AFL Swans superstar Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin reveals how close he came to retiring after 2022 season
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Footy superstar Buddy Franklin reveals how close he came to quitting after this season – and whether he ever had a chance of leaving the Swans to play for a third club
- Sydney Swans star Buddy Franklin, 35, signs contract extension for 2023
- In 2013, Franklin signed a monster nine-year, $10 million deal after leaving Hawks
- Franklin will push for third premiership in Saturday’s grand final against Geelong
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Buddy Franklin has revealed he had a ’50/50 chance’ of retiring at the end of the season – and never seriously considered the possibility of playing for a third AFL club in his award-winning career.
Franklin, 35, who scored his 1,000th career goal earlier this season, also had a blunt message for the critics who criticized him after he signed a monstrous nine-year deal worth $10 million with the Sydney Swans in 2013.
“There’s been a lot of knockers over the years, haven’t there?” Franklin said Tuesday on the SCG.
‘When I first got here [Sydney] people knocked [me] that I wouldn’t get there, I wouldn’t make it. I would play for four or five years and that would be it.
“So I certainly proved them wrong, didn’t I?”
Swans superstar Buddy Franklin has revealed he had a ’50/50 chance’ of quitting football after this season
After reaching an agreement with Sydney for 2023, Franklin (pictured with wife Jesinta) called on the critics who questioned his monster nine-year deal to come to the Swans in 2013.
It comes after Franklin put an end to rumors of his playing future on Monday with a succinct two-word statement via the club’s social media channels, which read simply: ‘One more.’
Franklin and Sydney’s announcement closely followed the message sent by basketball legend Michael Jordan when he returned to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA in 1995, exclaiming “I’m back.”
Franklin has kicked 467 goals in 158 games with the Swans after starting 580 goals in 182 games with Hawthorn.
He currently ranks fifth on the all-time VFL/AFL goal-kick list with 1,047 goals, ten less than fourth-seeded Doug Wade.
Franklin made his AFL debut with Hawthorn in 2005 and key forward quickly established himself as a superstar in the code.
The eight-time All Australian won premierships with the Hawks in 2008 and 2013 before moving to the Harbor City.
At the time, many wondered whether the move between the states was primarily motivated by money.
The Swans announced Franklin’s new deal in a brief statement on their social media channels Monday, and the wording echoed NBA legend Michael Jordan’s famous announcement that he would return to the Chicago Bulls in 1995.
Franklin plays in his sixth AFL Grand Final as the Swans face Geelong in the MCG on Saturday
This Saturday, Franklin has a chance to win a third flag — and his first with the Swans — when they defeat the Cats in the AFL Grand Final in the MCG.
Both teams are in sparkling form, with Geelong unbeaten in 15 games and Sydney leading the way after eight consecutive wins.
Franklin will be the man many of his younger teammates are leaning on this week as they feel overwhelmed leading up to the big dance.
He added that his decision to extend his deal for 2023 was due to his continued “passion and drive to compete”.
“I’ve been playing for 18 years, it’s been a long time in the game. I obviously have a young family and things have changed a lot since I first came here,” he told the Herald sun.
“I’m very happy with this decision and I’m looking forward to playing this weekend, but also next year.
“As the year progressed, I still had that passion and drive to compete. Until that’s over, I’ll finish it. “But it’s not gone right now.”
The grand final on Saturday is from 2:30 p.m., with the Bloods on the hunt for their sixth AFL/VFL premier.