Sydney Swans will have ‘Thanks Buddy’ round to farewell AFL great Lance Franklin

Swans fans will be given the opportunity to farewell club great Lance Franklin in round 24 against Melbourne.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 20: Lance Franklin of the Swans acknowledges the fans after the round 10 AFL match between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium, on May 20, 2023, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

Sydney fans will finally get the chance to say farewell to Buddy Franklin after the superstar forward agreed to attend the club’s Round 24 game against Melbourne at the SCG.

Franklin will do a lap of honour at half-time of the Demons’ game in what the Swans have billed as a ‘Thanks Buddy’ day with some of his former Sydney teammates – and even some ex-Hawthorn ones – also expected to attend.

Franklin retired from AFL football three weeks ago, just days after suffering a calf injury early in the Swans’ Round 20 clash with Essendon.

The man who is considered one of the greatest VFL-AFL footballers of any era – and who helped to change the state of the game in New South Wales – did not front a press conference that the Swans called to announce his departure from the game.

Instead, the media-shy Franklin headed to the Gold Coast where he intends to live post-football with his wife Jesinta and their kids Tallulah and Rocky.

There had been some doubt about whether the 36-year-old would return to do a lap of honour in front of the SCG faithful, but thankfully fans will now have the chance to publicly say goodbye to the man who kicked 1066 goals from his 354 games with Sydney and Hawthorn.

He kicked 486 of those goals in a Swans jumper.

Lance Franklin will do a lap of honour around the MCG. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Sydney chief executive Tom Harley said it was appropriate that Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin would be feted one last time at the SCG, the ground on which he played so many spectacular matches.

“Lance will go down as one of our club’s greatest players and we think ‘Member Thank You Round’ is the perfect opportunity for him to thank our members and fans as we pay tribute to him,” Harley said.

“For almost 20 years we’ve been able to witness something special whenever Lance took to the field, and we expect this occasion will be another one of those special moments.

“I would encourage our members and fans to secure their seat now – we’re fortunate to be pushing towards 65,000 members this year, so we know there will be plenty of Swans fans eager to be at the game.”

In late 2013 Franklin famously signed the most lucrative contract in AFL football – a nine-season $10.2 million deal – to join Sydney after a celebrated career at Hawthorn.

There were some doubts on whether Franklin would see out the term of the contract, but he did that, and more, even signing an extra one-year deal to take him in 2023.

It was a massive coup for the Swans to attract one of the biggest names in AFL football at the time. While Franklin helped to take Sydney to three grand finals in his 10 seasons at the club, the Swans were unable to win a flag in his time in red and white.

But his impact at the club and on football in New South Wales would prove to be a stunning success.

As one Sydney insider told the Herald Sun recently, it was estimated that Franklin’s career with the club was worth almost $100 million to the Swans in terms of corporate sponsorship, membership, ticket sales, merchandise and earned media.

The club’s membership has gone from 26,358 in 2013 – the year before Franklin joined the Swans – to almost 65,000 this season. And while Franklin was far from the only reason for this spike in numbers, he played a significant role in turning eyeballs to the code in what the AFL has always considered to be a challenging market.

Franklin also was the reason why so many young boys and girls started to play the game in New South Wales, with current Sydney star Errol Gulden among a raft of kids to have been inspired by the goalkicking colossus.

Another retired Swan Paddy McCartin, who was forced to quit the game last Monday due to ongoing concussion issues, will also be given a special tribute at the SCG on the same day.

There will be a special Thanks Buddy wall outside the Swans’ headquarters for fans to leave messages for Franklin and there will also be a range of merchandise available.