LANCE Franklin will finish his storied career as the fourth-highest goalkicker in VFL/AFL history after moving past Doug Wade in his 350th game on Thursday night at the SCG.

Franklin kicked his first goal of the match against St Kilda in the second quarter to move to 1058 in his career, jumping ahead of Wade and into fourth spot on the all-time goalkicking list.

Only Tony Lockett (1360), Gordon Coventry (1299) and Jason Dunstall (1254) have kicked more goals than Franklin in the 126-year history of the competition.

Given the shift away from high-scoring forwards in the modern era, it's hard to see Franklin ever being overtaken in fourth spot. Among current players, Jack Riewoldt (776) and Tom Hawkins (764) are the only others to have scored more than 700 career goals and they currently sit more than 250 behind Franklin's tally.

00:55

Buddy's special moment in game 350 gets SCG rocking

Lance Franklin reels in a super mark and finishes in front of an adoring crowd in his milestone match

Last year, Franklin became just the sixth man in history after Lockett, Coventry, Dunstall, Wade and Gary Ablett snr to reach the 1000-goal milestone.

In an extraordinary career that is into its 19th year and has spanned two clubs, Franklin has kicked 50 or more goals in a season 13 times, behind only the great Lockett (14 times).

Having kicked 580 goals in 182 games for Hawthorn, he has kicked another 478 since crossing to Sydney at the end of 2013.

He is one of just 28 men to kick 100 goals in a season, achieving the feat for the Hawks in their premiership year of 2008.

Franklin has had a difficult start to the 2023 season, which many expect to be his last at the top level. He missed three games in the opening eight rounds due to a combination of injury and suspension, was held goalless in four matches in that time and his biggest haul has been three majors against both GWS in round seven and North Melbourne in round 10.

Most goals in VFL/AFL history

1) Tony Lockett - 1360
2) Gordon Coventry - 1299
3) Jason Dunstall - 1254
4) Lance Franklin - 1058
5) Doug Wade - 1057
6) Gary Ablett - 1031
7) Jack Titus - 970
8) Matthew Lloyd - 926
9) Leigh Matthews - 915
10) Peter McKenna - 874

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