TRAVCLOKE#32
24 Apr 2008, 00:00
THE overwhelming catch-cry out of Saturday night's game in Brisbane was: "How good is Buddy Franklin? He kicked eight goals, but it could easily have been 10."
From my perspective, viewed as an outsider, it is not about how good is he, but how good he can be Lance Franklin still has plenty of upside left in him.
And that is a frightening prospect for 15 AFL coaches and their key backmen.
If there was a rating scale to measure output in percentage against your ability, Buddy is motoring along at just over 80 per cent, in my opinion.
He can be 10-20 per cent better.
Experience (which is coming rapidly) will teach him how to minimise those easy, give away, lost chances.
On Saturday night his eight goals, six behinds and one shot that registered nothing indicate that his statistical achievements can still climb at the very least.
He can take marks on the lead under pressure at full-tilt speed and above his head, out-stretching and out-bodying his opposition.
He even takes marks centimetres off the ground like a slips catch.
But the last two weeks have seen him grass three easy chest marks under minimal pressure inside 50m.
He has kicked 14 goals in the past two games when it should have been 18 to 20.
Buddy is a maverick. It is obvious that he is enjoying his football as much as people are enjoying watching him.
He is playing with the same enthusiasm as the most talented kid in the schoolyard.
Buddy is still experimenting. He is still learning his boundaries.
Most people find the boundaries to their abilities by the time they have played against every good opponent at least once.
The boom gate has not been lowered on Franklin's ability yet, such is the combination of his size, speed and agility.
Gary Ablett Sr is the only other footballer I have seen in that category.
Franklin could do well to learn from the likes of Jason Dunstall.
Even if Piggy bagged a haul of 10 goals, rather than bask in the glory, it would irk him knowing that he missed a shot for goal that was perhaps a 50-50 chance.
Dunstall would constantly scrutinise what he could improve on.
Franklin could also do better with what he knows.
He could at least hold on to the unbelievably easy chest marks he drops each week and he could reduce the number of routine shots at goal he misses.
Right now if you transferred Brendan Fevola's goalkicking ability into Franklin, that hybrid would kick between 40 and 50 goals after five matches. That is scary.
As a purist, I still want to see Buddy play like a Grade 6er among a group of Grade 3s.
It is the stuff that makes me smile and occasionally giggle.
He has discovered that he is stronger than most others and he has developed a fend-off "don't argue" action with an arm that is longer than his opponent's.
He has learnt that he runs quicker while turning in an arc back towards goal than his opposition. He continues to learn many things that are unconventional for all others.
Who can play on Buddy? It is becoming increasingly obvious that he has no natural predator.
No one matches his physical stature and mobility. Perhaps only Patrick Ryder - who is listed as 1cm taller than Franklin's 196cm - has the reach coupled with his dexterity.
But then Franklin has a more powerful frame, and for true agility and endurance he is also ahead.
It is interesting that when discussing the possibility of drafting Ryder a year after Franklin, Hawthorn had two choices before Essendon.
They chose Xavier Ellis and Beau Dowler. There was a belief that Franklin and Ryder were too similar in stature and demeanour to get the best out of them.
The club questioned whether they would duplicate the same role on field and whether they could affect each other's application off field.
We will never know, but we do know Franklin is turning the game on its head and Ryder is right on track to becoming a star in his own right.
Franklin is drawing people to the football again for the first time since Gary Ablett Sr.
People with no allegiance to Hawthorn are going along just to watch Buddy.
And so they should. Buddy is the player most likely to kick a 12-goal-plus tally that we haven't seen for some time.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23577937-19742,00.html
From my perspective, viewed as an outsider, it is not about how good is he, but how good he can be Lance Franklin still has plenty of upside left in him.
And that is a frightening prospect for 15 AFL coaches and their key backmen.
If there was a rating scale to measure output in percentage against your ability, Buddy is motoring along at just over 80 per cent, in my opinion.
He can be 10-20 per cent better.
Experience (which is coming rapidly) will teach him how to minimise those easy, give away, lost chances.
On Saturday night his eight goals, six behinds and one shot that registered nothing indicate that his statistical achievements can still climb at the very least.
He can take marks on the lead under pressure at full-tilt speed and above his head, out-stretching and out-bodying his opposition.
He even takes marks centimetres off the ground like a slips catch.
But the last two weeks have seen him grass three easy chest marks under minimal pressure inside 50m.
He has kicked 14 goals in the past two games when it should have been 18 to 20.
Buddy is a maverick. It is obvious that he is enjoying his football as much as people are enjoying watching him.
He is playing with the same enthusiasm as the most talented kid in the schoolyard.
Buddy is still experimenting. He is still learning his boundaries.
Most people find the boundaries to their abilities by the time they have played against every good opponent at least once.
The boom gate has not been lowered on Franklin's ability yet, such is the combination of his size, speed and agility.
Gary Ablett Sr is the only other footballer I have seen in that category.
Franklin could do well to learn from the likes of Jason Dunstall.
Even if Piggy bagged a haul of 10 goals, rather than bask in the glory, it would irk him knowing that he missed a shot for goal that was perhaps a 50-50 chance.
Dunstall would constantly scrutinise what he could improve on.
Franklin could also do better with what he knows.
He could at least hold on to the unbelievably easy chest marks he drops each week and he could reduce the number of routine shots at goal he misses.
Right now if you transferred Brendan Fevola's goalkicking ability into Franklin, that hybrid would kick between 40 and 50 goals after five matches. That is scary.
As a purist, I still want to see Buddy play like a Grade 6er among a group of Grade 3s.
It is the stuff that makes me smile and occasionally giggle.
He has discovered that he is stronger than most others and he has developed a fend-off "don't argue" action with an arm that is longer than his opponent's.
He has learnt that he runs quicker while turning in an arc back towards goal than his opposition. He continues to learn many things that are unconventional for all others.
Who can play on Buddy? It is becoming increasingly obvious that he has no natural predator.
No one matches his physical stature and mobility. Perhaps only Patrick Ryder - who is listed as 1cm taller than Franklin's 196cm - has the reach coupled with his dexterity.
But then Franklin has a more powerful frame, and for true agility and endurance he is also ahead.
It is interesting that when discussing the possibility of drafting Ryder a year after Franklin, Hawthorn had two choices before Essendon.
They chose Xavier Ellis and Beau Dowler. There was a belief that Franklin and Ryder were too similar in stature and demeanour to get the best out of them.
The club questioned whether they would duplicate the same role on field and whether they could affect each other's application off field.
We will never know, but we do know Franklin is turning the game on its head and Ryder is right on track to becoming a star in his own right.
Franklin is drawing people to the football again for the first time since Gary Ablett Sr.
People with no allegiance to Hawthorn are going along just to watch Buddy.
And so they should. Buddy is the player most likely to kick a 12-goal-plus tally that we haven't seen for some time.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23577937-19742,00.html