Lance Franklin Biography

Swans coach John Longmire denies suggestions the club has grown tired of its legendary goalkicker Lance Franklin.

Elusive and media shy, Franklin passed up a press conference following his 1000th goal in March 2022, before famously missing his own retirement announcement.

"He was a super player for us and I had a great relationship with him which I will always treasure," Longmire said.

"His ability to contribute to our footy club, on and off the field, was absolutely significant.

"He was 36 (when he retired). You know, strangely enough you get to the stage where you go and do other things."

Sydney fans give Lance Franklin a rousing send-off as the retired great completes a lap of honour at half-time of Sunday’s match against Melbourne.

"Pretty overwhelmed," Franklin said when asked how he felt about the raucous response from the packed house.

Lance Franklin announces his retirement from AFL football, effective immediately.

Franklin confirmed the news with an Instagram post alongside a photo of Alastair Clarkson and John Longmire, his two AFL coaches, after telling his Sydney teammates of his decision to call it quits.

Logan McDonald says his close bond with superstar Lance Franklin has helped him develop into his forward role.

"Bud, he's helped me so much. Even on the weekend he just watched me and my game and came down in the breaks and helped me, told me what he thought," McDonald said.

"He's been so good for me as a mentor, and I just love playing with him and training with him."

Lance Franklin kicks goal No.1058 of his career, moving ahead of Doug Wade and into fourth spot for all-time goalkickers.

Collingwood apologises to Lance Franklin and his club, Sydney, for the repeated booing he received from Magpie supporters.

Sydney has also condemned the booing, acknowledging the football industry "has been here before" with the treatment of Adam Goodes, while AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan says the League does not accept "excessive booing" and asked fans to respect all players and "never take the champions for granted".

"We apologise to the Sydney Swans and to Lance 'Buddy' Franklin," the statement attributed to Collingwood captain Darcy Moore, CEO Craig Kelly and McRae said.

"Buddy is a great of Australian Football – what he has achieved on the field over a long period of time demands a high level of respect."

Swans coach John Longmire is baffled by the booing of Lance Franklin by a section of Collingwood fans.

"(You'd) probably celebrate a 36-year-old, wouldn't you, who's been a champion of the game? Why would you (boo)? It's been 10 years since we've played Collingwood here, why would you boo one of the champions of the game? It doesn't make sense to me," Longmire said.

Lance Franklin signs a one-year contract extension with Sydney to play on for the Swans in 2023.

"I'm over the moon with this decision. It hasn't been easy. I've been playing for 18 years, it's a long time in the game. I've got a young family now. It was a hard decision but my passion for the game, my love for the football club, my heart was still here," Franklin said.

Lance Franklin says he will wait till the end of the 2022 season before deciding if, and where, he will play.

"At this stage, conversations have been paused around my contract so I can put all my focus on playing footy. No further comment will be made until the season is done and I have decided about my future,” Franklin said.

The AFL apologises Lance Franklin after the forward was labelled a "coward" during a heated Tribunal hearing.

The Swans took Franklin's striking case to the Tribunal in an attempt to have him available for their game against Melbourne. But in a fiery virtual hearing, the AFL's legal counsel Andrew Woods delivered a stinging assessment of Franklin's tussle with Tiger Trent Cotchin.

"It's a strike and not push. Did Franklin hit Cotchin? Of course he did as Cotchin had got under his skin. There’s kids watching, there’s families watching, it’s cowardly behaviour," Woods declared.

In an unprecedented move, the AFL formally apologised to Franklin for the remarks made by Woods.

"It is the AFL’s view that rhetorical flourishes of the nature used by both Counsel last night should not be part of the AFL tribunal process and they do not reflect the views of the AFL," the AFL said in a statement.

"The AFL has today (Thursday) contacted Lance Franklin and the Sydney Swans to apologise for the comment and reiterated our respect for Lance and his standing in the game."

Sydney fan Alex Wheeler, the man who took Lance Franklin's 1000-goal football has returned to the SCG and handed it back to the big forward.

Wheeler shot into the spotlight - not long after Buddy reached his incredible milestone on Friday night - by taking a desperate and spectacular mark in the crowd to secure the match-ball. Sydney appealed to Wheeler on Twitter to return the footy, inviting him to training to meet Franklin and present him with the ball. Wheeler soon obliged.

Lance Franklin becomes the sixth V/AFL player to kick 1000 career goals.

Franklin achieved the feat with his fourth goal in a Friday night game against Geelong as spectators ran onto the SCG turf in the final quarter.

"Been playing for 18 years and a lot of hard work to get there but I wouldn't be able to get there without having great teammates around me to provide those assists. It was an amazing moment and something I will cherish forever," Franklin said.

Lance Franklin reflects on his career so far as he closes on the 1000-goal milestone.

Sam Taylor says his childhood hero, Lance Franklin, gave him a tip on how to be a better defender when the two were matched up on the field.

"The tip was just making sure I get my body closer to his body, because there was one incident in the last quarter where he pushed me over," Taylor said.

"He was like 'Do you want a tip? Just make sure you get your body, your hips closer to mine which stops me from pushing you over, stops me from using my arms to push you'.

"I obviously thanked him for it, and he was like 'Yep, use that'."

Lance Franklin and wife Jesinta welcome the arrival of a baby boy to their family.

Sydney won't be rushed into ensuring Lance Franklin is fit for round one, with the club to take a cautious approach to the veteran superstar's return from a calf injury sustained last week.

"It's not a major hurdle, but it's not unexpected either. When you've got a player who is 34 years of age and who has played as much footy as Lance has and has missed a bit of footy, you understand that it's not all going to be like that. As long as it's tracking in the right direction, and we feel it's tracking in the right direction," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

Sydney coach John Longmire explains how the club plans to get Lance Franklin back on the park in 2021 after the key forward failed to play a game in 2020.

"Our main aim at the moment is getting him really strong through the core," Sydney coach John Longmire told SEN radio.

"He's such a big man and we want to make sure he's really strong through that area and he gets himself in the best possible shape and has the strongest possible foundation before we get to the real strong running phase, which we hope will be in January."

Lance Franklin will not play again in 2020 after suffering groin soreness as he recovered from a hamstring injury.

"Lance has been working hard on a return to play and, until this week, we remained hopeful that would happen before the end of the season," Swans head of football Charlie Gardiner said.

"However, given the soreness he has experienced in his groin, which suggests he still has some instability there, we believe the best course of action is for Lance to focus on building his core strength, rather than pushing himself to play again this year."

Elijah Taylor will make his AFL debut this week and credits living with Lance Franklin, when he moved to Sydney, as being a big influence on his development as a footballer.

"Bud has been huge for me. Living with him for the first month or so, just to see how he went about it, how professional he was, opened my eyes to the way AFL football is," Taylor said.

Lance Franklin will be sidelined for an extended period after damaging his right hamstring during training.

Lance Franklin and wife Jesinta welcome their first child into the world, a baby girl named Tallulah.

"Jesinta and Lance are thrilled to announce the arrival of their beautiful baby daughter, Tallulah Franklin," a spokeswoman for the couple told News Corp.

"They are both absolutely besotted with her."

Nine players received more than $1 million in the 2019 AFL season, with Dustin Martin and Nat Fyfe the standout earners.

It is believed Martin and Fyfe each earnt more than $1.3 million on 2019 accounts, well clear of the game's other million-dollar players headed by West Coast's Jeremy McGovern, GWS's Jeremy Cameron and Sydney's Lance Franklin.

Others in, or near, the million-dollar club include the Giants' Josh Kelly, Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury, Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield, Dog Marcus Bontempelli, Eagle Andrew Gaff, and Carlton's Patrick Cripps.

Lance Franklin has undergone an arthroscope on his right knee after experiencing discomfort over the past week.

Franklin is expected to resume full training in 10 weeks, which places him in doubt for the Swans' 2020 season opener against Adelaide on Saturday, March 21.

"We may have been able to manage the knee through the year, but we're hopeful that this will mean Lance can have an uninterrupted season. He has had a similar clean up on his right knee in the past, so there are no long-term concerns," Sydney head of football Charlie Gardiner said.

Lance Franklin is the new face in Sydney's player-voted leadership group for 2020, joining co-captains Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Dane Rampe, as well as young gun Callum Mills.

The Swans have slashed the group from eight players to five, with retired pair Jarrad McVeigh and Nick Smith, Isaac Heeney and Tom Papley no longer involved.

After recovering from his latest injury, Lance Franklin will play in his 300th game this week.

Franklin declared that he has plenty of quality footy in his future and plans to see out his contract before retiring at the end of 2022.

"I'm very confident that I've got some really good football in front of me," he said.

"It would be nice to have a pre-season and I've got no doubt I can get back to my best next year."

Time is running out for Lance Franklin to reach the 300-game milestone in 2019 as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury.

"Three-hundred (games) is a significant milestone but it's more about just not being able to be out there playing, that's what he gets disappointed about," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

"He's a massive competitor but he also knows that we don't want to put him back in there too early.

"He's been out there training and recovering quite well but (the last time he was injured) he had a re-do of that hamstring, so we can't just throw him in with a week-and-a-half's football training under his belt."

Sydney coach John Longmire has rubbished suggestions Lance Franklin's 2019 season should be ended early with a view to 2020.

Franklin is expected to miss at least four games with his latest setback, a strain in the same left hamstring that kept him sidelined for a month earlier in the season.

"Over the last couple of years, he hasn't had massive pre-seasons, but he's been able to come in and contribute," Longmire said.

"Understanding that he's 32 years of age, we'll be sure to get a good block of training into him before he plays.

"He's a competitor and he's disappointed, he likes to play all the time and he pushed himself through a lot of injuries."

Lance Franklin's third goal against Richmond puts him into outright seventh on the VFL/AFL all-time goalkickers.

Franklin finished with four for the night in the Swans' 22-point loss, making it 928 for his career to date.

According to official figures to be released by the AFL in its 2018 Annual Report, six AFL players earned more than $1 million in 2018.

Richmond's Dustin Martin, Fremantle's Nathan Fyfe, Sydney's Lance Franklin, Tom Lynch (Gold Coast in 2018), GWS' Jeremy Cameron and Western Bulldogs' Tom Boyd are believed to be the six.

West Coast's Nic Naitanui is likely to have earned more than $900,000, and Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury, while not earning as much as previous seasons, would also have been around this range.

Lance Franklin will sit out the early part of pre-season training after undergoing groin surgery.

Franklin had an operation to fix an injury that occurred late in the Swans' round 22 clash with Greater Western Sydney.

Sydney had hoped Franklin would be ready to resume pre-season training with the experienced members of the squad next Monday, but head of football Charlie Gardiner said the issue didn't heal in time.

"It was planned that rest would be the optimal form of recovery post-season for Lance, however it hasn't healed at the rate we would have liked, and surgery was determined as the best course of action," Gardiner said.

Jake Lloyd wins his first Bob Skilton medal as Sydney's best and fairest for the 2018 season.

Lloyd polled 540 votes, just ahead of Luke Parker (517) and Lance Franklin (510).

"From the moment Jake arrived at the club he instantly impressed all of us with his work ethic and his eagerness to learn and make the most of his opportunity," Swans coach John Longmire said.

"It's a terrific achievement to be crowned club champion and a great reward for the commitment and work he’s put in."

Lance Franklin and Zak Jones have undergone knee surgeries that are expected to delay their start to the pre-season.

"Both Lance and Zak have had knee arthroscopes. It's not uncommon for this time of year," Sydney football manager Tom Harley said.

"They're minor procedures in the overall scheme of things, but it is surgery and it's really important that when you do have the opportunity of an off-season, you take all the time you need to rehab properly."

Swans coach John Longmire has conceded Sydney needs to change up its forward line after the Swans' meek finals exit against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.

With superstar Lance Franklin hobbled with a hip injury and kept goalless, Sydney managed just four goals in the 49-point shellacking.

"There's a big reliance upon Lance and we don't want that to continue to happen, we want to change it and we'll try and change it," Longmire said.

Lance Franklin is named captain of the 2018 All-Australian team.

"To get these accolades, you've obviously got to work bloody hard. I feel that I have in my career, I've worked hard to become the player I wanted to become," Franklin said.

"I've never been happy with where I'm at and I've always wanted to improve as a player.

"It's something I'll look back on when I finish my career and be even more proud of."

Lance Franklin moves past Leigh Matthews into eighth place on the all-time AFL/VFL goalkicking leaderboard after kicking five goals against the Giants at Spotless Stadium, taking his career goals tally to 917.

Sydney assistant coach Steve Johnson says he has been helping Lance Franklin with expanding his flexibility as a goalkicker.

"What I try and do at training is give the players the opportunity to take shots from different positions with different kicks," Johnson said.

"At the end of the day, it's whatever they feel comfortable doing and if they've got the repetitions in and that's what they're comfortable with, well (they can) go ahead.

"It's good he's felt comfortable to take a couple of shots (in games) that he may not have in the past. He's been kicking pretty well this season and as long as he's kicking goals I'm happy."

Will Hayward says he feels fortunate to have Lance Franklin as a mentor at the Swans.

"Bud is always there for anything I might need and he's really, really approachable," Hayward said of Franklin.

"He chats with me to settle my nerves and makes me feel comfortable before a game, and just tells me to back myself in and just play footy.

"He's first-class when it comes to helping the young boys, and for the player that he is, he's great to have at the club."

A record nine players earned more than $1 million in 2017 as the rich got richer under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Lance Franklin is understood to have been one of the competition's highest-paid players last season, with Tom Boyd, Scott Pendlebury, Nathan Fyfe and then Gold Coast teammates Gary Ablett and Tom Lynch widely believed within industry circles to have also earned seven-figure salaries.

It is likely some of 2017's millionaires are on contracts wherein their average yearly salary is less than $1 million, but their deals were front- or back-ended last season to top seven figures. Sources identified Dayne Beams and Michael Hurley as players in this category.

Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and teammate Dion Prestia would also have been among the AFL's top earners in 2017.

Lance Franklin says he sees no reason he can't extend his career into his mid-30s.

"It's about looking after yourself and preparing your body right to be able to train, and the club has been great with my management too," Franklin said.

"That's how you achieve longevity in football by doing everything right, because you can drop off pretty quickly.

"At this stage the body is holding up really well, my mind is feeling good, and I'm still passionate about playing."

Discarded Magpie Henry Schade says he is bewildered by his whirlwind fall from a giant-killing effort on Sydney superstar Lance Franklin to the AFL scrapheap.

The lean left-footer was an early-season revelation, earning promotion from the Pies' rookie list and holding his spot for the opening nine rounds – the high point being his feat of keeping Franklin goalless in a stirring round three win at the SCG – before being dropped and spending the rest of the season in the VFL.

"You have to work pretty hard and do a lot right to earn your spot for round one, and fast forward two months and I was out of the side and wasn't able to get back in for a few reasons," he said.

"I'm still confused as to why it changed so quickly. I don't have an answer for that, unfortunately."

Luke Parker claims his second Bob Skilton medal as Sydney's best and fairest for the 2017 season.

Parker finished with 696 votes, with Coleman medal winner Lance Franklin and defender Jake Lloyd close behind him (650).

"We know and see every week how much Luke competes – he’s just a fantastic competitor," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

"He helps to set the standards around the club and on the ground on match-day. He has the ability to grasp what the team needs at any particular time, and that shows what type of quality person he is."

Lance Franklin misses the 2017 Brownlow Medal count after undergoing ankle surgery.

Franklin is expected to resume pre-season training with senior teammates on December 4.

Four-time Coleman medallist Lance Franklin isn't there yet, but VFL/AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey believes the Sydney superstar is closing the gap on his old teammate Wayne Carey.

"Three or four years ago I used to think he wasn't as good as Wayne because Wayne did it for such a long period of time and (I wondered) whether 'Buddy' could do that or not," he said.

"But clearly he's done it now and if he maintains it for the next two or three years then he's going to be sitting right alongside Wayne Carey as one of the best forwards ever to play our game."

Lance Franklin's final round heroics clinches him a fourth Coleman Medal.

Franklin trailed Josh Kennedy by five goals heading into round 23, but produced a sunning 10-goal haul against Carlton to take his tally to his 69 goals.

Kennedy, who was looking to add his name to the record books with a third consecutive Coleman Medal, could only manage one goal against Adelaide in the final game of the season.

Franklin's fourth Coleman moves him up to equal fourth all-time, alongside Fred Fanning, Doug Wade, Peter Hudson and Tony Lockett.

Lance Franklin kicks a bag of 10 goals against Carlton in the final round of 2017 at the SCG.

Franklin blitzed Carlton in the Swans' 81-point win, booting seven majors in the second half opposed to unlucky Blue Liam Jones, and passing 850 career goals along the way.

"He was fantastic the way he finished off the game, and when he's got his tail up he's hard to stop," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

A teary Josh Gibson announces his retirement from AFL football.

Still suffering from a right groin injury sustained in round 12, Gibson concedes a farewell game will not be possible.

"A fter getting injured, I was just really trying to fight my way to get back to playing," Gibson said.

"As I said to the group, I'm not going to play again this year.

"I just feel it wouldn't be right for Clarko (coach Alastair Clarkson) and the coaching staff and the match committee if I put them in the position of dropping someone in the last game to try and give me a farewell game. It's not really what I'm after."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson pointed to one key trait as his reasoning for recruiting Gibson from North Melbourne.

"He's a competitor. Sometimes it takes a long time for players to realise that they've got it in them to compete at that level. Sometimes they just need the belief and self-confidence," Clarkson said.

"Strangely enough, his record on 'Bud' (Lance Franklin) when we played against North in those years was really, really strong. I just liked the fact that he liked to take on big challenges.

"He was 6'2, played against bigger opponents (and) you can only do that if you're a really ferocious competitor."

Geelong skipper Joel Selwood was on crutches after rolling his left ankle during the Cats' 46-point loss to Sydney at Simonds Stadium but is hopeful he won't miss any games.

He was hurt in the second quarter and had the ankle strapped before playing on, but a Lance Franklin tackle in the third term caused him more discomfort.

"(I'm) definitely hopeful, obviously non-weight bearing for the weekend and it's amazing how they can come up," Selwood told Channel Nine.

Young Brisbane Lion Nick Robertson has no regrets after getting into a scuffle with Sydney superstar Lance Franklin.

"He's a lot taller (9cm) and stronger (19kg heavier) so I thought I had to get him away from goal and that's all that was going through my head," Robertson said.

"I thought I'd try and push him as far out as I could and back myself to run back to goal rather than go one-on-one with him.

"He didn't really like that, so we had a bit of a scuffle.

"We were pretty right straight after. It was all just heat of the moment and not much in it, I didn't think."

Former Swans coach Paul Roos says the recruitment of Lance Franklin on a monster contract has had a significant impact on Sydney's playing depth.

"If you go after a player like Buddy, your list becomes skinny," Roos told News Corp.

"The implications are, if you go for a big star, your back end of players is going to be skinny with a lot of rookies."

Lance Franklin says he's more motivated than ever to win an AFL flag with Sydney.

"I want it more than ever," Franklin told Fox Footy.

"Obviously we've played in two grand finals since I've been up here. It hurts not to win those grand finals.

"But the motivation to get back there is bigger than ever and something that I'll be working as hard as possible with the group we've got, to get back into finals contention and then hopefully play in another Grand Final."

Franklin has just under six full seasons left on his mega contract, which if completed would take him deep into his 36th year and through to the end of 2022.

"I love coming to training, it motivates me," Franklin said.

"So for me the only thing that's going to stop me is an injury probably.

"Thirty is just a number too, I think back in the day 30 was the time to hang up the boots.

"But look at Nick Riewoldt, he's coming on 35 I think, so that gives me a little bit of hope that I'll get there."

Lance Franklin brushes aside the significance of his coming 250th game against Collingwood, preferring to concentrate on helping his side to its first win of the season.

"It's really special, but it is something I'll look back on when I finish my career," he said.

"The main focus for me at the moment is getting the win on Friday night, it really is."

Lance Franklin and Tom Boyd are widely believed to be among the competition's highest paid players.

Franklin was paid about $700,000 in each of his first two seasons at Sydney, but his salary is understood to have risen to at least seven figures in 2016.

Boyd crossed to the Bulldogs from Greater Western Sydney at the end of 2014 on a seven-year deal worth about $7 million.

The 2013 draft's No.1 pick earned about $140,000 under standardised second-year player wages and match payments in his first year at the Whitten Oval, but that amount spiked markedly in 2016.

Gary Ablett also earned at least $1 million in 2016, while Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe, Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury and West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui were widely seen by industry sources as earning close to that mark.

Tom Scully believes young GWS teammate and No.2 draft pick Tim Taranto is ready for a round one debut.

The 19-year-old showed off his ball-winning ability with 21 possessions on debut against the Eagles in Narrandera, but it was his recovery from a bone-crunching collision with Swans star Lance Franklin last week that really captured the attention of teammates.

"His composure for a young guy has really stood out, and there's no doubt he's certainly putting the pressure on the play early on," Scully said.

"It just shows his character – he's a tough kid that puts his head over the ball and that's all you can do to earn respect.

"He's done everything right over the pre-season, and that example last week (against the Swans) highlighted what he's made of, it was a really big moment for him and something he should be really proud of."

Sydney has been fined $20,000, with half of it suspended, for failing to disclose cortisone injections taken by Luke Parker and Lance Frankin during the 2016 finals series.

Parker and Franklin were both fined $5000 for not completing the required paperwork under the AFL's treatment rules.

According to the League, the Swans failed to keep and maintain a complete, accurate and up-to-date Register of Controlled Treatments in the AFL's Controlled Treatments Register.

Lance Franklin marries Jesinta Campbell in a secret ceremony which is subsequently made public on social media.

The newlyweds posted a photo on Jesinta Franklin's Instagram page with the words 'Mr & Mrs Franklin'.

Buddy and Jesinta had kept their plans under wraps, with Jesinta saying in May that if they were to marry, the ceremony would be "very simple".

Channel 9 reported the wedding location was in the Blue Mountains, in a private outdoor event.

Lance Franklin will be fit to start pre-season training on schedule despite having shoulder surgery.

It's been revealed that Franklin carried a shoulder injury through the last few weeks of the season, including the Grand Final loss to the Western Bulldogs.

"Lance (Franklin) had arthroscopic surgery to stabilise his shoulder after playing out the season with a torn anterior labrum," Swans general manager of football Tom Harley said.

"Lance showed great resilience to play out the season under duress. We expect he will make a full recovery and return to training in December."

Campbell Brown recalls former Hawks teammate Lance Franklin's prediction he would kick a big bag of goals against the Western Bulldogs in 2008.

"I went out for a coffee with him that morning and Dale Morris had done the big back-page spread saying 'I'm not scared of the great Lance Franklin'," his former teammate Campbell Brown recalled.

"He (Franklin) read it and he was disgusted with the article. He turned to me and said 'I'll drop eight on him today' and I thought 'oh yeah, who thinks they'll go into a qualifying final and kick eight goals?'.

"Sure enough he did."

Franklin booted 8.2 from 15 disposals in that match, his best goal-haul in a final which propelled the Hawks to a 51-point belting of the Bulldogs.

Lance Franklin has dismissed suggestions that a win in the 2016 Grand Final for the Swans would justify his lucrative move from Hawthorn.

"I love playing football and living in Sydney, and I don't have to justify it by winning a premiership," Franklin said.

"We find ourselves in the position of being able to win one, and I'll be doing everything I possibly can to get that."

Xavier Richards says Lance Franklin has been a great mentor to him as well as the other young Swans forwards.

"Buddy has been super. He's a very intelligent footballer, he really understands the game," Richards said.

"He's been really good, telling me about leading patterns and some little tricks that I never knew before.

"He'll speak up in meetings, help during games and while we're training. He's a real leader in our forward line, we've got some young players and he really mentors a lot of us."

Shane Mumford apologises to Lance Franklin for his controversial sledge in the Swans' qualifying final against the Giants.

During the spiteful clash Mumford used words to the effect of: "It's good to see you're not on holidays this year". The GWS ruckman was referencing Franklin's decision to skip last year's finals series to deal with ongoing mental health issues.

Mumford said he had spoken to Franklin over the phone.

"I gave Lance (Franklin) a call in relation to my comments on the weekend, to apologise if I've stepped over the line," Mumford said.

"Obviously with mental health being such a serious issue, (it was) really not a good choice of words.

"But he's taken my apology on board and (is) happy to move forward from where we are now, and focus on our relevant games in the coming weeks."

Lance Franklin says the quality of forwards and the style of game today makes it very possible for a player to kick a hundred goals in a season of football.

"I think it can be done, but who knows who it will be – there's a lot of guys kicking a lot of goals," Franklin said.

"To get 100 goals would be an unbelievable effort, but you've got to play consistently well over the course of the year.

"Play is opening up and there's one-on-ones happening, and as you can see this year, blokes have kicked bags of goals."

Lance Franklin says he never considered retirement despite taking a temporary break from the game to battle mental health issues in 2015.

"There was never any doubt in my mind that I was going to come back, I love playing football, that's what I love to do," he said.

"I love training and being around the football club, so for me that was a no-brainer.

"It was about getting myself right off the field (and) mentally preparing as best as I possibly could, and getting back here on December 1, training as hard as possible and getting my body in the best possible shape for round one."

Sydney Swans coach John Longmire has revealed Lance Franklin was never going to be considered for selection after his mental health battle was revealed last year, even if the Swans had made the grand final.

"We made that call pretty early that (his recovery) wasn't going to be that type of development, it was always going to be a longer-term challenge for him," Longmire said.

"Coming back at that point, particularly if we were in a preliminary final or grand final, probably wouldn't have been the best thing for him.

"I guess it's hard for people outside to understand, but it's a big challenge and Lance's health was absolutely the number one priority."

Lance Franklin will have a minor operation to repair a bone spur that has limited his ball handling since returning to pre-season training.

“(The injury) is bothering him with the marking and tackling work that he’s been doing this pre-season,” Swans physiotherapist Matt Cameron said.

“There’s a little bone spur irritating the nerve and the tendon isn’t quite working properly.

“He’ll go in for an operation this week to tidy it up. We’ve timed it so he’ll be right by January.”

Lance Franklin speaks publicly for the first time since he walked away from the game on the eve of last season's finals series to seek treatment for a mental health issue.

"It's been extremely tough for myself but the best thing I've done is put my hand up, so if you are struggling, I definitely recommend that you ask for help because it will change your life definitely," Franklin said.

"It was a tough time, leading into the finals I was really struggling. I took some time away and it's the best decision I've made.

"I've got such a great support network around me in my partner, family, friends, and the football club have been terrific through this tough time, and I couldn't be more thankful to have that support around me."

Franklin will return to start pre-season training with the rest of the Swans' more experienced players on Tuesday.

"I'm hungry to get back out there, obviously missing the finals last year was tough, it was tough watching," he said.

"For me it was more about getting myself right and getting my health back in order and getting back to being happy.

"I'm really looking forward to getting out there and playing football, and seeing my best mates."

Swans football boss Tom Harley says Lance Franklin appreciates the support he's received since taking leave from the game.

"It's worth putting on record that Lance has been overwhelmed with the support he's had from not only Swans' supporters, but by football people and non-football people," Harley said.

"It was a brave decision that Lance made heading into the finals series – a really important finals series for us – to say 'look I've got a few things I need to work though', and we've provided support around that.

"Lance is getting himself ready for a pre-season and I'm sure that he'll come back really refreshed both mentally and physically and ready to have a massive 2016."

Lance Franklin's manager hoses down speculation that Franklin will retire as the star Swan returned to the club for his 2015 season review.

It was Franklin's first public outing since he stepped away from the game the week before this year's finals series to seek treatment for an ongoing mental health issue.

"He'll continue to receive support from professionals that know how to deal with it better than I do and they're indicating he will be back for pre-season training and that his support will be ongoing," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

"He was pleased to be back at the footy club, he's been through a challenging time but he feels good and looks healthy."

Sydney coach John Longmire says the Swans are confident Lance Franklin will be able to resume pre-season training with the club in December.

“Lance is coming along really well,” Longmire said.

“He’s been getting great support from professionals which is the way to do it.

“We’ve been leaving the support network to those professionals as they’re the ones with the most qualifications.

“We’re really confident he’ll be bouncing back for a terrific pre-season.”

Adam Goodes gives a public show of support to struggling fellow Sydney Swans star Lance Franklin.

Goodes wore number 23 at training at the SCG on Thursday, the same day the Swans publicly slammed "unfair" rumours about Franklin's absence while he battles mental health issues.

With rumours surrounding the health of Lance Franklin, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan is adamant there is nothing more to the Sydney forward's medical problems than what has been made public.

"I feel confident enough that this issue is as described, and please give him the space he needs to deal with it because it's unbelievably tough," McLachlan said.

Swans chairman Andrew Pridham hit out on Wednesday at rumours that Franklin had been caught having a sexual dalliance with a teammate’s partner and the players had pressured Franklin out of the club.

“I’ve heard that one,’’ he told The Australian.

“On that specific one, I’m extremely close to the other player and it’s laughable, absolutely laughable.

“The player doesn’t even have a partner, by the way, so it would be a neat trick.

“I’ve heard all the rumours and I wouldn’t say we investigate them, but certainly the most substantial and salacious-type rumours ― I’m comfortable they’re false.”

Swans coach John Longmire says Lance Franklin has been ruled out of football for the rest of 2015 as the star forward continues his treatment for an ongoing mental health issue.

"Lance won't be playing for the rest of the season. We're mindful of his mental health issue and it's something that needs to be addressed," Longmire said.

"That's his main priority, to get that right, so footy is not on the agenda for Lance for the rest of the season."

Josh Kennedy says it's hard to see Lance Franklin battling with mental illness but is hopeful his Sydney teammate can rejoin the playing group soon.

better as soon as possible, and we can have him back," Kennedy said.

"Throughout the year there's been a lot of things that have come up and caused reason for (the) AFL (community) to get behind and support, whether it's an individual or a team, and this is no surprise really, we are one family at the end of the day and it's good to see."

Lance Franklin’s fiancée Jesinta Campbell has praised the Swans forward's 'strength and courage' in her first public comments since revelations about his mental illness.

"I would like to thank everyone for the support both Bud and I have received over the past few days," Campbell posted on Instagram.

"This is an extremely challenging time for us and has been for some time now, however it has been made easier by the love, understanding and support we have been given.

"Thinking of the many others who also live with this everyday and are not as fortunate to have the support we do.

“I am incredibly proud of Bud’s strength and courage, this has not been an easy journey."

Lance Franklin is being treated for a mental health condition and has been ruled out of Saturday’s qualifying final against Fremantle.

The Swans released a statement on Tuesday and football manager Tom Harley said the club was doing everything possible to support the key forward

"Our first priority is looking after Lance’s health," Harley said.

"Lance has been open with the club about his condition and while we consider it a private medical matter, he is aware he has our full support.

"The timeframe on his return is unclear at this stage. He will certainly miss this week’s match and we will continue to monitor his condition."

Lance Franklin says he's been in constant contact with former teammate Jarryd Roughead since the Hawthorn forward's skin cancer scare.

The pair played in two premierships together for the Hawks in 2008 and 2013, and it's clear the two forwards share a special bond.

Roughead will be missing when the Swans and the Hawks meet on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium while he recovers from surgery, but Franklin says his mate has never strayed far from his thoughts.

"The period Roughead is going through at the moment … I've been on the phone to him constantly to see how he is and see how he's tracking; he's been quite incredible really," Franklin said.

"He's getting some really good support around him to help him through this tough period.

"Obviously Roughy and Jordan Lewis, and Josh Gibson and all the senior guys at that football club have been a big part of my life for a long period of time."

Lance Franklin has gone goalless in two of his last three games, but the Swans won both those matches against Melbourne and Hawthorn respectively.

"I think it gives everyone around the footy club confidence that we don't need to rely on one person to kick goals every week," Franklin said.

"I think it's really important that we have that mix of different blokes popping up each week and kicking goals."

After being held goalless against the Demons, Lance Franklin is the target of a prank from one of his Sydney teammates.

"One of the boys actually put some donuts in my locker this week, so I had a bit of a laugh at that, so it was quite funny," Franklin said.

"It's all about a team game and playing your role for the football club, and if you don't kick goals, you don't kick goals."

Lance Franklin has declared himself fit for the Sydney Swans' AFL season opener against Essendon on Saturday after recovering from a sickening head knock.

"Probably for three or four days I had a bit of a headache but after that I've come really good," Franklin said.

"I did nothing last week, I took it pretty easy for six or seven days, just relaxed and made sure I got everything right.

"I'm feeling fresh and ready to go and I'm just really excited about playing on Saturday."

Lance Franklin is ranked by his fellow players as the fourth best in the AFL.

Swans football manager Tom Harley says Lance Franklin will be available for round one after recovering from a head clash with teammate Gary Rohan.

"He flew back with the team, he's had a good night's sleep, and it is a pretty heavy concussion but he'll be fine," Harley said.

"(He has) no facial injuries whatsoever."

Lance Franklin is taken to hospital by ambulance after being stretchered off StarTrack Oval in the opening minutes of the Swans' NAB Challenge match against GWS.

Franklin was knocked out after a sickening head clash with teammate Gary Rohan and barely moved before medical staff arrived.

Franklin woke up while being tended to and tried to get up, but doctors insisted on using a stretcher.

Television showed a dazed-looking Franklin walking in the Swans' rooms at quarter-time.

Later, he was seen walking unassisted into an ambulance for further assessment at Canberra Hospital.

"As a precaution he has been taken to Canberra Hospital before the team flies back to Sydney this evening. He is not expected to have suffered any serious damage," Swans general manager of football Tom Harley said.

Lance Franklin is confident he is in for another good year after completing his first uninterrupted pre-season with the Sydney Swans.

"This year I've been able to get out there a bit more than last year," Franklin said.

"It's a long season, there's plenty of ups and downs, but I'm going in with full confidence my body is going to hold up and hold me in good stead."

Lance Franklin is a 50-50 chance to play in the Indigenous All Stars clash against West Coast later this month as he manages his troublesome right knee.

Franklin, who is on a modified training program eight weeks out from the Swans' season-opener, is still on track to play in the first NAB Challenge game, against the Brisbane Lions on March 6.

"This year, it was a modified program for the first couple of weeks and it's still a little bit modified, but I've been able to get out there and get amongst the boys and train," Franklin said.

Going into his second season as a Swan, Lance Franklin says becoming more at ease with his new club and having a productive pre-season can only help his football in 2015.

"I've been able to get out there and get amongst the boys and train," Franklin said.

"That's the most important thing for me, to be able to get through the sessions and be out there and get that connection with our midfielders and forwards.

"Being more settled and more comfortable, knowing your surroundings and your way around the football club, that can definitely make you play better football."

Lance Franklin says a full summer training alongside Swans teammate Kurt Tippett has given the feared duo a better understanding of how each other plays.

"I think we've both got that connection where we know where each other is and hopefully that can progress and get better and better and better," Franklin said.

"I think it's a bright future for us."

Tippett says he concurs with Franklin's assessment of training together.

"It's fantastic to train alongside one of the premier players this pre-season, and I'm really enjoying learning off 'Bud'," Tippett said.

"You just need to watch the way he goes about it and the energy he brings, then you sit down with him and he's always happy to have a chat about his experiences.

"I think we'll continue to build our relationship, and to see him have a full pre-season … it's going to be wild to watch him this year."

Luke Parker caps off a stunning season by taking out Sydney's best and fairest award for 2014.

Parker polled in all bar three games across the season to finish on 758 votes, well clear of Kennedy (709) and Franklin (688).

"Luke is a wonderful competitor and to win a club champion award at 21 years of age, after just 82 games' experience, is a great achievement," Swans coach John Longmire said.

"When you look at the players behind him – Kennedy and Franklin – you quickly get an understanding of how good a season he has had and how highly we think of him as a player.

"Luke was taken as quite a late draft pick, but he really is testament to where hard work can get you, and we value that highly."

Josh Gibson says the joy of winning the 2014 Grand Final with the Hawks against the Swans has been tempered by seeing former teammate Lance Franklin's pain.

"There's always going to be emotion - he's a good mate," Gibson said.

"I've been on the side of losing a Grand Final and it's not a great feeling and he'll be going through that.

"I'll give him space and when it's all said and done we'll catch up and hang out like normal.

"He's got a lot of close friends here, but that's footy, isn't it? We're all mates, but when you cross the white line you're enemies."

Sydney coach John Longmire plays down the hype of Lance Franklin facing his old Hawthorn teammates in the 2014 Grand Final.

"We understand he's playing his old team and we understand the focus on him from outside the footy club," Longmire said.

"But inside the footy club, when he comes to work, we talk about our team defence, about every player playing their role and playing to the best of their ability.

"Outside the footy club will take care of itself, but when he comes to training and comes to all the meetings, he's just one of the playing group and it's important we maintain that focus."

Lance Franklin will face his former Hawthorn teammates as a Swan in the 2014 Grand Final.

Franklin will go into the Grand Final in top form having kicked five goals in the Swans' preliminary final against North Melbourne.

Hawthorn forward Jarryd Roughead says the Hawks will have an edge in containing Franklin having learnt his game whilst training with him in the past.

"We know because he played with us here he's able to get that many shots on goal," Roughead said.

"I dare say the defence will look at him close this week and the boys have been good on him before.

"The blokes that play on him will know a few tricks ... they've played on him enough out here [at training]."

Lance Franklin has expressed his disappointment after he and Adam Goodes were the subject of racist comments from a member of the crowd during the Sydney Swans' win over the Western Bulldogs.

Neither player heard the comments during the game at Etihad Stadium, but Victoria Police have confirmed a Bulldogs supporter was removed from the ground for racially vilifying the two Swans.

"It's disappointing that it's still happening in the community and especially at football games," Franklin said.

"It's obviously very good that the crowd has come forward and spoken up.

"I think it's just something that needs to be cut out of the game and the more we can teach people not to be racist, the better for the game."

Lance Franklin kicks nine goals in the Swans' 71-point victory over St Kilda.

Lance Franklin will play his 200th game this weekend and says goalkicking is still one area of his game he is working on.

"I've definitely trained a lot harder on my goalkicking and my percentage has gone up a little bit this season," Franklin said.

"But in big games I've got to be able to kick the goals and against Hawthorn I wasn't able to do that, which I was a little bit disappointed in.

"That's one area I've got to keep working on."

Lance Franklin's girlfriend Jesinta Campbell says Buddy was 'affected' by Hawk supporters' jibes when he faced off against his old teammates at the MCG.

"He was a massive part of that club for nine years and he was playing against his best friends he's grown up with, and he still has a great admiration and respect for that football club," Campbell told Sydney's Triple M.

"I think it's really difficult for him when he goes [to Melbourne].

"I find it a little bit disrespectful. All of a sudden the supporters have forgotten the nine years.

Lance Franklin's former manager has questioned whether Buddy's decision to change management companies is in the superstar's long-term interest, but says he is not angry with his former client.

Liam Pickering told SEN radio he was shocked when Franklin told him he was changing to a celebrity management company that has no other AFL footballers as clients.

"From a football perspective, I think a sounding board that has got a football background is ideal for Buddy," Pickering said.

"He (Franklin) thought he needed someone in Sydney, and that is disappointing but it's life. I don't have any problems with Bud, I love Bud, I want him to do well tonight (against the Hawks). I want him to do well for the year, but I was a bit shocked at the time I must say."

Lance Franklin parts ways with manager Liam Pickering to join a celebrity management company based in the Harbour City.

"I'm disappointed but as Buddy would say himself, it is what it is. It's the game we're in," Pickering told The Footy Show.

"Buddy and I have never had a blue and as always I want him to do well."

He was a dual premiership superstar at Hawthorn, but Lance Franklin is now just a "faceless man" to the Hawks, coach Alastair Clarkson says.

"Bud's been a really, really valuable member of this footy club for a long period of time but as of October or November of last year he's wearing a red and white jumper now," Clarkson said.

"So he's a faceless man in a sense from our point-of-view. We appreciate and respect everything he did for our footy club but we move on."

Since kicking 2.7 on his return from a knee injury against Hawthorn in round eight, Lance Franklin has been in outstanding goalkicking form, registering 21.10 in five straight wins for the Swans.

"I'm just playing my role for the footy club and I'm enjoying it," Franklin said.

"I've been able to get on the track the last five or six weeks and I put it down to that.

"I'm getting out there amongst the boys and learning the team structures and how we like to play."

Lance Franklin helps Sydney to a 19-point win against his old side Hawthorn with 21 disposals, 10 marks and two goals.

"It made no difference who the opposition was, I just want to get out here each week. Hopefully I can get some consistency back in my game and get back to my best football," Franklin said.

"It's good to get it over and done with early, but I'm at a new football club and I'm enjoying my time here. Now we just look forward to playing some other teams."

Big-name recruits Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin will play together for the first time when the Swans take on the Hawks at ANZ Stadium in round 8.

Lance Franklin is subbed out of Sydney's game against Melbourne after aggravating a knee injury in the third quarter.

"It's been a bit sore ever since [the Adelaide game], there's a little bit of tendinitis in front of his knee and he jarred his 'fat pad', the physio said before, that's more than likely what it is," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

"He hasn't done much training since that game … and that's what he's jarred again tonight."

Lance Franklin is involved in a car crash but the key forward was not injured and no alcohol was involved.

"A Jeep that was travelling west on New South Head road hit four parked vehicles, all four vehicles were damaged as a result of the crash," a New South Wales police spokesman said.

"The driver of the Jeep was a 27-year-old Bondi man and he was not injured in the crash.

"He underwent a roadside breath test that was negative. After speaking with police at the scene the 27-year-old man left the area."

Lance Franklin says he is shocked and remorseful after being involved in a car crash but says he is relived nobody was hurt.

"Obviously there's frustration, more for myself than anyone, this is something no one wants to go through," Franklin said.

"An accident is an accident, but I don't want to see myself in the spotlight again and obviously I've found myself in it again.

"I just want to move forward as quickly as possible and get onto this week's game."

Lance Franklin admits he has grown weary of the constant media scrutiny following his move to Sydney.

"I haven't really left my house and when I do, it's bloody tough at times, particularly when things are getting reported that aren't true or you're just trying to keep private and then they put stuff in the paper," Franklin said.

"It can become a bit annoying, but there's nothing you can really do about it.

"It can be tough, but I'm not being a sook. It is what it is. There's nothing I can do about it, I just think the papers need to get over it."

The Swans attribute their record membership tally for 2014 to the recruitment of Lance Franklin.

However, teammate Josh Kennedy admits the level of media scrutiny surrounding Franklin is not ideal.

"Obviously he's under a fair bit of scrutiny, there's a lot of noise going on outside the football club," Kennedy said.

"We knew getting him here that was going to be the case and it's certainly not disrupting the way we go about things inside the club.

"It's just completely out of nowhere and quite laughable really. We have a bit of fun with it and get on with what we can control."

Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh insists there was nothing in a reported exchange of blows between Lance Franklin and Ryan O'Keefe at training.

"We're just laughing about that type of stuff (the rumours). It's so far-fetched it's quite funny now," McVeigh said.

"'Pebs' (O'Keefe) is a bit aggressive so it was quite funny, but it lasted four seconds. It was all in good fun."

AFL CEO Demetriou has forecast changes to rules on the length of contracts as a result of Lance Franklin's record-breaking move to the Sydney Swans.

The outgoing AFL chief executive conceded it would be "very difficult" for Franklin to fulfill his nine-year deal at the Swans, prompting discussions with League officials on a maximum contract term.

"I think it'll be very difficult for him to be playing in 2022," Demetriou said.

"I hope he does. It's good for Sydney, it's good for our market. Of course it's a risk, the Sydney Swans identify it as a risk."

The AFL announce that Sydney's cost of living allowance will be phased out in a move Swans co-captain Kieren Jack says is a form of punishment for signing Lance Franklin to a nine-year deal.

"(Sydney chief executive) Andrew Ireland said if we didn't take the risk and we didn't get Buddy, we would still have the cost of living allowance," Jack said.

"But we took a nine-year risk and we picked him up and we're really happy we got him.

"But now we have suffered because of that and they're taking the allowance away."

Lance Franklin is reported to have been hospitalized for a seizure suffered in January but his manager Liam Pickering says there are no ongoing concerns.

"He had one at Hawthorn a couple of years ago, a similar type thing. It's rare, but it happened on January 3. I'm surprised it's taken this long to come out as a story," Pickering said.

"I'm not going to go into it ... it's a private medical thing, do you reckon I'm going to talk about it? He missed a day of training, everything was fine and he's back playing.

"He's good as gold."

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou says there will not be a bailout to the help Swans if Lance Franklin's nine-year $10m deal goes bust.

"The (Swans) board has agreed that they know they have to pay the whole consideration in that contract, the AFL will not intervene," Demetriou said.

"They know the rules, they fully understand that all of that contract goes into the cap.

"There will be no special dispensation. There wouldn't be for any club to be honest, but the Sydney Swans are aware of that."

Sydney co-captain Jarrad McVeigh says Swans recruit Lance Franklin is sharing Hawthorn's secrets with the club.

"He's offering good opinions about the things he's seen at Hawthorn, because they're the best team at the moment," McVeigh said.

"He has been sharing a few things they do, which we can bring into our training and into our games.

"He's made contributions about the way the game is being played, because Hawthorn has been at the forefront of the competition for a number of years."

Sydney coach John Longmire says big name recruit Lance Franklin is settling well into pre-season training.

"Now he is into the full swing of training he will have a real solid hit-out for the next couple of weeks and prepare well for next season," Longmire said.

"Buddy is like every other player here. There are expectations on every player on our list to prepare well and train well on and off the field."

Keen to make a good impression, Lance Franklin surprises teammates with an early appearance at training.

"It was surprising. I didn't know if he was back today or next week or the week after," Swans teammate Lewis Jetta said.

"It was good to see him out there. He's getting a taste of the Sydney weather straight up.

"He looked fit. I don't know about the moustache he's got going, but he looks in shape."

Adam Goodes says he looks forward to seeing if Lance Franklin will fit in with his new Swans teammates.

"On day one the first thing I'm going to be looking at is how fit he is when he rocks up to training," Goodes said.

"That's a great sign on day one as to how much though he's put into his off season and how much hard work he's done.

"It will also show how much he's trying to get around the boys because it's going to be a big task how he makes relationships with every player."

Sydney recruit Lance Franklin will start pre-season training two weeks ahead of schedule to make a good impression with the his new team.

Lance Franklin returns to Australia, leaving teammates behind in Ireland after Australia's 22-point loss to the Irish in the first Test of the International Rules Series at Breffni Park in Cavan.

"I would love to stay here but I've got to get back for one of my best mate's, Brent Guerra's, wedding," Franklin said.

"It's going to be hard leaving all the boys behind and I'd love to be out there for that Second Test, but unfortunately I won't be able to get there."

Hawthorn and Melbourne receive picks No. 19 and 23 respectively as compensation picks for the loss of free agents Lance Franklin and Colin Sylvia respectively.

Lance Franklin says the lure of success in the short term was the reason for him choosing Sydney over GWS.

"I wanted to come to a club that was going to hopefully win more premierships," Franklin said.

"GWS are going to be great, no doubt, but I probably see that in four or five years time they're going to be good

"I want success pretty much straight away, so that's the reason why I chose Sydney."

The AFL approves Sydney's extraordinary nine-year $10 milliion contract to Lance Franklin.

AFL deputy chief executive Gillon McLachlan says the Swans' nine-year $10 million deal with Lance Franklin is an extremely risky move.

"It's such an extraordinary risk in many respects that the Sydney Swans board has taken," McLachlan said.

"I know a number of clubs and boards that wouldn't do that because of the risk they're taking on behalf of their club.

"We've made sure that the board members ... understand the risk they are taking with this contract. I'm not sure we could do much more than that.

"We don't have any authority to step in and stop boards from making decisions."

Lance Franklin is officially a Swan after the Hawks chose not to match Sydney's nine-year $10 million offer for the star forward.

"Lance is a champion player and we are really excited that he wants to continue his outstanding career at the Swans," Sydney coach John Longmire said.

"We understand that nine-year contracts are rare in AFL football, but so too are players the quality of Lance Franklin.

"As a club we will always seek to improve our playing list and we are confident Lance will be a great fit."

Hawthorn acknowledge Lance Franklin's contribution to the club at their best and fairest count despite the star forward not attending the function after accepting a nine-year deal from Sydney.

Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold and coach Alastair Clarkson paid tribute to him in his absence while a tribute video was also played.

"I thought it was really fitting tonight, the way that the club went about really respecting what Bud's done for the footy club," Peter Crimmins medalist Josh Gibson said.

"I thought the supporters were really good about that. Sometimes, when there's a trade, people tend to forget what someone's done for an organisation.

"But what he's done here for the last nine years is super."

Lance Franklin will not attend Hawthorn's best and fairest at the Crown Palladium on Saturday night after declaring on Tuesday his intention to play with the Sydney Swans from 2014 onwards.

Instead Franklin will be in Sydney, where he is expected to spend Saturday night at the bucks celebration of former Hawk teammate Campbell Brown.

Lance Franklin's manager Liam Pickering says Hawthorn will not likely be compensated fairly for losing their star forward.

"If Hawthorn only get a compensation pick of whatever it may be, 20, 21, 22, that's the rules," Pickering said.

"They should get two first round picks for Buddy Franklin. We all know that but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

"The system's wrong. It's not adequate for Buddy Franklin. We all know that. It's got nothing to do with me. I feel for Hawthorn and Clarko and the guys there riding that."

AFL media relations manager Patrick Keane says Sydney's mammoth 9-year deal for Lance Franklin is being examined for approval.

Shane Mumford says Sydney's decision to sign Lance Franklin was the catalyst behind his decision to move to GWS.

"When my contract talks were put off and put off again and then they signed Buddy, we started going hard at a couple of other clubs to see where I might be able to continue my career," Mumford said.

"As soon as we saw that (news about Franklin), we realised with the amount of money that he's going to be getting, there's probably not going to be anything there for me."

Lance Franklin's manager Liam Pickering says intense media scrutiny was a factor in his client's decision to move to Sydney.

"Remember Buddy lost his license for speeding and the car crash (August, 2012, where he was uninjured) and he started to get a bit over Melbourne when he had the media propped outside his house for a week or two," Pickering said.

"At that stage it got a bit on top of him."

Collingwood president lashes out at Sydney's salary cap allowances which has allowed the Swans to sign up two big name forwards in Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin in the last two years.

"Collingwood, the richest club in the AFL, who would love to have another power forward, didn't even contemplate speaking to Lance Franklin because we can't get at these third-party deals because the AFL is all over us," McGuire said.

"We do not have a cost of living component.

"If two of them (Tippett and Franklin) have got 20 per cent of the salary cap, they're getting 20 per cent of the cost of living.

"This is ridiculous. It is a straight-forward rort. This is an ultimate poke in the eye and it's not the Sydney Swans' fault.

"Good on them for going as hard as they can. It is yet again the AFL's problem."

Lance Franklin insists that the hadn't decided where he would play in 2014 before the 2013 Grand Final.

"I hadn't, I truly hadn't made my decision before the Grand Final," Franklin said.

"I went in there just wanting to win the Grand Final and was able to do it and leave a two-time premiership player, and hopefully there's a few more to come.

"I made my decision pretty much at the last minute so Sydney, to their credit, have done a good job and I'm happy to be there."

GWS withdraws a $1.2 million a year offer to Lance Franklin after reports the Hawk forward is likely to accept an offer from Sydney to join the Swans.

"We know it's preoccupied a number of people for a fair period of time. In many ways, we're happy to not waste any more time on it," Giants CEO Dave Matthews said.

"In many ways, you spend the last couple of hours going 'Righto, how would you spend $1.2 million?' It frees up our thinking now."

Lance Franklin's decision to join Sydney is based on the Swans' reported offer of a nine-year deal worth $10 million.

Sydney CEO Andrew Ireland reveals that it was Lance Franklin's management who first approached the Swans following the 2012 Grand Final.

"Buddy was keen to come to us and I guess that is the part that we really need to stress," Ireland said.

"He and his management indicated to us about a year ago that he would like to come to the Sydney Swans.

"To be frank, we thought that would be difficult to achieve. We re-addressed it during the year and as we got a better feel for what our list would look like a deal was able to be put together."

Following the Hawks' 2013 premiership, Lance Franklin is set to announce a decision on his future within the next day or two.

Hawks president Andrew Newbold said Franklin didn't owe the club anything beyond what he had already given.

"He's been a great servant of the club and that's what we're grateful for," Newbold said.

"He's been great for this footy club. It's his decision and we'll respect whatever he decides."

Lance Franklin says playing in a Grand Final with Hawthorn will not affect his decision to either remain at Hawthorn or leave the club at the end of the season.

"It's just another game," Franklin said.

"It's a Grand Final obviously, but it's just another game in terms of the way we're going about our training and going about the way we prepare.

"It hasn't affected me at all in terms of my decision at the end of the season."

Lance Franklin will miss the Hawks' qualifying final against Sydney after accepting a one-match ban for his bump on Nick Malceski.

Hawthorn will nervously await a Match Review Panel finding on the rough conduct charge leveled at superstar Lance Franklin ahead of the Hawks' first qualifying final against Sydney at the MCG on Friday night.

Franklin was reported after delivering a late, high bump on Swans defender Nick Malceski during their final-round match at ANZ Stadium.

Lance Franklin is offered a one-match ban by the Match Review Panel for his bump on Nick Malceski.

Franklin will miss the Hawks' qualifying final against Sydney if he accepts the ban.

Lance Franklin changes the biography on his Twitter account from 'proud indigenous professional sportsman representing the Hawthorn Football Club' to a simple link that promotes clothing company Nena And Pasadena.

Lance Franklin says he is unaffected by any pressure applied to him by the Hawks to sign a contract before the end of the year.

"There has been a little bit of pressure and expectation from the football club in terms of a signing," Franklin said.

"But for me I've always had that mindset I want to do it at the end of the season."

Lance Franklin's Instagram is hacked to suggest he had signed with GWS.

A photo of the Giants' logo appeared on his social-network account with the caption: "My soon to be new home".

"This is an extremely disappointing situation and we will be investigating how this occurred and working to ensure this type of thing doesn't happen in the future," Franklin's manager Liam Pickering said.

Lance Franklin says he wants to stay at Hawthorn but will not make a decision to re-sign with the club until the end of the season.

"I want to stay at Hawthorn," Franklin said.

"I love the football club; they've been great for me for nearly nine years, so that's where it stands at the moment.

"There are a few things that we'll weigh up at the end of the season, but that's between me and my manager and the football club."

GWS co-captain Callan Ward says he has a feeling Lance Franklin will join the Giants next year.

"My gut feel is probably yes, but I would have no idea," Ward told SEN Radio.

"I hope he does. He's obviously a great player. He's extremely talented. I think at the Giants he will be great for us."

Jarryd Roughead says he will still love Lance Franklin if he leaves Hawthorn.

"I think he understands that we're going to love him no matter what," Roughead said.

"If he was to go, he's given nine years and kicked nearly 600 goals. I think most teams would be happy if their number five draft pick came in and did that."

Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold urges Lance Franklin to consider the benefits of being a one-club player when deciding his future, using Brendon Goddard as an example.

"If you look at someone like Brendon Goddard, is he a St Kilda player or is he an Essendon player when he finishes his career?" Newbold said.

"I like to see players play their career at one club. I think people can underestimate what that actually provides when you play at one club for that long."

A burst bursa in Lance Franklin's knee is the reason behind the key forward's uncertain return date.

"He's had two before and they've settled really quickly and he's been able to play that week, and we thought that was going to be the case last week," Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said.

"But it wasn't able to fix itself up this week, either. So we're hopeful it's going to be pretty quick, but we just don't know."

Luke Hodge says he believes teammate Lance Franklin will stay at the Hawks but would understand if the key forward left for GWS.

"You couldn't blame a bloke if he was to head off with such a lucrative deal," Hodge said.

"It sets up him and his family, he is a very generous person and he looks after his family well.

"But on the flip side, there are a lot of bonuses for staying at our footy club and we're at a pretty exciting time at this stage."

Sam Mitchell says teammate Lance Franklin deserves to be offered the biggest contract in Hawthorn's history.

"I think he probably deserves the biggest contract Hawthorn's ever had. It's not to say that he's better than the players who signed contracts five years ago, but the salary cap is bigger and guys like Hodgey and Cyril and Roughy have all done their contracts with a smaller salary cap," Mitchell said.

"So the fact that he's got a bigger contract than the rest of us hanging above him, I don't think that would be a surprise to anyone. We're not all jocks, we do understand the way the salary cap works. He's a good player who deserves a lot of money.''

Hawks president Andrew Newbold says the club has put forward an improved offer to Lance Franklin.

"We have put a new offer [to Franklin], it's a pretty good offer and as I said we're in his hands on when he'll come back to us," Newbold said.

"It's a pretty respectful offer bearing in mind the quality of the player that he is. He is a marquee player and we're keen to have him stay."

GWS list manager Stephen Silvagni says the Giants will not be engaging in talks with Lance Franklin until the end of the year.

"Buddy has said publicly that no decision is going to be made until the end of the year," Silvagni said.

"That's where it sits at the minute. He doesn't want to talk and that's what it is.

"I don't know Buddy personally, but he seems as though he knows what he wants to do and how he wants to handle it."

After signing a new deal with Hawthorn, Cyril Rioli says he hopes teammate Lance Franklin will do the same.

"I've played a lot of footy with 'Buddy', so hopefully now that I've re-signed, he might," Rioli said.

"But that's up to him."

Lance Franklin's manager Liam Pickering admits to talks with GWS but says his client is more than likely to stay at Hawthorn.

"They're the ones I've got the offer from and it's where he plays. The better they go, the more chance he is of staying, in my view," Pickering said about the Hawks.

"I'm very confident that he'll stay. At the moment I'm dealing with Hawthorn, and I have had discussions with the Giants obviously."

Lance Franklin receives a letter from eight-year old Hawthorn supporter Eddie Shearer pleading for the key forward to stay at the Hawks.

"Dear Buddy," the letter read.

"I really want you to stay at the Hawks. There are lots of reasons why.

"Because you made Hawthorn get into the Grand Final, and at GWS you will not get to play in a Grand Final.

"And you have so many supporters that love you, and there will be no more number 23, and they will be very sad.

"And you will not get so many goals, like when you got 13 goals. And why you would not get so many goals is that their midfield would not get the ball down to you like the Hawks do."

GWS have reportedly offered Lance Franklin $10 million over six years and Swans chairman Richard Colless says a move by Franklin to Sydney would do wonders for the harbour city's market.

"I think it would be, initially anyway, an extraordinary coup,'' Colless told the Herald Sun.

"I'm not saying he's the best player in the competition - he is on occasions, but he's six-foot-six, runs like a gazelle, fends people off... and if his kicking was a bit more reliable, he'd be kicking 100 goals a year."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says the AFL club won't be stretching beyond what they can reasonably afford to keep superstar Lance Franklin.

"If he chooses to go and there's AFL money that gets added to it at the end of it then that's for the AFL and Bud to work out," Clarkson said.

"But just from our point of view we'll offer what we think we can offer as a club relative to our salary cap.

"We don't want to cannibalise our own system too much. Once it stretches beyond what we can afford then we'll happily have to push ourselves out of the market."

Lance Franklin's manager Liam Pickering says his rival Melbourne clubs will have to offer a substantial pay rise for Franklin to consider switching clubs while remaining in Victoria.

"You've got to look at it, what can a Melbourne based club afford, given what Hawthorn have offered," Pickering said.

"(They would say) we've got to beat it by a fair whack. For him to leave Hawthorn for another Melbourne based club doesn't make a lot of sense."

Hawthorn fans direct bronx cheers at Lance Franklin after the key forward struggled and only managed his first goal just before half-time against the Suns.

"No-one goes out there to drop marks, or have the ball bounce the other way," teammate Jordan Lewis said.

"I was pretty disappointed in the Hawks fans for that. They probably have high expectations of him, as Buddy has high expectations of himself, but I thought it was a bit poor."

Hawthorn vice president Geoff Harris says football stars such as Lance Franklin may choose to minimize their involvement in the public if the intense media scrutiny over their misdemeanours continues.

"We are getting to the stage where I think that players like Buddy will simply refuse to mingle in the community," Harris said.

"If this is the dividend of them going out and the slightest misdemeanour or the slightest altercation … if it's blown up by digital media or Facebook, if it gets to that, then I'm afraid the stars will be staying home.

Former swimsuit fashion designer and surf brand director Nicky Rowsell expresses her disgust with Lance Franklin on Facebook following an agressive confrontation with the Hawthorn forward at Prahran bar Morris Jones.

"What an absolute disgrace of a human being," Rowsell said in her Facebook post.

"Rude, obnoxious, arrogant, sexist, a pig and an all-round rude human. You are nothing more than a cashed-up bogan that can kick a ball."

Rowsell was soon apologised directly to by the Hawthorn Football Club as well as Franklin himself.

"He apologised and I can't ask for more than that, the matter is now closed," Rowsell said shortly after.

Lance Franklin defends himself via Twitter after media reports of an altercation between himself and swimsuit fashion designer and surf brand director Nicky Rowsell.

"I am not for one minute saying how I reacted was right but when someone comes up and verbally attacks me and the people I care about for no apparent reason I think its only natural to defend yourself," Franklin tweeted.

"But I guess that's not an appealing story is it."

Lance Franklin says a 7-1 season has him unfussed about his reduced goal tally in 2013.

"I have played some all right football; I think I can get judged a little bit too much on the goals kicked," Franklin said.



"The spread of goalkickers this year for our footy club has been great. 'Roughy' (Jarryd Roughead), David Hale and Jack Gunston have been terrific players for us this year and we're all putting in and kicking goals, which is good.



"It's not just one avenue to goal."



Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says he isn't worried about Lance Franklin having been kept goalless for the last two games.

"He'll play a role for us and if he's kicking a goal for us or not, we're happy with what he's doing," Clarkson said.

"For a bloke that's sadly out of form he's still had 17 touches, a heap of defensive acts on our behalf.

"We didn't rate his game particularly poorly last week at all, it's just that everyone else does because he doesn't score goals."

Following a season-ending knee injury to Taylor Walker, Adelaide football operations manager says the club's interest in Lance Franklin has firmed.

"Of course Buddy Franklin or somebody like that would be nice – whether he wants to come to Adelaide or not [I don't know]," Harper said.

"I know there's a few people putting their hands up for him and maybe we'll do that as well. If he was interested, we would certainly put something there."

Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold says the club will need an answer by Lance Franklin as to whether he is staying before the end of the season.

"You can't leave it until after the season, because from a recruiting point of view, it's just impractical," Newbold said.

"If he is going to leave, he needs to be thinking about where he is going. He just can't leave that until after the season, there are practicalities attached to it."

Ross Lyon is adamant that his club is not in the market for Lance Franklin.

"I went to a Coaches' Association sub-committee meeting, and Alastair Clarkson was there," Lyon said.

"I sought out Alastair, and I said to him, 'This is not us - just to let you know so you don't have to worry. It is not us'.

"That's on the public record, and that hasn't changed. I can't be any clearer than that."

Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold says the club has more to offer Lance Franklin than just money.

"I am confident (we can keep our stars) because I think we are about more than just picking up a pay cheque, and if it's one legacy I hope to leave, it's that this club is a place you want to be regardless if we are winning or losing," Newbold said.

"I reckon we are developing that culture and perhaps we don't want that bloke who wants to go for the extra 50 grand."

Lance Franklin could be paid by the AFL as an ambassador of the game outside the salary cap if he chooses to leave Hawthorn for Greater Western Sydney.

"It would be assessed on its merits, and if it made sense, our guys would put a recommendation in," AFL chief Andrew Demetriou said.

"Under no circumstances are they to enter into an arrangement with a club to entice a player to go somewhere on the basis we are going to top up his salary."

Andrew Demetriou slams media speculation that he would like Lance Franklin at GWS to be an ambassador of the game.

"This is possibly one of the biggest beat-ups on what is a non-news day that I've ever come across," Demetriou said.

"I want Buddy Franklin to stay at Hawthorn and under no circumstance will the AFL be involved in trying to recruit any player from any club."

Lance Franklin's manager, Liam Pickering, says he hasn't spoken to any rival clubs about his client coming out of contract at the end of the year.

"I find it hard to believe that they haven't been all belting my door down, but they are all probably thinking he's going to stay anyway [or] it might be they'll wait until later in the year. I don't know," Pickering said.

"One-hundred per cent I haven't spoken to another club about it."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says he accepts Lance Franklin's decision to delay contract talks until the end of the season.

"He's got a contract at our football club for season 2013 and we're going to do everything we can to ensure that that's good for both of us and we'll see what happens at the end of the year," Clarkson said.

"At some point in time he'll sit down with all the information that's available to him, and I think he just genuinely wants to see how this footy season unfolds before he makes a decision on where he wants to play his footy in 2014.''

Lance Franklin won't captain the Indigenous All Stars against Richmond after pulling out due to developing fluid on top of his calf.

The Crows indicate that they may have some interest in luring Lance Franklin to Adelaide if contract talks between the star forward and the Hawks break down.

"Any club would love to have a Lance Franklin on their list but the season hasn't even started yet so we will just sit and watch how things unfold with him," Adelaide list manager David Noble said.

"Like most clubs we will be watching developments closely. You would expect it would take a lot to get Buddy to leave Hawthorn but as we've seen with these things you never say never."

Lance Franklin says he has no intention of leaving the Hawks despite being adamant about putting contract talks on hold until the end of the season.

"I know there will be a lot of speculation about what I'm going to be doing at the end of the season," Franklin said.

"At this stage, I want to stay at Hawthorn. I have no intentions of leaving the football club, but it is what it is."

Trent Cotchin will lead Richmond for the first time as captain against the Indigenous All Stars in Alice Springs who will be captained by Lance Franklin.

"To get the opportunity to be captain of the Indigenous side, with some of the players that are going to be playing, to lead them out is an unbelievable experience for myself and for my family and friends," Franklin said.

"There are a lot of young kids in the squad. I see myself as a little bit older now – I've just turned 26 – so I'll be giving a lot of the kids coming through a lot of advice. Not necessarily on how to play, but just things away from [football] too."

Lance Franklin's manager Liam Pickering says talks are ongoing with Hawthorn regarding his client's new contract despite Franklin not wanting to be involved in negotiations until the end of the season.

"He might turn around in a month and say 'mate let's just get this done,' but at the moment he's not saying that," Pickering said.

"Hawthorn aren't sitting on their hands here, Hawthorn have put together a reasonable offer.

"They would prefer to do it now, and I get that. He's a hugely popular person. He sells double (the) jumpers than any other player in the game."

Lance Franklin has put contract talks on hold until the end of the 2013 season.

"Buddy has 12 months to go on his contract and he wants to concentrate on playing," Franklin's manager Liam Pickering said.

"He said he didn't want the distraction of a contract and he has advised me talks are off until the end of the season.

"He doesn't want to entertain discussions and, whilst Hawthorn aren't happy, that's how it is, unfortunately."

Hawthorn are set for a year of intense media speculation surrounding Lance Franklin's contract as the star forward becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the year.

"It's for you (the media) to talk about Buddy's contract. His contract has got to do with his management and the footy club and Buddy, it's really not a lot to do with me," teammate Sam Mitchell said.

"That might be what I trot out all year, it's got nothing to do with me."

Lance Franklin will captain the Indigenous All Stars against Richmond in a match to be held at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.

"The Indigenous All Stars match is a really important event as it recognises the indigenous Australians' contribution to the national competition," Franklin said.

"It's a chance for some of the best indigenous talent from across the country to play together."

Lance Franklin's manager Liam Pickering says Hawthorn fans need not worry about the champion forward leaving the club.

I don't need to test the free agency market with Lance Franklin," Pickering said.

"Let's be honest - every club would want Buddy Franklin. But he will stay at Hawthorn; it will be all sorted. I'm very confident."

Fremantle admits it has room in its salary cap for a big-name player but rules out chasing Hawk star Lance Franklin.

"We understand fully where 'Buddy' is at - he's a champion of the game, and with that he certainly demands certain things that we wouldn't be able to [deliver]," Fremantle football manager Chris Bond said.

"We've got a TPP (total player payments) model and we've got a list management model and it wouldn't fit into that, so we won't be pursuing it."

Lance Franklin sells more than double the merchandise of any other AFL player via online shopping.

"It's not surprising that he was number one, but the sheer volume ... the gap between himself and the guys in the rest of the list was amazing to us," IMG STG creative director Danny Bishop said.

Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson praises Ben Rutten for keeping Fremantle champion Matthew Pavlich to just one goal and 10 possessions in their semi final against Fremantle.

"He very rarely got beaten in a one-on-one contest ... we obviously put it on him within the group that we needed a special effort from him and we saw what 'Pav' did to Geelong last week," Sanderson said.

"For Rutten to keep him to a goal and low possessions was just a fantastic effort."

Lance Franklin has labeled recent rumours about him as 'sad' and 'stupid' as Andrew Demetriou warns peddlers of scandalous speculation.

"It comes with playing AFL football these days, which is pretty sad and frustrating for my family and my friends and the footy club to hear such stupid rumours," Franklin told Channel 9.

"I just want to get on with playing footy, and the next couple of weeks are going to be huge for the footy club. [I'm] just looking forward to getting out there."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson bemoans the illness that saw Buddy Franklin miss a sixth game with finals approaching.

"It's not ideal," Clarkson said post-match.

"Six weeks is a fair stretch out of the game, so that's why we were particularly keen on him being able to get up and play this week.

"It was just stiff that he got some sort of viral bug, or whatever it is that's forced him to feel unwell."

Hawthorn star Lance Franklin has informed the Hawks he has been involved in a car accident but was not injured.

"Lance Franklin has informed the club he was involved in a vehicle accident earlier this evening," a statement from Hawthorn said.

"Lance is shaken but has not sustained injury in the accident, while the driver of the other vehicle involved has been treated for an arm injury."

Hawthorn will school Lance Franklin in a drivers' education program after the star forward lost his licence for speeding.

"It has been determined the club's role in this instance is to provide Lance with education on the consequences of speed-related trauma, in order to promote more responsible road behaviour," a statement from Hawthorn said.

"The group is confident the suspension of Lance's licence for six months, and the inconvenience this punitive penalty results in will serve as an effective and daily reminder of appropriate behaviour on the roads.

"Additionally, the leadership group has requested that Lance personally research and make arrangements for an external organisation to provide a workshop or presentation for all Hawthorn players on responsible conduct on the roads."

Hawthorn releases a statement acknowledging a speeding violation incurred by Lance Franklin which will result in a suspension of his licence for six months.

Franklin was detected speeding in Brighton East on Thursday afternoon, and was issued with a penalty notice which carries a six month licence suspension, the loss of demerit points and a fine.

Buddy Franklin says he is a "bloody idiot" for speeding on twitter.

"Hey guys I truly apologise for speeding there are no excuses for it I'm a bloody idiot !!!!" he tweeted.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is using Buddy Franklin's absence to strengthen his forward line.

"When Buddy plays he obviously draws a lot of attention and focus and it's even hard for our own players not to kick the ball to him sometimes given his presence down there," Clarkson said.

"Everyone in the competition perhaps wants Buddy to be kicking 100 goals but it's not necessarily the best outcome for our footy club. The greater spread of goalkickers we can have, the better side we're going to become."

Lance Franklin has notched his 500th AFL goal after a free kick for his second major against GWS.

"To do it at 25, it almost takes your breath away," teammate Jarryd Roughead said.

"So for 'Bud' to do it in eight, I'd hate to see what he's going to do in the next four or five."

Hawthorn hopes to tie up Lance Franklin to a new deal before he becomes a restricted free agent.

"He's a restricted free agent at the end of this contract, which means that if another club happened to make him an offer, we would have to match it," Hawks CEO Stuart Fox said.

"So it's very dangerous territory to be talking about that, because if he does get a really big offer, we're bigger than just Buddy, so we've got to be able to fit them all in."

Star Hawk Lance Franklin quits Twitter only to return.

"Hey everyone, I'm out ... done with twitter Sorry to all my supporters but have had enough #hatersgonnahate," he originally tweeted.

However, after a campaign led by his teammates, Franklin re-activates his Twitter account.

"Due to popular demand the big boy is back #hadto," Franklin said in his comeback tweet.

Jack Gunston says he wants to continue making gradual improvements to his game.

"I definitely don't have any expectations on myself this year; I just want to gradually build up the games and keep improving," Gunston said.

"I'm still really lightly framed, and I've still got a lot of development to go. So I'm not expecting massive games or anything; I just want to keep contributing each week."

Hawthorn star Lance Franklin kicks a stunning 13 goals as his side decimates the Roos by 115 points.

"The confidence was up today - it was good to actually convert," Franklin said.

"The last couple of weeks have been disappointing for myself, and for the footy club, to not be kicking the goals. Today, it came off."

Alastair Clarkson says wayward forward Lance Franklin will soon 'tear a game apart' despite misfiring for most of the season.

"He's going through a stretch at the moment that's a little bit rough for him in terms of his goal kicking conversion, but if you look a little bit deeper into the stats you'll see that he's the No.1 scoring assist player in the competition," Clarkson said.

"He's still actually playing some pretty good footy. If he'd converted some of those chances a little bit better then you'd be arguing that he's having perhaps his best season of AFL footy.

"He's not at the moment, but I still feel like it's only a quarter or a game away from him tearing a game apart."

Former Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse slams Hawthorn and two-time Coleman medallist Buddy Franklin for looking disinterested in a 62-point loss to the Tigers.

"Buddy just didn't look interested, he didn't really look like he really wanted to come up the ground and when he did and did not get it he just moped back," Malthouse said on 3AW.

"I have watched Franklin go into the middle time and time again and he has not got the fundamentals. You have got to have a defensive mindset and Buddy has not got that."

Lance Franklin distances himself from a clothing label Nena & Pasadena after a series of controversial videos and online social commentary promoting the company was slammed by the AFL as being dispectful to women.

"Lance Franklin's involvement with the Nena & Pasadena clothing label is as a shareholder," a statement from Franklin's management company Strategic Management read.

"He is not a director of the company, and he has no involvement in any aspects of clothing design or marketing decisions.

"Lance had initially assisted with modeling and marketing of earlier lines of clothing, but that was two years ago and he hasn't been involved in these activities since.

"Strategic Management and Lance have repeatedly requested the business cease using his image for marketing and promotional purposes."

Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson says Buddy Franklin will be used primarily as a forward in 2012 but can also play in the middle if necessary.

"Buddy doesn't need to be the key target in our forward line for us to kick a winning score," Clarkson said.

"And he's such a beautiful kick of the footy, so he's going to be able to set up some things through the middle of the ground from time-to-time as well."

Lance Franklin is expected to have a training run on Wednesday, but is on anti-nausea medication for a gastro complaint as he races against time to be fit for the preliminary final against Collingwood.

"But he went and caught up with our doctor again today, had a bit of a walk, and got some anti-nausea medication, and he was feeling a bit better," Hawks football operations general manager Mark Evans said.

"So we're expecting him to recover pretty quickly from here, probably train tomorrow and then he'll be right again for Friday."

The intrigue surrounding Lance Franklin's fitness has rolled into preliminary final week, with concerns turning to a stomach virus.

"He's fallen in love with the doctors," Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said.

"He's got the gastro today, hopefully he'll be right by the weekend - I'm sure he will be."

Lance Franklin says he was certain he was fine to play against the Sydney Swans despite an interrupted preparation from an injured knee against Geelong.

"[It was] just a bit of bone bruising and bleeding on the back of the knee, but just icing it up got it right to go," Franklin told radio station SEN.

"I knew in my mind I was ready to go and I just did everything possible to get myself up, in terms of recovery and looking after my body. I got up for the game and we got the win."

Hawthorn spearhead Lance Franklin is in doubt for the rest of the finals after landing awkwardly and injuring his right knee in Hawthorn's qualifying final loss to Geelong.

"I don't know how bad. We'll just have to wait and see, we'll get it scanned tomorrow morning probably," Clarkson said.

"It didn't look great, but we've got our fingers crossed and hope for the best as I'm sure every footy follower in the land would. He is an outstanding player and I hope he has a good run of luck in this instance, but we'll just have to wait and see."

Lance Franklin's knee injury is not as bad as first thought but the Hawks consider him unlikely for next Friday's final.

"It's a hyper-extension injury, so he has compressed one bone down onto the next as the knee was bending backwards," Hawthorn football general manager Mark Evans said.

"So there's a little bit of bone bruising and a little bit of squashing of the fat pad at the front of the knee, and obviously some swelling and some bleeding into the knee."

Hawk Lance Franklin says he has become more team oriented thanks to Hawthorn forwards coach Leon Cameron.

"He's come to the club and he's been great with my progress as a player, and taught me a lot along the way," Franklin said of Cameron.

"(He's taught me to be) a lot more of a team player; that's been my main focus this year. I'm not saying I wasn't, but that's been something that he's brought to my game this year, and I've really enjoyed having him here."

Hawthorn midfielder Shaun Burgoyne predicts Lance Franklin will spent more time upfield when he returns to the team after the Hawks' forwardline worked well against Essendon without their suspended spearhead.

"With Buddy, he's got great endurance capacity, he's quick," Burgoyne said about Franklin.

"He's played in at the centre bounce a couple of times this year, so no doubt we're going to see him up on the wings and in the middle (at stages) throughout the rest of the year. Versatility is a great thing for the team."

Lance Franklin will have to pass a fitness test before being declared available for Hawthorn's clash with Geelong on Saturday night after being a late withdrawal against Fremantle last week.

"He was scanned last week, and the scan was inconclusive," Hawks football operations general manager Mark Evans said.

"But it doesn't really matter. If he's got the function he can play, and if he hasn't, he can't."

Hawthorn star Lance Franklin was the subject of racial abuse during Saturday's win over West Coast at Aurora Stadium.

The AFL are now investigating the issue and hope to identify the male spectator responsible for the continued abuse throughout the entire match.

"The AFL and AFLPA have worked diligently to eradicate this kind of unacceptable behaviour and it's disappointing that it could still rear its ugly head in 2011," AFL Players' Association boss Matt Finniss said.

Liam Jurrah's spectacular grab over Port Adelaide's Nick Salter wins the 2010 Mark of the Year award while Lance Franklin is awarded Goal of the Year after his spectacular running goal along the boundary against Essendon.

Hawthorn assistant coach Adam Simpson says he doesn't know what else Lance Franklin can do to avoid suspension, but hopes to find ways.

"It's frustrating because he's not in the side and he doesn't get that consistency and that flow that he needs," Simpson said.

"It's important that we recognise what he's doing wrong and try to change it, but it is difficult at the moment."

Hawthorn's Lance Franklin remains unsigned for 2011 and could be a potential target for the new Gold Coast team but says he is keen to stay at the Hawks.

"I'm up this year and I'll leave that up to my manager to sort that out," Franklin said.

"But obviously I'm keen to sign with the Hawks. They've been good to me since I've been here and it's a great club. It's more the media that talks it up than the players. I'll just concentrate on football."

AFL superstar Lance Franklin is reported to have been involved in an apparent brawl at a Perth nightspot.

"I was on the way to the toilet when an altercation broke out and I copped one in the face," Franklin said in a statement.

"I'm fine, no real injury, it's just a bit disappointing to have that happen when you're out just trying to enjoy some time off with family and friends."

Suspended Hawthorn forward Lance Franklin syas the bump is dead and says that players need to adjust to the new rules of the game.

"If you're going to do a bump or just protect yourself and if it touches their head at all, you're going to be looking at weeks," he said on Triple M.

"I reckon you're going to have to try to tackle...if you've got time to react, put a tackle on. That's the smartest thing to do because I reckon the bump's gone out of the game now. It's a shame I think."

Lance Franklin's season is appears to be over after the AFL Appeals Board last night rejected his appeal over a rough conduct charge.

Former AFL players Doug Hawkins and Tony Shaw slam Lance Franklin's two-match ban for head-high contact with Ben Cousins.

"They've got to get it right because as a kid growing up that's what footy was about. People say, 'Oh, Buddy didn't tackle', well guess what? You don't have to tackle, you used to be able to bump," Hawkins said.

"Two weeks for that is just ludicrous. I'm disillusioned by the whole situation and I think the sooner the AFL work it out the better. "

Former Collingwood captain Tony Shaw concurred with Hawkins' assessment.

"It is so embarrassing at the moment. I'm all for protecting heads and spinal injuries and all that sort of thing, but you do have contact on the field and I've been involved in bumping bigger blokes where you will hit your head on their body and it's stiff cheddar," Shaw said.

Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans says the club wil take Lance Franklin's sanction to the tribunal on Tuesday night to contest a two-match suspension for his hit on Ben Cousins.

"I can't really comment on the case before we get there other than to say we've looked at it quite a bit and we don't believe that any player should be suspended for this," Evans told SEN radio.

"I think the best case here is to keep it nice and simple and to allow the tribunal members - who have all played football - to make their assessment from that."

The AFL tribunal found Hawthorn's Lance Franklin guilty of engaging in rough conduct against Ben Cousins on Tuesday night which means the star forward will not be available for an elimination final even if the Hawks beat Essendon this week.

"It didn't go our way so that's a very disappointing result for us," Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans said.

"I find it a little distressing that in summing up we can regard someone's conduct as reasonable, but they can still miss two matches.

"It's very disappointing and we'll be following that up with Adrian tomorrow."

Lance Franklin expresses his disappointment at being rubbed out for two matches by the tribunal after making high contact with Richmond's Ben Cousins.

The Hawks are considering taking Lance Franklin's two-match suspension to the AFL Appeals Board.

"Obviously I'm devastated. I'd love to be out there with the boys this weekend and the weekend after," he said.

Lance Franklin can accept a one-match suspension for rough conduct due to a head-high bump on Richmond's Ben Cousins during the Hawks' win over Richmond.

Accepting the ban will mean that Franklin misses out on a match against the Bombers that could give the Hawks 8th spot on the ladder and a chance to play in an elimination final.

Richmond is optimistic Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins will recover from the concussion he sustained after a clash with Hawk Lance Franklin in time to travel to Perth next week to face his former side West Coast.

"He looked a bit groggy still after the game, but he sat through the meeting and seemed to be engaging reasonably well. I haven't had a full debrief on him yet," caretaker coach Jade Rawlings said.

"It was a pretty big hit and he looked like he was pretty keen to stay on, but with the way he walked, he was heading in a totally different direction to where the interchange bench was, which suggested he was in a bad way."

Hawk Chance Bateman says Lance Franklin is not worried about the treatment he receives from umpires despite Hawk coach Alastair Clarkson voicing his disapproval at the way the star forward had been treated.

"Lance isn't one to worry about the umpires," Bateman said.

"It all evens out, you'll get some good decisions and get some bad ones, that's footy."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson plans to speak to the umpires department about treatment handed out to Lance Franklin.

"We weren't too pleased with the way that he was monstered today," Clarkson said.

"We need to work through that with the umpiring department to try and rationalise why Buddy has to earn his free kicks in such a tough manner."

Jarryd Roughead may have had a lower profile than his forward line mate, Lance Franklin, but he has beaten him to the 100-game milestone.

"I suppose playing with him every week is the best job in the world. I've got the best seat in the house to watch a bloke like him," Roughead said of Franklin.

"It's not just him though, I've been lucky to come in with all the young boys we have. I'm probably best mates with Jordy Lewis and Buddy. It's good to get out there each week and play with your mates."

Four goals in the last quarter from Lance Franklin kept Hawthorn's premiership defence alive with a come-from-behind win against North Melbourne yesterday. But a report of the full-forward for kneeing earlier in the match could have as big a say in how long that Hawk dream of back-to-back flags remains a possibility.

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah can excite the crowd in a similar way to Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin, according to Demon veteran Cameron Bruce.

"Every time he goes near the ball they get excited, I liken it to the way the crowd are with 'Buddy' and every time he went near the ball. It's something you don't experience too often," Bruce said.

"I was doing cartwheels in the backline, watching him go up for those marks."

Super Hawk Buddy Franklin took advantage of the mid-season break to have a big night out at the soccer on Wednesday.

Franklin spent barely 10 minutes in his reserved MCG seat watching the Socceroos do battle with Japan, preferring to avail himself of Football Federation Australia's lavish hospitality.

He arrived with a mate about 7pm for the Ryder Room function for the FFA's sponsors and their guests.

Lance Franklin's starring role against Sydney was good but he's about to get better, says the coach.

"We're really pleased with his attack on the ball and creating contests for us and that was probably an area of his game that had been a little bit down in previous weeks and he addressed that last week and that's when he plays his best footy. We're hopeful he'll be like that again this week," Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said.

After a slow start to 2009, Lance Franklin believes he is back to his best again after taking six contested marks and kicking three goals against the Swans.

"Craig (Bolton) is probably one of the better defenders in the comp, but I came out of the game feeling pretty confident," Franklin said.

"My hands were probably the best they have been all year. I left the game pretty confident and looking forward to this week against Brisbane."

Chance Bateman says Lance Franklin is feeling pressure to recapture last year's stunning form.

"If you compare it to last year, I think you're going to be disappointed most years," Bateman said.

"Last year was an outstanding year for him and I don't think there's been many full-forwards in the game who've been able to repeat that sort of effort.

"He definitely puts pressure on himself, he knows that he's important to us and he likes to take that challenge on himself, so he does get a bit disappointed in himself sometimes but that's part of being the player he is."

Adelaide defender Nathan Bock is set to resume from a hamstring injury as the Crows prepare to tackle Hawthorn and Lance Franklin.

"'Bocky' trained over the weekend and is looking like being available. That will be a bonus for us in defence against a couple of key forwards for Hawthorn," teammate Ben Rutten said.

"If we get 'Bocky' back, obviously, he'll play a fairly big role in defence. He has played well on Franklin in the past, so it will be good to have him available for that contest."

Hawthorn has dismissed suggestions its powerhouse forward Lance Franklin is carrying extra weight which has decreased his output in 2009 compared to 2008.

"As he's got match-fit, his workrate is matching that of 2008," Hawthorn head of fitness and conditioning Andrew Russell said.

"As he's regained his match condition over the past few weeks, he's now matching his GPS workrate of 2008.

"But weight-wise, he might be slightly heavier than last year, but it isn't affecting his performance. He's a young man just filling out as his training-age is increasing."

West coast defender Eric Mackenzie is ready to face the challenge of playing on Lance Franklin according to coach John Worsfold.

Lance Franklin vows to stay at Hawthorn for his whole career - potentially costing himself millions of dollars in wages at rival clubs.

Franklin, last year's Coleman Medallist, said he hoped to remain with the Hawks for the rest of his career and took some early pride in being a one-club man.

"We know we've got a great group of boys who won a premiership last year and we want to keep having success," he said.

"That's going to keep the core group together and the leaders. We want to stick together and hopefully win some more premierships."

Geelong champion Gary Ablett is the confirmed No. 1 target of the Gold Coast team.

Football director Graeme Downie made the bold claim after the club was awarded the 17th AFL licence yesterday, which came as a complete surprise to some media.

Ablett, Lance Franklin and Nick Riewoldt, who come out of contract at the end of 2010, are firmly in the Gold Coast's sights.

Under the AFL's list building concessions, the club can sign one uncontracted player from each of the 16 clubs.

Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos says Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead will be remembered as two of the all-time great forwards.

"Roughead and Franklin are still young, but I'd suggest at the end of their careers, you're going to be looking back on two pretty good forwards," Roos said.

"Dunstall and Brereton [and] Longmire and Carey were a good combination but I think Roughead and Franklin are going to stack up favourably once their careers are finished."

AFL captains have shunned Hawthorn's Lance Franklin as their predicted Coleman medallist, and prefer Carlton over the Tigers as the season's bolter.

Hawthorn's Lance Franklin made a sizzling return to football, guiding the Hawks to an easy win over the Eagles.

Hawthorn name Lance Franklin and Luke Hodge to play their first practice games of the year this weekend.

Lance Franklin and Luke Hodge are considered strong chances to return this week in Hawthorn's pre-season hitout against West Coast.

Luke Hodge, Lance Franklin and Trent Croad among nine Hawthorn premiership players to miss pre-season opener.

Lance Franklin is struggling to regain his fitness, but the Hawthorn hero aims to be ready for the start of the AFL season.

HAWTHORN star Lance "Buddy" Franklin said farewell to Darwin in style - with a night out at the Hookers and Deviates ball.

Lance Franklin is escorted out of the CQ Bar in Melbourne after an altercation with other patrons, one of whom is believed to be a Collingwood footballer.

According to Channel 9's Footy Confidential, Franklin is alleged to have been approached in a cordial manner by two women and the footballer before behaving aggressively towards them.

Franklin denies the claims and has told the Hawthorn Football Club that he did not throw a drink at anyone.

Hawks chief executive Ian Robson says he is happy with Franklin's version of events and considers the matter as having been satisfactorily dealt with.

"After becoming aware of these additional allegations overnight I have spoken at length with Lance and a number of the other Hawthorn players and impartial witnesses who were in attendance on the night," said Robson.

"I am satisfied that there is no substance to the allegation relating to the throwing of a drink over patrons at the club and as to the allegation of the language that may have been used, Lance is unable to specifically recall what was said, however, denies it was of a sexual nature.

"In the absence of further information being brought forward the club now sees the matter as closed."