How a VERY hungover Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin left Hawthorn Hawks coach Sam Mitchell disgusted with a shocking act in his car

Long before Sam Mitchell became Hawthorn’s coach, he was a champion player for the club, developing the down-to-earth work ethic and charisma that took the Hawks back to the AFL grand finals.

But his playing years weren’t all premierships and parties, as former teammate and current media personality Jordan Lewis recalls.

Lewis and Mitchell were part of the Hawks’ golden years, winning four championships in an era of dominance that will be hard to surpass.

The first two flags also featured Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, one of the greatest forwards ever before he left for the Sydney Swans.

Mitchell had been with the club for three seasons before Buddy arrived, and Lewis recalls that the start was not exactly rosy after he and Franklin were drafted for the 2004-05 season.

The fresh new players had asked Mitchell for a lift to recovery during pre-season training, but the results were disastrous.

Although Franklin (pictured with his wife Jesinta) matured a lot during his career, his early years with the Hawks did not leave the best impression on Mitchell

Teammate Jordan Lewis (right) recalls a shocking episode he witnessed between Mitchell (left) and Franklin (center)

“My first memory of Sam? When he picked up ‘Bud’ and me to recover. We were both hungover and Sam was driving a Mitsubishi Evolution,” Lewis said News Corp.

“It was the fastest car we had ever been in and by the time we got to the beach, Bud had already thrown up three times.”

Fortunately, the vomiting didn’t affect Mitchell and Franklin’s relationship, which became very close when the Hawks captured the flags in 2008 and 2013.

Franklin would eventually move to the Swans, where he would become a fierce rival of Mitchell on the field

Mitchell reminisced about his former team-mate just before his retirement in 2023 and spoke glowingly about his first impressions of Franklin, but did not mention the performance of the Mitsubishi Evolution.

“I feel really privileged to have been part of his journey,” Mitchell said last year.

“I think many of us remember when he first came on the scene: a skinny kid, a great athlete. He didn’t have any worries and could do amazing things with football.

‘We’ve watched him grow into the great man, father and icon of the sport that he has become.

“When you see how he has grown in that and how he is doing at two clubs, it is admirable. I don’t think you can imagine the pressure he has been under for so long.

‘Not only on the field, but in all aspects of his life, everyone is watching everything he does, for almost two decades.

“I have a huge amount of respect for him. He is a player of our generation, or maybe even more. Furthermore, I can’t help but speak out about what he has achieved off the field and the way he has grown into a great man.”

Mitchell is now coach of the Hawks and is preparing the team for the sudden-death final against Port Adelaide on Friday

Franklin (pictured taking selfies with fans this season) fondly remembers his days with the Hawks

The Hawks are coming off the AFL’s best season in 2024 and will be looking to extend their lead into Friday’s sudden-death final against Port Adelaide.

The Hawks prepare for a battle on and off the field, with a Port crowd watching with one eye.

“We’re going into probably the most hostile environment in the league,” Mitchell said.

‘It will be just as noisy as the MCG last week, but instead of a neutral atmosphere or a crowd of 60-40, the crowd will now be 95-5. So we certainly don’t take this game lightly.

“We know what’s coming this week. It’s going to be a huge event for us and we have to be ready for it.”