Goalkicking great Doug Wade praises Lance Franklin after ‘Buddy’ passes his goals tally

Doug Wade sat fourth on the all-time goalkicking charts for decades and he reveals how he will congratulate ‘Buddy’ Franklin for passing him. Plus, he still has a sore point about his goals total.

Lance Franklin passed Doug Wade on Thursday night.

Goalkicking legend Doug Wade says Lance Franklin “would have to still be the best” forward of the modern era after the Swan passed him for all-time goals on Thursday night.

Franklin moved into fourth on the VFL/AFL goalscoring charts with a set shot in the second quarter in a loss to St Kilda, eclipsing the 1057 majors Wade ended with after his glittering career playing with Geelong and North Melbourne.

Former Hawk and current Swan Franklin played in his 350th game on Thursday night, while Wade took to the field 267 times.

Franklin passed Wade into fourth all time.

Wade said he would reach out to Franklin to congratulate him on the feat.

“When he kicked the 1000 (goals in 2022) I rang to congratulate him and I thought when he beats me, I will send him a text to congratulate him again,” he said.

A firm Cats fan, Wade said he holds a soft spot for superstar forward Tom Hawkins, but rated ‘Buddy’ ahead of the pack of modern goalkickers.

“Buddy would have to still be the best,” he said.

“He is good. When he was at Hawthorn, he was even better. When he was a young bloke, some of the things he did were just brilliant.

“Because I am a Geelong supporter I think Tom is very good and at the moment I like (Brisbane’s Joe) Daniher. He has turned the corner as far as I can see.”

Hawthorn Lance Franklin was “just brilliant”.

The great full-forward said he still had a “sore point” about his final total, as he initially thought he finished with 1059 goals.

“In those days, if you played interstate matches when your team was playing and you kicked goals that would count, so I originally had 1059 because I kicked two in a match against West Australia but they decided it wouldn’t count,” he said.

The two-time premiership forward said he would have “loved” to play as a forward in this era, when defenders get penalised for grabbing the arm of a marking forward.

He said the days of forwards kicking big bags were gone and he didn’t see anybody joining the exclusive club of six who have kicked 1000 goals.

A regular attender of games at GMHBA Stadium, Wade said he was still confident about Geelong’s chances of going back-to-back this year, even as the Cats sit with a 6-6 record.

“I think if we get everybody back in the game, we will be right but I like a lot of our young players,” he said.

Originally published as Goalkicking great Doug Wade praises Lance Franklin after ‘Buddy’ passes his goals tally