Lance Franklin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lance Franklin
Lance Franklin while training with the Hawks
Lance Franklin while training with the Hawks
Personal information
Full name Lance Franklin
Date of Birth January 30, 1987 (1987-01-30) (age 21)
Place of Birth Perth[1]
Recruited from Perth Football Club
Draft 5th overall, 2004
Hawthorn
Height/Weight 196cm / 101kg
Position Forward
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 23
Playing Career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2005-2008 Hawthorn 66 (175)
State Team Honours2
Years Team Games (Goals)
2008 Dream Team 1 (4)
¹ Club statistics to end of R10, 2008 season
² Representative statistics to end of {{{repstatsend}}}

Lance "Buddy" Franklin (born January 30, 1987) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL). Franklin has played for the Hawthorn Football Club since his AFL debut in 2005.

Contents

[edit] Prior to AFL

Franklin grew up in Perth, Western Australia, where he attended Wesley College. [1] He played one senior game for the Perth Demons in 2004 [2] and represented WA at the national under 18s carnival. Hawthorn selected him with their second pick, number five overall, in the 2004 AFL Draft, immediately after Richmond selected Richard Tambling.


[edit] AFL Career

[edit] 2005

Debuting in Round 1 of the 2005 season, Franklin had a strong presence up forward and played 20 out of 22 games.

[edit] 2006

After playing in the Victorian Football League for the early part of the 2006 season, he was recalled after Round 9, and in Round 12 produced a 6-goal haul against Richmond.

On the 13 July 2006 "Buddy" signed a new two year deal with Hawthorn, after being linked with clubs such as Essendon, West Coast and Fremantle. Another bag of 6 late in the season prompted predictions of Franklin to be the next big name forward in the AFL.[1]

[edit] 2007

Franklin had his best season so far in 2007, finishing the home and away season with 63 goals, putting him 3rd in the Coleman medal tally behind runner up Matthew Pavlich of Fremantle and the season's Coleman medalist Jonathan Brown of Brisbane.

Franklin's tally included 9 goals in Hawthorn's win against Essendon in round 6. However, in Round 21 against the Western Bulldogs, Lance kicked a record 11 behinds with his 2 goals. Only Jack Titus and St Kilda's Dave McNamara have kicked more behinds in a game without managing more than 2 goals. However, despite Franklin's inaccuracy, Hawthorn still won the match.

In the 1st elimination final of 2007, the Hawks mounted a big comeback in the second half against Adelaide. Big "Buddy" was instrumental in the win, kicking 7 goals on his finals debut including the winning goal, from outside 50 metres with just 7 seconds left on the clock. Hawthorn were eliminated out of the Finals the following week by North Melbourne.

[edit] 2008

In 2008 Franklin is one of the favourites for the Coleman Medal and has started the season very well, kicking 50 goals in the opening 10 matches and leading the goalkicking list after each round. In round 10 Franklin brought up his 50th goal for the season, booting 5 goals against Western Bulldogs, which made him $10 for the brownlow. Many comparisons have been made between Franklin and Gary Ablett. Franklin was named in the Dream Team for the Victoria vs. Dream Team game on the AFL's 150 year anniversary where he slotted 4 goals. He kicked a spectacular 9 goals against Essendon in round 11 to take his tally to 59 in 11 games.

[edit] Family

Franklin's father, Lance "Buddy" Franklin Snr, represented his state in Hockey.[3] Lance is the younger brother of West Coast Fever netball player Bianca Franklin.[4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Sheehan, Mike; Hawks know Lance Franklin is a prized possession; Herald Sun; 2008-02-06
  2. ^ WAFL online
  3. ^ Geoff McClure; Why Hawks are sold on Franklin. The Age. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
  4. ^ Murphy, Catherine; Women are all around Buddy. AFL website. Retrieved on 2007-08-09.

[edit] External links

.


Hawthorn Football Club – current squad

1 Bailey • 2 Roughead • 3 Lewis • 4 Ladson • 5 Mitchell • 6 Williams • 7 Osborne • 8 Jacobs • 9 Crawford • 10 Bateman • 11 Smith • 12 Sewell • 13 Taylor • 14 Birchall • 15 Hodge • 16 Dowler • 17 Muston • 18 Guerra • 19 Dixon • 20 Boyle • 21 Vandenberg • 22 McGlynn • 23 Franklin • 24 Croad • 25 Clarke • 26 Dawson • 27 Gilham • 28 Little • 29 Murphy • 30 Brown • 31 Thorp • 32 Ellis • 33 Thurgood • 34 Renouf • 35 Morton • 36 Kennedy • 37 Moss • 38 Tuck • 39 Campbell • 40 McEntee* • 41 Collins* • 42 Suckling* • 43 Gibson* • 44 Chandler* • 45 Young • Coach: Clarkson

* denotes Rookie Listed players
v • d • e
Dream Team - 2008 Hall of Fame Tribute Match