Lance Franklin is preparing for his 250th game of AFL football on Friday night, and the talented forward certainly has had a career to remember.
He was taken by Hawthorn with pick five in the 2004 National Draft, and has since become the most dominant current day forward, and his stats suggest he could be one of the greatest of all time.
Franklin currently has 795 goals to his name, and with five years left on his contract, the magical 1000 goal mark looks well within reach.
Since his debut, Buddy leads a multitude of statistics to show just how dominant he's been, leading the league in goals, shots at goal, behinds, total points and disposals inside 50.
During the week, Swans coach John Longmire said his career achievements to date allow him to be mentioned in the same category as legendary forwards Tony Lockett, Gary Ablett Sr and Jason Dunstall.
“His athleticism for his size is what makes him a really unique forward if you’re comparing eras,” Longmire said.
“He gets up the ground and back and he’s so quick and such an amazing kick that he is quite unique, but he certainly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see how his career pans out but to this point you’d certainly say he’s in that bracket.”
Top five goal kickers
| Player | Club | Goals |
| Lance Franklin | Hawthorn/Sydney | 795 |
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle | 592 |
| Nick Riewoldt | St Kilda | 573 |
| Jarryd Roughead | Hawthorn | 495 |
| Jack Riewoldt | Richmond | 486 |
Top five shots at goal
| Player | Club | Shots |
| Lance Franklin | Hawthorn/Sydney | 1356 |
| Nick Riewoldt | St Kilda | 947 |
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle | 938 |
| Jarryd Roughead | Hawthorn | 813 |
| Travis Cloke | Collingwood/Bulldogs | 807 |
Top five behinds
| Player | Club | Behinds |
| Lance Franklin | Hawthorn/Sydney | 561 |
| Nick Riewoldt | St Kilda | 374 |
| Travis Cloke | Collingwood/Bulldogs | 362 |
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle | 346 |
| Jarryd Roughead | Hawthorn | 318 |
Top five disposals inside 50
| Player | Club | Disposals |
| Lance Franklin | Hawthorn/Sydney | 1952 |
| Nick Riewoldt | St Kilda | 1656 |
| Steve Johnson | Geelong/GWS | 1580 |
| Eddie Betts | Carlton/Adelaide | 1580 |
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle | 1558 |
While those numbers are impressive among current day players, where does Franklin rank among those all-time greats?
Admittedly it was a different era, but those three mentioned above had unbelievable records.
Lockett averaged 4.8 goals a game over his 281 game career, Dunstall averaged 4.7 in 269 games and Ablett averaged 4.2 in 248, with Buddy sitting well behind at just 3.2.
Both Lockett and Dunstall managed 100 goals in a season on six different occasions, with Ablett achieving the feat three times. Buddy has only hit the ton once.
| Player | Games | Goals | Goals per game | 100-goal seasons | All-Australian | Coleman Medal | Club leading goal kicker |
| Tony Lockett | 281 | 1360 | 4.8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| Jason Dunstall | 269 | 1254 | 4.7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Gary Ablett Sr | 248 | 1030 | 4.2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Lance Franklin | 249 | 795 | 3.2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
Will Buddy be remembered as one of the all-time greats once his career comes to an end?
