroos. He had not kicked a goal in the first 30 minutes before nailing his No.1 near quarter-time. Then he produced five goals in the second term, four in the third, and three more in the final term. Such was Franklin’s feat that Hawthorn’s twitter account was temporarily shut down due to the interest. Scott was helpless to stop the Franklin freight-train, saying: “We haven’t seen a goalkicking effort like that since the glory days of the full-forwards of (Jason) Dunstall, (Gary) Ablett and (Tony) Lockett.”
2. THE POWER OF BUD
Round 13, 2014
SuperCoach points: 146
If anyone still doubted Sydney’s decision to all but sell the Harbour Bridge to secure Franklin, last Saturday’s performance should have silenced them forever. He became the first player to kick his side’s last five goals in a game since Champion Data started recording stats in 1999, to lift the Swans to a win over Port Adelaide. The Swans wouldn’t have won without him. He hadn’t kicked a goal until the 22-minute-mark of the third term, but stormed home to boot five goals. Three of them came in the final term, all from outside the 50m zone, and one of them stretching to almost 70m. Swans coach John Longmire wins the understatement of the season for saying: “He really stood up in the last quarter ... it’s handy to have him in the front half and be able to hit the scoreboard like he did.”
3. HOOK, LINE AND SINKER
Round 13, 2010
SuperCoach points: 158
Scores were level in the Hawthorn-Essendon match early in the last term when Franklin changed the game with two electrifying runs down the wing/half-forward line towards the Punt Rd end. The first saw him edge clear of Mark McVeigh, having three bounces and spearing through a low goal from 50m. It was just an entree. Seven minutes later, the main course came with the Goal of the Year. He gathered the ball ahead of Cale Hooker, who admits to still being haunted by the experience, and took three more bounces before slotting home the goal from the boundary line. It was game over - in terms of the match and Goal of the Year honours.
4. STONE THE CROWS
Elimination final, 2007
SuperCoach points: 105
Franklin’s seven goals in this match - including his match-winning major - stamped him as a star. Leading for the ball in the dying seconds of the elimination final against Adelaide, he nailed the mark. From the 50m line, he calmly walked in and slotted the ball through the middle of the goals to win the game. With the seconds ticking down, Channel 10’s Malcolm Blight said: “No matter what happens, we all knew that this lad had arrived ... well, he hasn’t just arrived, he has knocked the door down.” Tim Lane declared: “You can’t wear No.23 at Hawthorn and not be a showman. Don Scott, Dermott Brereton and Lance Franklin ... he might be the best of the lot.”
5. NINE VERSUS THE BOMBERS, MARK I
Round 11, 2008
SuperCoach points: 188
Matthew Knights must have had nightmares about Franklin, as he destroyed the Bombers on numerous occasions under his watch. This performance was one of the best. It started with a curl-around-the-body goal early in the first term and ended with his ninth for the match. Robert Walls summed it up when he said: “He knows he is good ... and he is.” This may have only been Franklin’s 67th game, but post-game comparisons were made with North Melbourne champion Wayne Carey after this effort.
6. NINE VERSUS THE BOMBERS, MARK II
Round 6, 2007
SuperCoach points: 152
This nine-goal haul against the Bombers came a year earlier than the one above, but deserves its own entry. In only his 40th game, the then 20-year-old took this match by the scruff of the neck and lifted the young Hawks onto a strong win. But it came with the sort of recognition that coach Alastair Clarkson admitted would ultimately change his life. Clarkson said after the match: “He’s never kicked nine goals before in an AFL game ... he knows that everyone in the street is going to want to pat him on the back. He knows he’ll play his best footy when he keeps his feet firmly on the ground.” We could also have referenced the eight-goal haul against the Bombers, kicked in 2013, but we thought we would spare Essendon fans any more bad memories.
7. DOWNING THE DOGS
Qualifying final, 2008
SuperCoach points: 117
A week after kicking his 100th goal, Lance Franklin was back to his blistering best with eight goals in the qualifying final against Western Bulldogs. His haul saw him equal the record for the most goals for a Hawthorn player in a finals match, putting him alongside another Hawk No.23, Dermott Brereton. Five of his goals came in the first half on Dale Morris, before his future premiership teammate Brian Lake kept him to three in the second half. Clarkson said: “`He did some pretty special things and we’re obviously really pleased he’s on our side and not the opposition’s.”
8. SWANS WISH THEY HAD A BUDDY
Round 9, 2011
SuperCoach points: 145
This match might not register with some but it was a game in which Franklin had his highest number of disposals (28, with 11 contested). He kicked 6.6 to sink the Swans at the SCG. His fifth goal, in the last quarter, was Franklin’s 400th career major, and a perfect way for him to celebrate Indigenous Round. Swans coach John Longmire looked longingly at what the big Hawk had to offer: “When a player like Buddy Franklin gets quality clean ball they’re pretty hard to stop.” In hindsight, he might have added: “… unless they are on your team.”
9. THE GABBA DROUGHT-BREAKER
Round 5, 2008
SuperCoach points: 171
Hawthorn won its first match at the Gabba in eight years - and started the season with five successive wins for the first time since 2001 - when Franklin slotted home 8.6 in this clash with the Brisbane Lions. In a breathtaking performance, his highlights reel had “towering goals, brilliant marks and gifted angle goals”. It was a match with the lot, though he could have quite easily kicked double figures. After this game, veteran scribe Mike Sheahan called Franklin “the most imposing player in the game” and no one who was at the Gabba that night could have disagreed.
10. TAKE YOUR PICK, BUT WE’LL SETTLE ON THE DAY HE ALMOST BEAT THE PIES HIMSELF
Round 18, 2008
SuperCoach points: 170
There were plenty of options for the last choice - eight goals against Essendon in 2013 and 8.0 against Port Adelaide in 2011 to name a few - but how could you go past the day he almost beat Collingwood off his own boot. In this 2008 game, the Magpies kicked 8.14 (62) to Franklin’s 8.6 (54). Hawthorn won this game by 54 points and Franklin was the clear difference between the teams. His 21 touches included 13 contested possessions. It was a rare performance from a player on the path to 100 goals.
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