sport news Lance Buddy Franklin's mates dish the dirt on Swans star and reveal why he's ... trends now
As Lance 'Buddy' Franklin lines up for a historic 350th AFL match on Thursday night, his closest mates have divulged just what makes the notoriously shy footy superstar tick.
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.
'Buddy' has long been a figure whose aura and immense popularity transcends the footy field.
Guys want to be him, girls want to date him, as the old saying goes. The 199cm, 102kg, heavily tattooed forward may be the game's most recognisable figure of this millennium.
Though close friend and ex-Hawks teammate Jordan Lewis describes him as 'shy - like, really shy', 'Buddy' has such a confidence about himself that one of his school teachers could compare him to only on: West Coast great Ben Cousins.
As Lance Franklin (pictured celebrating his 1000th AFL goal last year) prepares to play his 350th match, his friends have dished the dirt on him
As a schoolboy (pictured in year 12 at prestigious Perth school Wesley College alongside sister Bree) he excelled at footy - but other sports were a different matter entirely
He made his debut as a skinny 18-year-old for Hawthorn in 2005, and it immediately became clear he was going to be something special
Franklin grew up on a hobby farm in the tiny Western Australia town of Dowerin, before receiving a scholarship to attend prestigious Perth private school Wesley College.
There he was taught by ex-Dockers AFLW coach Trent Cooper, who said despite the quiet country boy barely spending any time in the 'big smoke' beforehand, he strutted into the school like he owned the place.
'There was a very low Indigenous population at Wesley College at the time. We had to work to get them out of their shell ... (but) Buddy literally came in, and owned the joint within two days,' Cooper told the Herald Sun.
'It wasn't an unattractive arrogance that you can see in some people ... it was a good arrogance about him that 'I'm going to be really good'.
'The only other person I've ever seen at the school that was like that was Ben Cousins.
'He was my first year teaching … he was the same. The glint in the eye and just 'where am I going now, what am I going to do next?' and everyone was following. They both had similar characteristics in that sense.'
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 - so his close mates have lifted the lid on him ahead of his milestone match
Franklin's schoolteacher Trent Cooper (left, who also coached the Dockers in the AFLW) said only the great Ben Cousins (right) ever compared to the Swans and Hawks icon
Buddy's father Lance Franklin Senior (left) and Nanna, Belle (centre) have some very strong sporting genes
Franklin's 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.
He comes from good pedigree, too. His father, Lance Franklin Senior played hockey for Victoria, mother Ursula was an accomplished netballer, and cousins Derek and Dale Kickett are AFL legends. Sister Bianca played Super Netball for many years and is now married to Wallabies legend Matt Giteau.
So you'd think he'd be one of those athletes who excel at every sport they turn to with nonchalant excellence.
Not according to Cooper.
'Without a doubt, the worst golfer and cricketer of anyone you've seen who can play football,' he told Code Sports last year.
For a player who once told his year four teacher he would be an AFL footballer one day, he didn't quite have the whole dedication thing down pat at first.
The highly-rated youngster could have been in contention for the first pick in the 2004 AFL Draft (he eventually went at pick five) had it not been for his self-described 'free spirit'.
Franklin and his lethal left boot had all the talent in the world, but early days he admitted he was a bit too much of a 'free spirit'
As a schoolboy when managers were eager to sign the forward prodigy, Franklin disappeared to the Spring Racing carnival in Melbourne - a passion that continues to this day (he's pictured with wife Jesinta at the Magic Millions in 2018)
As managers clamoured for his signature, well aware he could be one of the greats of the game, Franklin decided to partake instead in something he is still very fond of: a punt on the racing
'He (Franklin) disappeared in year 12,' Cooper said last year.
'Before exams, we couldn't locate him. And Bianca helped us locate him at the VRC carnival [Melbourne's annual spring racing]. I think a couple of player agents were keen to get him on the hook.
'I think he got Melbourne Cup Day in, but I don't think he's forgiven me
