Lance Franklin quietly announced his retirement on Monday, a few weeks shy of the end of his 19th year in the league. His retirement one of the few things in football he seemed unable to control.
Nevertheless, he handled it with class and in good grace. Franklin is not a passive-aggressive nurser of hurts, nor is he one to seek outside affirmation. He is a footballer with nothing to prove, having achieved nearly every football accolade that matters. And more than that, on the field he was theatre.
