Alastair Clarkson knew Lance Franklin was leaving after the club lost the 2012 Grand Final to Sydney, but it wasn't until 12 months later that the move would come to fruition.
Franklin's departure from Hawthorn was the biggest move in the modern era, taking up a lucrative deal at the Swans, not GWS, like most thought, to continue his career.
The champion goal-kicker signed an unfathomable nine-year, $10 million deal as a free agent.
But it wasn't the figure, nor the stress of Hawthorn that drove 'Buddy' out of Victoria, according to Clarkson.
"He left at the end of 2013, I knew at the end of 2012," the four-time premiership coach said on Channel Seven's Unfiltered.
"I didn't know where. He came in mid-year and said, 'I'm ready to sign. Beauty. The whole club, Ripper, don't have to worry about this free agency. Buds is going to sign long-term, and that would make him a career Hawk.
"We lost the 2012 grand final in disappointing circumstances, and unbeknownst to me, then, Sydney were courting him pretty strongly.
"But mainly through body language (I knew he was going). When you're around these guys a lot, you just get a feeling.
When Clarko knew Buddy was leaving Hawthorn 👀
Watch the full episode of Unfiltered on 7plus: https://t.co/cbYFFdnty3 pic.twitter.com/y8Eo9E3yjB
— 7AFL (@7AFL) April 9, 2026
"How often they respond, how often they'll take your phone calls, how quickly they'll respond to your text messages. When you're coming past one another, when you see each other for the first time that day, is there genuine eye contact?
"There are so many things that you can detect in a player, and I just had this sense. It surprised the whole football world that it was Sydney rather than GWS.
"In my heart of hearts, I thought it would be out of Victoria. The stress wasn't Hawthorn. The stress wasn't his teammates. The stress wasn't his club. The stress was the Melbourne fishbowl."
