Lance Franklin’s record in SuperCoach finals makes him a valuable POD option

Remember Lance Franklin’s 183 in SuperCoach grand final week two years ago? Buddy is back for game 300 this week and could be the ultimate POD for your grand final. Here’s why.

The SuperCoach finals king is back.

If you’re hunting a point of difference trade to power you to grand final glory, look no further than Lance Franklin.

Buddy is made for the big stage.

Forget that he only has one ton in nine matches this year and has been hampered by injuries.

You only need Franklin to fire for one week to make the difference in your decider.

The Swans superstar has a proven history of firing at the business end of home-and-away seasons.

Who could forget his 183 in SuperCoach grand final week in 2017 when he bagged 10 goals against the Blues?

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That was two weeks after he amassed 164 points from 24 disposals against Fremantle in semi-final week.

Buddy didn’t feature in Round 23 last year due to injury but scored 178, 96 and 161 during SuperCoach finals. Those are the totals of a genuine matchwinner.

The 32-year-old also managed 136 against Richmond in 2016. You get the picture.

Of course, this year presents different circumstances to past seasons.

Franklin’s 300th match will be his first since Round 14 due to injury, Sydney is out of finals contention and the Swans have a vastly-different team to previous years.

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But, you sense Buddy will want to make a statement in his milestone game and the last match for Sydney premiership hero Kieren Jack. Pending injury, Saturday could also be Jarrad McVeigh’s farewell. That gives Franklin plenty of incentive to fire against St Kilda.

Franklin posted 127 against the Saints in Round 12 last year, another factor in his favour, and only features in 4008 (two per cent) of teams. That almost guarantees he would be a POD in your grand final match-up.

Perhaps the most significant pointer to a Franklin trade is Sydney’s match against St Kilda being played as the first game on Saturday.

Lance Franklin celebrates his 10th goal against Carlton, during a game where he scored 183 SuperCoach points. Picture: Phil Hillyard.

If you can bring Buddy in and use him as a forward line emergency, you effectively get a free hit.

Should he fire, use your non-playing F8 to loophole his score. In many teams, this would be Western Bulldogs mid-season draftee Ryan Gardner.

If he scores less than 80, you can leave him on the bench with no damage done to your overall score.

Franklin’s price of $374,400 makes him very attainable. Coaches could upgrade a rookie to Franklin with their remaining bank, or downgrade a player such as Robbie Gray (10 per cent of teams), Darcy Moore (13 per cent), Connor Rozee (22 per cent) or Caleb Daniel (five per cent).

Lance Franklin proves his fitness on the training track to feature in his 300th game. Picture: Toby Zerna.

Buddy might have endured a year punctuated by injury, but it will only take one monster score to make him a SuperCoach hero. History tells us he’s more than capable.

Franklin has averaged 120+ during finals in three of the past five seasons and amassed 160+ four times in the past two years.

The only anomaly is 2015, when he missed rounds 20 and 21 before scoring 67 and 41 in the last two matches of the year after returning from a back/rib problem.

In the match he scored 67, he was subbed off during the third quarter.

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