Lance Franklin
Personal information
Full name	Lance Franklin, Jr
Date of birth	30 January 1987 (1987-01-30) (age 22)
Place of birth	Perth[1]
Recruited from	Perth Football Club
Draft	5th overall, 2004 Hawthorn
Height/Weight	196cm / 101kg
Position(s)	Full Forward/Centre Half Forward
Club information
Current club	Hawthorn
Number	23
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2005 –	Hawthorn	102 (305)
State team honours
2008	Dream Team	1 (4)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2009 season .

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

[edit] Early life

Lance Franklin was born in Perth to parents Ursula and Lance senior. ^[2] Sport runs through the family: Lance snr represented his state in Hockey^[3]; and older sister Bianca is a notable netballer, she plays in the ANZ Championship for the West Coast Fever and his cousin Jeff Garlett plays for Carlton.^[4]. Franklin has Indigenous Australian heritage, which he continues to acknowledge with a tattoo of a tribal elder and aboriginal artwork of a kangaroo on his arm and participating in indigenous youth programs.

Franklin moved at an early age to Dowerin, Western Australia, attending Dowerin District High School from years one to ten and later attended school at Wesley College.^[1] He played one senior game for the Perth Demons in 2004^[5] and represented WA at the national under 18s carnival.

After attending Draft Camp and showing promise Hawthorn selected him with their second pick, number five overall, in the 2004 AFL Draft.

[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, contributing 21 goals.

[edit] 2006

After injuring an ankle and a hand early in the 2006 season, he returned through the Victorian Football League for his first AFL game of the season in Round 9 against Sydney. In Round 12, Buddy 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 a great season 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

2008 saw Franklin establish himself as one of the elite players in the competition, and was the recipient of the Coleman Medal with 102 goals in the home-and-away season. His season-high of 9 goals came against Essendon in round 11. Buddy also played for the Dream Team, kicking 4 goals, in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match.

Franklin kicked his 100th goal for the home-and-away season against Carlton in round 22, becoming the first to kick 100 goals in the AFL home-and-away season since Tony Lockett in 1998, and the first Hawthorn player since Jason Dunstall in 1996, to reach 100 goals in a season. Upon him reaching the milestone, several thousand supporters stormed the field and formed a massive huddle around Franklin, who was shortly ushered off the field into the change rooms until the ground had cleared. Prior to the match, the AFL had warned of a $6000 fine for every individual who jumped the fence; evidently this was not a concern for the thousands who did just that.^[6] He also was the first aboriginal player to achieve this^[7]. He then added to that by kicking another eight goals in the qualifying final against the Western Bulldogs, tying with Dermott Brereton for the most goals kicked by a Hawthorn player in a finals match. Hawthorn went on to win the Grand Final and the Premiership, and while Franklin did not play a large part in the Grand Final, he received the Peter Crimmins Medal (Hawthorn's best and fairest) a week later for his consistent and high-level season.^[8]

[edit] 2009

Franklin missed the 2009 NAB Cup after undergoing surgery on his thumb and his shoulder following Hawthorn's premiership.^[9] On his return to senior football his form has fallen well short of his 2008 performances.^[10] He played his 100th game in Round 19 of the 2009 AFL season.

After Round 21 2009, Franklin was suspended for two games as a result of a hip and shoulder against Richmond player Ben Cousins. The Hawks appealed the decision, but the appeal failed. As a result, Franklin missed the Hawks' final home-and-away match against the Essendon Bombers, which the Hawks lost and as a result missed out the finals, causing Buddy to miss Round One, 2010.

[edit] Statistics

Statistics are correct as end of Round 29, Season 2009 (July 30, 2009)

[edit] Career Highlights

• AFL Premiership Player (2008)
• All-Australian (2008)
• Coleman Medal (2008)
• Hawthorn Best & Fairest (2008)
• Hawthorn Leading Goal Kicker (2007, 2008)
• Dream Team Representative (2008)
• AFL Rising Star nominee (2005)
• The Deadlys award for Most Outstanding Achievement in AFL (2007, 2008)

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Sheehan, Mike; Hawks know Lance Franklin is a prized possession; Herald Sun; 2008-02-06
2. ^ http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/kickett-brings-family-tradition-to-family-club/2007/05/01/1177788141562.html
3. ^ Geoff McClure; "Why Hawks are sold on Franklin". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Geoff-McClure/Sporting-Life/2005/04/18/1113676701801.html. Retrieved 2008-04-23. 
4. ^ Murphy, Catherine; "Women are all around Buddy". AFL website. http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=48843. Retrieved 2007-08-09. 
5. ^ WAFL online
6. ^ Lance 'Buddy' Franklin boots 100 goals at Telstra Dome
7. ^ [1] For kicking the most goals in 2008 he was named full-forward in the 2008 All-Australian Team. Franklin is the shape of things to come]
8. ^ Franklin wins Peter Crimmins Medal
9. ^ [2]
10. ^ Stubbs, Brett (12 June 2009) [http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25624149-19742,00.html Struggling Hawthorn star Lance Franklin confident he's back to his best]; Herald Sun

[edit] External links

• Lance Franklin profile on the Official AFL Website of the Hawthorn Football Club
• Lance Franklin's statistics from AFL Tables.