Big Buddy as deadly as ever
Justin Chadwick
The Daily Telegraph, March 27

AFL defenders beware — Lance Franklin is set for one hell of a season.

Franklin opened Perth’s $1.6 billion Optus Stadium in grand style on Sunday, booting eight goals in Sydney’s 29-point win over West Coast.

Young Eagles defender Tom Barrass was no match for the 31-year-old star in the opening term as he kicked three goals.

Veteran Will Schofield was given a shot at quelling Franklin after that with no luck.

And even Jeremy McGovern was made to look silly on occasions by the seven-time All-Australian. Franklin’s goal frenzy was amazing to watch.

But it was also his efforts in bringing the ball to ground level when outnumbered that pleased coach John Longmire.

Franklin has just started the fifth season of his bumper nineyear, $10 million contract with the Swans. And if his display on Sunday is anything to go by, it could prove to be his best. 

Successful Swans forward line could pack even greater punch for Power
Brad Elborough
SMH, March 27

The Swans forward line against Port Adelaide at the SCG this weekend could look much different to the one that put West Coast to the sword on Sunday.

The Swans are hopeful of welcoming both Sam Reid and Gary Rohan into the team that outlasted the Eagles at their Optus Stadium debut. That’s a handy duo to join Lance Franklin, who kicked eight goals in the 29-point win.

Dan Hannebery is also a likely addition to the Swans midfield against the Power after he got through the Swans reserves game on Friday unscathed. Reid was named to make the trek west for round one, but despite training well during the week, was left out of the side because of hamstring tightness. Rohan stayed at home to be close to his wife Amie, who is close to giving birth to twins. But due to issues with the pregnancy, the forward is understandably staying close to his partner. 

Buddy soars to the top
Chris Cavanagh
Herald Sun, March 27

WHO said the key forward is dead? On Sunday night, Lance Franklin proved them wrong with a stunning eight-goal haul against West Coast, putting the Sydney superstar top of the Herald Sun Super Rankings list after Round 1.

Last year’s Coleman medallist was unstoppable, proving too good for a host of Eagles opponents and slamming home goals from every distance and angle.

Western Bulldogs champion Brad Johnson this month nominated Franklin as his Brownlow Medal smoky, suggesting the 31-year-old could wind back the clock to his 113-goal season in 2008.

“I think he would be a great winner,” Johnson said at Fox Footy’s season launch.

“I hope he plays a big year, maybe kicks 100 and gets his name up there enough to maybe claim the Brownlow and be the first forward in a while to get one.” 

Buddy's back
Malcolm Blight
The Advertiser, March 27

HE’S back. And he has mates.

Hitting the pillow on Thursday night — after a new AFL season opened with a new hero, Charlie Curnow at Carlton, stepping up on the big stage — made for a great dream. There will be an AFL player who kicks the ton again.

Going to sleep on Sunday night — after a new stadium opened in Perth with an old hero, Lance “Buddy” Franklin, kicking eight — made for the most beautiful recurring dream. There is going to be more than one player genuinely chasing 100 goals this season.

We might be back in the late 80s and early 90s with Tony Lockett and Jason Dunstall in a running battle to win the Coleman Medal as the AFL’s leading goalkicker — while breaking the century.

Who would not want that dream to come true?

Football is full of big statements (quite a few signed, M. Blight). But the declaration that — in this “modern era” of team defence and team attack — there will never again be a 100-goal AFL forward is hogwash.

It often pays to look back to see what is coming next. Look at the history books. There was no century goalkicker until 1929 when Collingwood great Gordon Coventry kicked 124. For the next 11 years, Coventry was part of a golden era for goalkicking in Australian football with Bob Pratt at South Melbourne and Jack Titus at Richmond in the VFL and Ken Farmer (North Adelaide) and Jack Owens (Glenelg) in the SANFL.

Australian football had the phenomenon of the grand goalkicker — among other things — halt with World War II in the 1940s. The legendary John Coleman revived the race to the ton in 1949 at Essendon — and was sadly cut down by a serious knee injury. There would never be another Coleman ... so we thought.

Then the game discovered Peter Hudson at Hawthorn. His 125 goals in 1968 ended a 16-year wait for the next century goalkicker.

After Lockett kicked 107 goals in 1998, the AFL had a decade with no-one cracking the ton in the home-and-away series until Franklin kicked 102 at Hawthorn in 2008. And another decade has passed with that big statement: “We won’t see the ton kicked again.”

Won’t we? 

Port Adelaide to take a ‘team’ approach to stopping Sydney superstar Lance Franklin
Andrew Capel
The Advertiser, March 27

PORT Adelaide has lauded Sydney Lance Franklin, saying he is getting better with age and declaring it will take more than one man to stop him at the SCG on Sunday.

While Power full back Tom Clurey has a good head-to-head record against the seven-times All-Australian, senior assistant coach Matthew Nicks said curbing his matchwinning influence will be a team job.

“He’s in amazing form and keeps getting better, it seems,’’ Nicks said of “Buddy’’ Franklin, who was the star of round one with eight goals in the Swans’ 29-point win against West Coast in Perth.

“He’s a very hard match-up at the best of times but at the moment he’s in rare form. He’s a super-hard match-up, so we’ll have to do it as a team.’’