AFL 2022: Lance Franklin’s greatest moments as regaled by teammates and rivals
The rockstar images of Lance Franklin crowd surfing after kicking his 1000th goal are etched in football history. But that just was the tip of the iceberg with the madcap antics that night.
The best Buddy stories stem from his humour.
It can be as booming as his left foot from inside the centre square.
“’Shawry’, I reckon you owe me a beer,” Lance Franklin told Greater Western Sydney recruit Heath Shaw before his first match for Sydney.
Franklin had spurned the Giants’ $7 million contract offer to instead defect to the Swans, which freed up more cash to splash on Shaw.
So when Franklin marched to the goalsquare at Giants Stadium at the start of the 2014 season he let Shaw know.
“Obviously my contract got a few more zeroes on the end of it, so I said, ‘I reckon I owe you a bit more than a beer, mate’,” Shaw told the Herald Sun.
In Franklin’s golden 2008 campaign, when he kicked 113 goals for Hawthorn, he once stood dejected in the rooms at Marvel Stadium.
It was disingenuous. Franklin was cheekily waiting for someone to ask him what was wrong.
“He said something like, ‘I just don’t want to do this to a brother’ … with a smile on his face,” premiership teammate Xavier Ellis once told the Herald Sun.
“He was alluding to what he was about to do to Paddy Ryder, and he wandered out and kicked nine on him.”
Franklin finished with 9.5 that night and Matthew Lloyd finished playing in the backline.
Later that season Franklin met Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis and Campbell Brown for breakfast.
It was the morning of their qualifying final against Western Bulldogs and Dale Morris had appeared on the back page of the Herald Sun wearing a black hoodie.
The headline read: “Hey Buddy, get ready to ... MEET YOUR MARKER”.
Morris looked menacing. But his quotes were far from provocative. Yet a merciless Franklin declared to his teammates over a latte: “I’ll drop eight on him tonight”.
Franklin did drop eight. He kicked five on Morris in the first half and three on Brian Lake in the second half, igniting the charge to his first premiership in 2008.
Days before that grand final Franklin almost pinged a hamstring taking pot shots from 60-70m to impress the swooning fans at Hawthorn’s open training session.
At 21 he was the ultimate showman. And at 35 he still is, as evidenced this week.
Franklin quietly agreed to his bombshell contract extension earlier this month.
But co-captain Callum Mills said on AFL360 he only found out on Monday night ... in Grand Final week, when Sydney’s cryptic Michael Jordan-esque social media post and the Herald Sun broke the story at 8pm.
It was fitting given the secrecy that surrounded Franklin’s monster $10 million deal that was signed in 2013.
Want further proof of just how much that contract blindsided the football world? Look no further than Shaw’s off-season meeting with Giants officials.
Their pitch was based on Buddy.
“They were saying ‘Buddy’ was coming to Sydney, he’s going to live in Bondi and then he’ll make his way out to training,” Shaw said.
“We’ll have Buddy, we’ll have you ... and we’ll build to finals. But I walk out of that meeting and get a mate saying, ‘Buddy’s signed with Sydney for nine years’.
“I’m thinking, ‘These guys are either lying to me or they didn’t know’, and I found out they didn’t know either.”
Swans assistant Henry Playfair was similarly surprised.
“I was the newly-appointed forwards coach and we had Kurt Tippett and Franklin bob up,” Playfair told the Herald Sun.
“I couldn’t do much wrong, I could probably do more harm than good in that role.”
Privately, Playfair doubted whether Franklin would fire in his first season as a Swan.
“He was a bit injured that pre-season and didn’t train much so I was wondering what we were going to get for the year,” Playfair said.
“But he came out and won the Coleman. I was very surprised at that and in awe of his ability to do it.”
It turned into a theme. Niggles never worry the champ.
“If he missed a few training sessions during the week he’d cross the line and just compete,” Playfair said.
“You’ve always got concerns about players for one reason or another and how they’ll perform, but even if you had those concerns he’d just turn up and usually have nine shots on goal.
“He’s extraordinary.”
Playfair marvelled at Franklin’s evolution from running forward to power forward when his home ground shrank from the MCG to the SCG.
“He’s got multiple ways to get you, not just his athleticism. He can stand and deliver as well,” he said.
“And he saved his best stuff for the game, he just managed to lift. He might’ve had a quiet training session here and there and then you wonder what are we going to get?
“But over the course of time you stop wondering because it was so good what he was able to deliver.”
How do you coach arguably the greatest of all time?
Former Australian cricket coach Justin Langer once declared: “I don’t coach Steve Smith, he coaches himself”.
That quote resonated with Playfair.
“It’s sort of similar to what Langer was saying. You’ve just got to keep them happy. That was my thing, just get him to the game and let him do his thing,” he said.
“That brought out the best in him.”
Playfair remembers Franklin booting 10 against Carlton in the final round of 2017.
He entered round 23 trailing Josh Kennedy by five goals ... and won his fourth Coleman Medal by four.
But even for Playfair it was Franklin’s unforgettable 13.4 against North Melbourne in 2012 that shone brightest.
That haul was immortalised by commentator Anthony Hudson exclaiming: “Thirteeeen!”
Ex-Roos coach Brad Scott’s post-match comments were similarly entertaining.
“We ran three different opponents on Franklin and we went from six defenders to seven defenders to eight defenders,” Scott said.
“We reached into the kit bag for all the answers and, somewhat amazingly, we turned the clearance area around.
“But we were so intent on shoring up our defence we couldn’t kick it to anyone, because we didn’t have anyone there.”
Yep, a barren forward line and a loaded backline still couldn’t stop Buddy.
When Nick Maxwell played on Franklin he polled a best-and-fairest vote and Collingwood’s game review showed Maxwell did most things right.
He played in front and cut the angles ... yet Franklin kicked 8.6
“Obviously Buddy is a freak, so I would dive and get a fingernail in and spoil it, and as you’re getting up on your feet he’s snapping it across your shoulder from 50m straight through,” Maxwell has said.
“Some of the goals that night were ridiculous.”
Hawthorn’s runner came out early and told every other forward to go up the ground, leaving Maxwell and Franklin alone in the goalsquare.
“I sort of looked at Buddy and smiled and was like, ‘f***’. He’s bigger than me, stronger than me, faster than me and fitter than me,” Maxwell said.
Former Magpies coach Nathan Buckley once gave Shaw a shot at Franklin, despite giving away 16cm and 19kg.
“He’d kicked so many goals on everyone else that ‘Bucks’ said, ‘Heath, you might as well have a crack at it for a half. You can’t do any worse’,” Shaw said.
“I thought I might as well give away a free kick, I don’t want him to mark it. I’ll make him earn it.”
The rockstar images of Franklin crowd surfing the SCG after kicking his 1000th goal this year are etched in football history.
And the stories from that famous night are still flowing.
Chad Warner and Oliver Florent were in their footy boots walking down Driver Ave outside the SCG and Dane Rampe was scoffing down a meat pie on the turf.
“(Rampe) said, ‘Mate you want a beer?’” Isaac Heeney has recalled.
“I said, ‘Mate, I’d bloody love a beer but the big fella (coach John Longmire)’s sitting about 20 metres over there at the race.
“He goes, ‘Alright mate, we’ve got a couple of pies from the Merivale stand from the stands up there and would you like one of those?’ I said, ‘Mate, absolutely’.”
Luke Parker was tackled to the ground in the invasion while fans tried to rip off Dylan Stephen’s jumper.
Two siblings sprinted to the centre square to scatter their nan’s ashes.
Longmire conducted a headcount to check he hadn’t lost any players in all the commotion.
As part of the AFL’s security plan, Franklin was afforded a rare car park that night so he could safely get out of the ground.
It’s believed Franklin is still parking there, making him the only Swan with a spot.
The match Sherrin spends time in Franklin’s home cinema and his kid’s bedrooms.
The father-of-two to son Rocky and daughter Tallulah is larger than life in Sydney.
“Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to realise that he, is not a celebrity, but he has that constant attention,” Rampe said this week.
“And constant what I can imagine would be emotional baggage attached to him. It was pretty tough for him the first couple of months he got to the club in terms of being followed around from social pages and all that stuff.
“But his ability to put that to one side and just really want to compete is something I’ve never witnessed before.
“I think that sums him up. I feel like he almost sees it as an obligation that he really relishes, and that’s something I’m most taken aback by.
“His ability to compartmentalize and really want to serve the club for what can be chaos outside of it.”
He is a giant figure publicly, and a damn good teammate privately.
In 2016 and 2018 Franklin received the Paul Kelly Players’ Players Award at Sydney’s best-and-fairest while his simple words helped an 18-year-old Justin McInerney settle in his AFL debut.
“In my first game I got to run out with him. It wasn’t my best game, but it was quarter-time and I don’t think I’d touched the ball yet,” McInerney told the Herald Sun.
“But he said to me at the huddle, ‘Geez, how good’s this? We’re playing AFL’ and that just stood with me for the rest of my career.”
Franklin has also fed advice to photographers.
“He’s a good man, Bud. He’s good to do a photoshoot with because he doesn’t take too many photos,” Giants co-captain Toby Greene told the Herald Sun.
“He just tells them, ‘Mate, you’ve got about five minutes here, get this done’.”
Fortunately, Franklin is locked in for an encore edition of his intoxicating career in 2023.
Good news, Toby. That means there will be another photoshoot or two to come.
‘MAD AS A CUT SNAKE’: WHY SWANS LOVE LIVEWIRE PAPLEY
Tom Papley turned up to his job interview with the Sydney Swans in tradie gear carrying his lunch box.
The apprentice plumber had mud on his pants. It was 2015 and the 19-year-old had been pumping goals for Gippsland Power.
Mid-season he was pushed up to make his VFL debut for Casey. Papley twice powered past Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel to finish with three majors that day.
As a 16-year-old the Bunyip boy was in Barbados facing nippy West Indies bowlers on pacy pitches as part of a representative cricket tour. He was a left-handed opening batsman who loved David Warner. But boring days in the field waned his enjoyment and the Sherrin won out over the summer sport.
There was a lot to like.
In 2012 Papley played in Bunyip’s first senior premiership since his dad, David, captained the 2000 flag.
When Papley was nine David told him he couldn't play under-13s unless he could kick with both feet. So Papley spent three hours pounding his left foot outside until it was red raw. He was picked in the team.
But Papley pondered whether any AFL club had been paying attention.
He had been passed over in 2014, when his blistering burst was understandably drained.
That season Papley would wake up at 5.30am every day, drive 80km to his plumbing job in Melbourne and sometimes miss training because he couldn’t return in time.
In 2015 he worked locally and the bite in his game was back. Collingwood and Essendon also spoke to the untapped talent. Papley was nervous in those interviews and their interest dimmed.
But Swans list boss Kinnear Beatson gushed at Papley’s five goals in a TAC Cup final for the Power.
Sydney was sold.
So much so that Beatson placed dummy calls flagging interest in other prospects before the rookie draft because he didn’t want his Papley plan leaking to rival clubs.
When Papley was there at Sydney’s first rookie pick, Beatson pounced. When Beatson phoned the plucky plumber that morning he was on smoko break working on stormwater drains in Buln Buln.
Both of Papley’s grandfathers, Max Papley and Jeff Bray, had played for South Melbourne in the 1960s, and the next day Beatson called Max.
He wanted the family to know that Papley was picked on talent and not nepotism. The Swans players needed no convincing.
Luke Parker told Papley after Christmas that his piping-hot pressure at training could unlock a round 1 debut.
Asked to pick a best 22 that summer, Lance Franklin quickly plugged Papley into a forward pocket.
Papley played in round 1 off the rookie list and the goals have flowed ever since. He’s booted 220, the last helping the Swans hang on in the preliminary final against the Pies.
Even that kick came with controversy. Did Papley push Darcy Moore in the back?
“A bit of forward craft and he probably tripped a little bit. That’s footy – I got paid the mark and kicked the goal,” Papley said.
Papley creates chaos when he’s in the centre and in 140 games he has polarised plenty.
Even Alastair Clarkson once attacked him.
“He milks a free kick as good as anyone in the competition and he did so on this occasion again,” Clarkson said.
What’s the rascal like to play with?
“He’s an absolute pain in the arse,” teammate and good mate Will Hayward said this week.
“When I first got here and played my first game with him I was thinking, ‘This bloke’s as mad as a cut snake’. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
What about to play against?
“He’s probably the best celebrator in the competition,” premiership star Heath Shaw said.
“No one enjoys a goal like him. Whether they’re 30 points down or 50 points up he still celebrates the same, which really gets on the nerves of any defender.”
Shaw and Papley became foes on the field and friends off it. They would bump into each other at the races and enjoy a “couple of beers and a few bets as well”.
Papley, an All-Australian last year, was 1000-1 to be the premier small forward in the AFL when 224 players were picked before him in 2014-15.
But suddenly the 26-year-old shapes as Sydney’s energiser in Saturday’s grand final.
Last week Shaw wished Papley good luck.
“He texted back: ‘You got any tips for Sunday at Flemington?’,” Shaw said.
“I'll say it’s a unique friendship, but I think we’re very similar characters.”
Papley is a yapper. It’s no surprise.
“He wasn’t shy of giving his opinion, very similar to myself,” Shaw said.
“There’s been a fair few times where Buddy’s managed to get a hold of us and he’s definitely been the first person front and centre of the key defender standing on the mark to let him know who Buddy kicked the goal on.
“You can probably make out what he’s saying, and then he gives you a little bump and then everyone tries to push him away and he just continues on.
“He's like a dog with a bone in that scenario.”
But there was one time when Papley was quiet. For the first two weeks of pre-season in 2020 the pocket rocket buttoned his lip.
Papley had requested a trade to Carlton, but was held to his contract. Bravely, Papley revealed on Dylan Buckley’s podcast the deeply personal reason why.
Growing up his dad had “always been in mental homes” and Papley didn’t really know why until he was a teenager.
“During the year (2019) I went home and had a few beers with the old man and ended up having an argument,” Papley told Buckley.
“He’s actually got bipolar, and that (argument) turned into a little bit of an episode.
“I sort of felt that bit of guilt and at the end of the day I wanted to be back home … and you want to help mum and be there for your brother and sister.
“I felt it was my fault a bit. I just wanted to be home and that’s it.”
Papley is now an ambassador for Mindful Aus and during the Victorian bushfires he raised $10,000 as Bunyip burned back home.
Sydney wanted pick 9 and then some from the Blues in exchange for Papley.
But they believe the trade fell over because of Essendon’s refusal to make Joe Daniher a Swan.
Sydney was only going to release Papley if it landed Daniher, and when Bombers list boss Adrian Dodoro asked for a Nick Blakey or Isaac Heeney, instead of just draft picks, that was never happening.
Papley was so nervous about returning to training that he almost crashed his car on the way to the SCG.
But coach John Longmire helped navigate that homesickness and Papley’s best mate Will Collis moved to Sydney.
He hasn't asked for a move again and is now all-in on the Harbour City.
THE WORD ON PAPLEY
“He’s an annoying little bugger, isn’t he?’ I love to see him kicking them, but oh geez, the way he carries on! No, it’s all good fun. We’re all just proud of him’’ – Grandfather Max Papley in 2020
“What you see is very much Papps off the field as well. He’s very bubbly, high energy and we love him” – teammate Ollie Florent
“Over my 325-game career for some reason I got stuck with all the most dangerous, fastest, quickest forwards going around. ‘Papps’ was definitely one of them. You hate playing on them, but you’d love to have them in your team. Very much of the Toby Greene ilk” – Heath Shaw
“He’s super dangerous. I rate him super-highly, him and Isaac Heeney as well. They’ve got a bloody good forward line, the Swans. Probably the best in the AFL in my opinion. You put your best small defender on Heeney or Papley and the other one gets a good look at it, and then they’ve got Buddy and Will Hayward and Errol Gulden. It’s a bloody good forward line” – Toby Greene
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