Pranking Clarko, flip phones and sleeping on the floor: Buddy’s road to 1000 goals
The wait is over. Lance Franklin has kicked his 1000th goal, mobbed by fans in epic scenes at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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He made the impossible look routine in front of goals, a skill honed longed before he stepped out onto the MCG. Before they would make history as teammates, Buddy and Jordan Lewis crossed paths as 16-year-olds.
“The first time I met Bud was at the draft camp in Canberra at the AIS, and I was introduced to him by Roughy [Jarryd Roughead], funnily enough,” Lewis told Fox Footy.
“All I remember is this raw kid, the talent I’d never seen before. We had a lot of downtime at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport). For hours upon hours he’d be there kicking the footy.
“He was the one who stood out in terms of trying to bend the ball around trees, trying to hit certain targets. No shoes on, but you could see athletically gifted.
“Then the time trials came around… I’d never seen anything like that in Warrnambool in my days.”
Those athletic gifts were quickly put on display when he arrived at the Hawks. Ben Dixon, the Hawks’ spearhead at the time, remembers the running capacity Buddy showed from the moment he arrived at Hawthorn.
“We were at Caulfield Park and it was a 2.2km time trial. I remember Timmy Clark could almost keep up with Steve Moneghetti. Bud took off in front of him. We laughed, it was his first trial at Caulfield Park – we said ‘let’s watch this bloke blow up’,” he said.
“Later he comes around the corner and he’s neck and neck with Clarky. We went ‘how’s he kept up here?’”
Hawks legend Dermott Brereton found himself speechless at the feats of the 18-year-old from Western Australia.
“I saw a bit of him training in the first season. Jason Dunstall and I attended a couple of training runs to get a closer look at him, and the team really. Soon your eyes were taking to this young kid wearing 40-something at the time. He just did some things, even as an 18-year old.” Brereton told Fox Footy.
“There was one time out at Waverley Park, there was a kick that went into the forward line. It went over Franklin’s head and he turned to go with it. Trent Croad spiked it, flushed it as a spoil. It went about three metres forward. Franklin had just turned to run with it, and already got to full pace.
“It wasn’t going to volley him, it actually yorked him at his toes. He took it clean, swerved around the opposition and his own teammates, then belted the thing towards goals.
“Jason Dunstall and I looked at each other and we didn’t even say anything, we just turned to each other. A 6-foot-6 bloke, we’ve never seen anyone as big as him, as tall as him, as agile as him, doing anything like it.”
Buddy has been as heavily documented as any in the modern game. But away from the lights, the camera, his stage – comparatively little is known.
“From the limited dealings I had with him when he first arrived at the club, he was actually quite shy,” Brereton said.
“He’s quite an unassuming fellow. People have perceptions of footballers because of the way they play, prance, act, see out a game. You have these preconceptions, but Lance is genuinely a humble guy, even a touch shy in his own true demeanour.”
Ben Dixon agrees, as does premiership teammate Jordan Lewis.
“I would describe him as an extremely shy, private person, very reserved and not comfortable in sharing much about him early. I think that developed as he got more comfortable with his friends, surroundings and players. Just a very quiet, reserved guy,” Lewis said.
“As time goes on and you realise the kind nature in which he held himself, but he was such a shy person. To balance that out with the stardom that would eventually come his way would have been quite difficult.”
That’s not to say Buddy didn’t enjoy having his share of fun, even under the trying circumstances of the Kokoda Track hike, a staple under former Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson.
Dixon recalls him pranking his coach during his first trek.
“You were given a food pack, which was your breakfast, lunch and dinner to last you the whole day. For breakfast he ate the whole lot. Shane Crawford and I were carrying protein bars, being the elder statesmen, we knew what was coming,” he said.
“We were feeding him bars. Clarko saw it and was like ‘Nup, not on my watch.’ This kid, 60 kilos dripping wet, needs a feed – we’re about to walk 72 kilometres.”
“We hadn’t played a game yet and we were lucky to bring Buddy back. At the end of the day Buddy took the lesson on board, didn’t say much. The next day he put a rock in Clarko’s backpack.
“Clarko got to the end of the day and said ‘Phew, tough day’.”
“Buddy said: ‘tougher with a rock in your bag too’.
“To withstand what we went through there – there was an air of arrogance about him with some antics, playing pranks on the coach he’d only met for one minute, so we knew he was going to be the fabric or the future of the footy club.”
After returning from Kokoda, Jordan Lewis and Buddy would stay with four-time premiership Hawk Gary Buckenara as they settled into life in the city.
Buddy made himself right at home.
“I remember we would just go and train, we’d go back home to Bucky’s house, go to sleep. Annette [Buckenara] would wake us up for dinner, then we’d go straight back to sleep. But Buddy didn’t want to be by himself, so he would move his mattress into my room so we could sleep together of a night time because he didn’t want to be alone in a new state, in an unfamiliar house.” Lewis said,
“He was messy, I was quite particular. He would just leave crap everywhere. Clothing, food, everything all over the place. That was frustrating, but we were both young kids, we’d both come from the country and drafted to Hawthorn. It was one of those things that time flew because we were having so much fun.
“We both blew our pay check on a pair of jeans and a Motorola flip phone.”
Buddy would find it hard to blow his pay check now, but he’s been worth every cent to the Hawks, the Swans, and the AFL.
“He has been a raging success for the Sydney Swans. To the brand of the Sydney Swans he is everything. He‘s a damn good fellow to have in your organisation,” Brereton said.
“Lance is the biggest drawcard, the biggest star, the biggest weapon as a key forward that I’ve seen in my time. By the age of 50 it would be hard to keep Lance Franklin out of legendary status in the Hall of Fame.”
Dunstall added: “No one has a bigger standing in the game than Buddy, without a shadow of a doubt – people who don’t care about the AFL, don’t know anything about the AFL would know about Buddy. I think he’s the biggest name in the game.
“He’s as entertaining as anyone who’s played the game.”
Jordan Lewis knows just how good Buddy has been, and is.
“He’s changed the way the traditional centre half forward plays. He’s the best player I’ve played with. He’ll be an eventual Hall of Fame legend,” he said.
CATCH BUDDY IN ACTION THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, LIVE AND IN HD, ON FOX FOOTY