Indigenous Sport Month: Sydney Swans superstar Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin hints at retirement date

Lance Franklin says he was frustrated by his time out of the game but, unlike the critics, he had no doubt he’d be back to his best.

Lance Franklin is pleased to be stringing matches together again but refusing to look too far ahead as he rebuilds his battle-worn body.

The Sydney Swans forward will play his fourth match in a row on Sunday against Carlton, in a promising development after years of constant injury setbacks.

There was one scoreless game in there, but Franklin has otherwise kicked multiple goals in all of his other 2021 appearances, including separate bags of five and six.

The 34-year-old revealed he suffered frustration rather than doubts – unlike the many critics who wrote him off – during his extended period out of the game before this season.

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Lance Franklin is finally fit again and he’s loving life.

However, the time off hasn’t made Franklin start a period of reflection and he said he had given little thought to reaching the 1000-goal milestone, of which he is only 37 away from.

“Missing a year of football is never a good thing,” Franklin said.

“I had that 15 years of playing week in, week out, then the last couple of years, to miss that much football was disappointing.

“But I’ve just focused on getting myself in a good position and resilient, so I can hopefully play week in, week out for the rest of my career.”

How long Franklin intends to play for is still unclear, with his extraordinary nine-year, $10 million contract expiring at the end of next season.

Buddy says the sun isn’t ready to set on his career, just yet. Picture: Phil Hillyard

He hinted in a Fox Footy interview this week that he may retire once his megadeal is up, but he left the door ajar on Thursday to play on to try and win an elusive flag with the Swans.

“It’d be nice,” Franklin said of playing beyond next year.

“If my body’s holding up and I’m feeling good, then we will have that chat. But at this stage, it’d be nice to be here, but I just need my body to hold up.

“There is a lot of great young talent at this football club, so it’d be great to go all the way with them.”

All that aside, Franklin was looking forward to playing in another Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round match this weekend.

“The AFL recognises exactly what we bring to the game and we make it such a special occasion and we can’t wait to run out there on Sunday,” he said.

“Shaun Burgoyne and Adam Goodes have been tremendous in recognising and teaching people, too, about our culture, because it’s such a special culture.

“We’re one of the longest-living cultures in the world.

Jordan Lewis (right) went one-on-one with Hawthorn premiership teammate Lance Franklin, now a Sydney superstar, in a Fox Footy special for Sir Doug Nicholls Round. Picture: Fox Footy

BUDDY HINTS AT RETIREMENT DATE

Superstar Sydney Swans forward Lance Franklin has hinted in a rare interview he might retire next year, at the end of his nine-year, $10 million megadeal.

Franklin was speaking as part of a one-on-one with close friend and former Hawthorn teammate Jordan Lewis for a special Fox Footy program that will air on Wednesday night.

The 34-year-old has rebounded this year to kick 19 goals in six matches – between a couple of “frustrating” calf and knee setbacks – after missing all of last season with a serious hamstring issue.

Many critics doubted whether Franklin would see out his contract at the time he signed with the Swans, after playing in the Hawks’ 2013 premiership.

They were out again in force in recent years as injury cut him down, but his form this season has him back on track to crash through the 1000-goal barrier, which is now only 37 away.

“There’s had to be a few little changes here and there (to my conditioning and program), but you’ll do anything you can to make sure you can get out there,” Franklin said.

“These last two years of my contract; I want to make sure I’m doing everything possible to really finish off a pretty good career.”

Jarryd Roughead and Lance Franklin celebrate Hawthorn winning the 2013 AFL premiership. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Franklin is particularly close with Lewis and another ex-Hawk, Jarryd Roughead, who were all top-10 picks in the 2004 AFL Draft, which proved a major building block for Hawthorn’s successful era.

They won flags in 2008 and 2013 together before Franklin’s decision to depart for Sydney, and he revealed how difficult it was not to discuss it beforehand with Lewis or Roughead.

The Hawks went on to win the next two premierships, including beating Franklin and the Swans in the 2014 Grand Final, while Sydney also made but lost the 2016 decider to the Western Bulldogs.

“It’s never easy. I think footy has obviously changed – that was really the start of free agency,” Franklin said.

“No-one had really done it, or a high-profile player come out and do that, so for me it was a tough thing, because I had my management (Liam Pickering) saying not to say anything.

“It was a really tough position, but at the end of the day I’m happy with the decision and I’ve got my family up here and I’m enjoying my time here.”

Jesinta and Lance Franklin now have two children, Tullulah and Rocky.

Franklin admitted his priorities had changed in the past two years, with wife, Jesinta, giving birth to their second child, Rocky, in March, about 13 months after their daughter Tullulah’s arrival.

They were all at the SCG to watch Franklin kick a couple of goals against Collingwood a fortnight ago.

“Having kids has chilled me out a little bit. Being a footballer can be a stressful job at times,” he said.

“Obviously, you want to be performing well and that level of stress does come into it.

“But definitely having a family and young kids takes your mind off football at times, and as soon as you get home with your family, it’s all about your family.”

Franklin, who grew up in Perth and spent almost a decade in Melbourne, calls Sydney home now and has no regrets about his switch to the Swans.

He’s been a magnet for headlines wherever he’s played and he said he had learned to handle that attention better the older and more mature he became.

Franklin’s stuffed an extraordinary amount into his AFL career, beyond even the premierships he played in and his enormous tally of 963 goals from 306 games.

There are eight All-Australian selections on his resume, along with four Coleman Medals, a Hawthorn best and fairest, two Goals of the Year and 11 leading goalkicker awards across the two clubs he’s played for.

“Seventeen years later, it’s been a ride, no doubt about that,” Franklin said.

“I’ve had my ups and had my downs – it hasn’t been smooth sailing throughout my career – but I’ve absolutely loved it.

“There’s no better job in the world than to play AFL football. That was my childhood dream, to get in the AFL, and then to be able to play for this amount of years is unbelievable and I’ve loved it.”

Originally published as Indigenous Sport Month: Sydney Swans superstar Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin hints at retirement date