Lance Buddy Franklin reveals how he’d like to be remembered ahead of AFL game 350 with Sydney Swans

One of the AFL’s greatest-ever forwards, Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, is set to play his 350th game this weekend, and the superstar Swan has revealed how he’d like to be remembered when he finally bows out.

The 36-year-old will line up for Sydney when they take on St Kilda at the SCG for the huge milestone, 6647 days after he made his debut for Hawthorn as a skinny teenager in 2005.

The Indigenous superstar, who hails from Western Australia, will go down as one as the greatest First Nations players the game has ever seen in addition to being one of the best forwards of all time.

His CV is easily the most glittering of any current player, and highlights the wizard-like way he has transfixed the footy world thanks to his thumping left boot and remarkable athleticism.

Two premierships, eight All Australian blazers, four Coleman Medals, 13-time leading club goalkicker and a Best and Fairest winner in a premiership year. Twice he won Goal of the Year for efforts most players could only dream of.

Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin will play his 350th AFL game when the Swans take on St Kilda on Thursday night, and he has revealed how his wants to be remembered after his storied career is over

The Swans superstar, pictured with wife Jesinta in 2021, is softly-spoken and very modest off the field, and loathe to highlight his own achievements on the field

Franklin is pictured in 2013, celebrating the second of two flags he won with the Hawks

But it isn’t those achievements he wants to be remembered for. 

Franklin, one of the game’s more modest and softly-spoken figures off the field, wants to be remember for two very simple things when he finally retires.

‘(As) someone that had a crack … and just had fun,’ he told Swans staffers in a video that will be the only interview he gives ahead of his milestone game.

‘That’s been the biggest thing throughout my journey is that I’ve kept things pretty simple and I think the key has been obviously that enjoyment part.

‘That’s probably why I’ve lasted so long, because I keep things simple, go out there with a smile on my face and just enjoy it. 

‘Whether that’s training, whether that’s doing weights, Pilates, just having fun and building strong relationships with everyone here.’

It has been remarkable for a 199cm, 102kg key forward to play so many games, and remain almost completely free of serious injuries, even in the age of sports medicine and high performance training expertise. 

Franklin said he wants to be known as a footballer that has ‘had a crack’ and always ‘had fun’

As a skinny teenager, Franklin made his debut for Hawthorn aged just 18 in 2005 (pictured during round 17 of that year)

Franklin concedes there is a bit of ‘luck’ involved and some ‘good genetics’, but that is an incredibly self-deprecating view of someone who has kicked more than 1500 goals.

His career has been so long and successful that he has outlasted eight Aussie Prime Ministers, 1020 other players, 76 AFL head coaches. Teammate Corey Wagner was just 18 months old when Franklin made his debut. 

‘It’s a lot of games,’ Franklin joked.

‘It’s something I’m very proud of, there’s no doubt about that. To reach 350 games in AFL football is an enormous achievement.’

But Franklin admitted there is one thing in particular he now finds tough about playing in the AFL aged 36.

Despite remaining relatively free of the continual niggles that plague most veterans, the Swans star has been managed by coach John Longmire in some games, and held back by staff in training.

The question for Sydney staff isn’t how he can play in every AFL game, but what matches does he need to play in to give the Swans the best chance of team success.

And that can be very frustrating for someone who has rarely missed time in a storied AFL career. 

Franklin, pictured celebrating a goal in last year’s preliminary final, concedes it is difficult for him to be held back and protected in the back end of his career

Franklin celebrates winning the 2013 grand final for Hawthorn against the Dockers. Just weeks later it was confirmed he would be moving to Sydney

‘You can’t do what you did when you first started. You can’t be doing every training session, which is for me is pretty hard,’ Franklin conceded.

‘You want to be able to do everything. Once you get a little bit older you need to manage yourself, to make sure that you’re right to go game day.

‘That can be mentally challenging at times, because everyone wants to train as much as possible.

‘But when you get to my age, you’ve got to manage yourself as best as possible and do all the right things to make sure you can get out there.’

While most milestone men would run through the banner holding their kids, the notoriously private Franklin won’t be doing the same.

The Swans superstar married model Jesinta Campbell (now Franklin) in 2016, and the pair have two kids, Rocky and Tallulah. 

But Jesinta will instead watch from the stands with the children and their myriad of family and friends when ‘Buddy’ runs through the banner at the SCG – just like they did when fans streamed onto the pitch following his 1000th goal last year. 

Franklin and model wife Jesinta have two children: Rocky and Tallulah, but the notoriously private father won’t be bringing them through the banner with him for his milestone game

Fans swarm onto the SCG in round two, 2022, when Franklin kicked his 100th AFL goal

It’s a crucial match for the Swans, too.

Last year’s grand finalists sit 12th on the ladder after a slow start to the year.

The fifth-placed Saints present a difficult challenge, given their form has been harder to grasp than a feather in a windstorm.

But you just know Franklin is ready and raring to go and do what he does best: kick goals and win footy games. 

‘Buddy’ Franklin’s glittering career 

2005: Makes debut for Hawthorn aged 18 in round one against the Swans 

2007: Has a breakout season in the AFL, kicking the most goals for Hawthorn and finishing third in the club’s Best and Fairest

2008: May be the best year of his long career. Wins the first of his four Coleman Medals, with a 113-goal season. Is named Best and Fairest for the Hawks in a premiership year, after they beat the Cats in the grand final

2010: Wins his first Goal of the Year for stunning running effort against Essendon, which will go down as one of the greatest of all-time

2011: Earns a second Coleman Medal after kicking 71 goals and is named in his third All Australian team

2013: Finished his Hawthorn career in the perfect way, winning the 2013 grand final against Fremantle. Also wins Goal of the Year for a brilliant long-range goal after hurdling over players against Collingwood

2014: In one of the biggest moves in AFL history, Franklin moves to Sydney to take up an astonishing 10-year, $10million contract with the Swans, shunning much more money than was offered by fledgling club GWS. Wins his third Coleman Medal but his side goes down to Hawthorn in the grand final

Franklin (centre) at a media conference to announce he had officially joined the Swans ahead of the 2014 season on an astonishing 10-year, $10million contract

2016: Plays in another losing grand final for the Swans, when they go down to Bulldogs. Earns sixth All Australian blazer 

2017: Plays his 250th game and polls an equal career-high 22 votes in the Brownlow, after a brilliant season saw him win his last Coleman Medal 

2018: Named captain of the All Australian team, and becomes the second player after Tony Lockett to kick 300 goals for two different clubs 

2019: Plays his 300th AFL game, in which he was best afield thanks to a four-goal, ten-mark performance 

2022: Becomes the sixth AFL/VFL player to kick 1000 goals, prompting incredible scenes at the SCG and plays in his third losing grand final for the club in the last year of his whopping contract 

2023: Brings up 350th match after signing a one-year deal in the preseason