Legacies are often complex. Even Mother Teresa was labelled “a fanatic, a fundamentalist and a fraud” by the late Christopher Hitchens. And while talk of Buddy Franklin’s legacy has cooled a little since he announced his intention to play “one more”, it’s one that’s more straightforward to appraise, regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s grand final.
Franklin’s statistics alone secure his reputation as one of the game’s undeniable greats. He has played for 18 seasons, nine each with Hawthorn and Sydney, for a combined 340 games. He is an eight-time All Australian and four-time Coleman medalist. He is the fifth greatest goalkicker in the history of the game. And he is simply great to watch. So much so that in a city where rugby league dominates the media, Franklin’s profile has helped put the Swans on the back page.
