Buddy Franklin, born Lance Franklin, is a professional Australian rules football player who competes with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Having previously represented Hawthorn football Club since 2005-2013, he’s regarded as the best forward of his generation and one of the all-time greats
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Early life and family
Franklin born on born 30 January 1987, in Perth Western Australia, into an Indigenous Australian family and raised in Dowerin, where he was an avid supporter of the Melbourne Football Club. Prior to relocating to Western Australia at the age of 21, Franklin’s father, Lance Sr., lived in Melbourne and competed for Victoria in hockey. He later represented the state in field hockey. His Aboriginal mother Ursula raised him.
He received a sports scholarship when he was 15 and boarded at Wesley College in Perth. He represented Western Australia at the 2004 AFL Under 18 Championships and played one senior game for the Perth Football Club in 2004.
Career
Franklin was chosen by Hawthorn with the second overall pick in the 2004 AFL Draft after attending draft camp and displaying promise. Franklin said that his “free spirit” probably scared off a few organizations from selecting him that year in a 2012 interview on the Fox Football program On the Couch.
With 102 goals in the home-and-away season in 2008, Franklin established himself as one of the top players in the game, and he won his first Coleman Medal. His season-high total of nine goals came once more against Essendon in Round 11.
Due to off-season surgeries on his thumb and shoulder, Franklin was unable to participate in the 2009 NAB Cup. His form was significantly below what it was in 2008 when he made a comeback to senior football. At Aurora Stadium in Launceston, he faced off in his 100th game during round 19 versus St Kilda.
During his tenure at Hawthorn, Franklin won two premierships, four All-Australian selections, two Coleman Medals, and a Peter Crimmins Medal. Prior to his final season with the team in 2013, he led Hawthorn in goals scored for six straight seasons and twice won the AFL Goal of the Year (in 2010 and 2013).
Franklin scored one goal in round one of the 2022 season before scoring four goals against Geelong in week two to help Sydney defeat them and became the sixth player in VFL/AFL history to reach 1,000 career goals.
The Height of Buddy Franklin
The Australian rules footballer stands at 6 feet 6 inches(199 centimeters)tall.