Lance Franklin did what he does best at Subiaco Oval on Sunday – tease the audience with his undeniable AFL talent while at the same time frustrate them with periods of wastefulness.
Try as he might the man known as “Buddy” just couldn’t muster the six goals he needed to become the first man since Tony Lockett in 1998 to boot 100 goals in the regular season.
Franklin kicked a wayward 4.5 in Hawthorn’s 71-point shellacking of West Coast, bringing his season tally to 98.79 with a date against Carlton next week almost certain to yield the extra two goals he needs to reach triple figures.
The 21-year-old appeared on track to reach that feat against the Eagles when he kicked his third goal eight minutes into the second quarter.
But with Eagles skipper Darren Glass wearing him like a glove in an absorbing duel, Franklin managed just 1.4 thereafter, dropping an absolute sitter midway the second quarter that would have earned him a certain goal.
With the focus of the week once again to settle on Franklin’s quest for 100 goals, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson shrugged off suggestions his star charge was bringing unwanted distractions to the club as the second-placed Hawks shift into finals mode.
“It’s not a big focus for us,” Clarkson said.
“It will happen when it happens. It’s more than likely going to happen next week now.
“We had nine goalscorers today and the spread was a lot better than perhaps it has been.
“From our point of view we just play and when he gets the goals he gets the goals. If he happens to get on the end of them, great, but we are more interested in Hawthorn kicking the goals necessarily than just one player.”
Campbell Brown (four goals) and Mark Williams (three) were amongst the goals but it was Hawthorn’s runners in Brent Guerra, Rick Ladson, Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Shane Crawford and Chance Bateman that helped set up the 19.19 (133) to 9.8 (62) triumph, highlighted by a nine-goal, third-term scoring onslaught.
But the Hawks will be forced to sweat on several incidents, with the AFL match review panel likely to examine ruckman Brent Renouf’s high bump on Quinten Lynch, Sam Mitchell’s head-high tackle on Ashley Hansen and Mark Williams’ fist to the head of Eric Mackenzie.
Hawthorn have a terrible disciplinary record this season and Clarkson admitted it was a concern that so many players would enter the finals with carryover points.
“That’s not ideal … but we play in a very volatile and aggressive sport and we ask our players to play tough, hard footy and sometimes that drags them a little bit closer to the line so they’re vulnerable to reports and suspensions,” Clarkson said.
For West Coast it was a disappointing way to farewell club stalwart Michael Braun, who will hang up his boots after 228 games with the Eagles.
“Everyone’s seen what he’s done and young players have had the chance to get to know him and watch his work ethic,” Eagles coach John Worsfold said.
“We’ve got some young players coming through that are already stepping up to work like Brauny did.”
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Apart from one five-goal game, GWS forward Toby Greene has only kicked six goals from the other eight games. He's traditionally had success against the Western Bulldogs.
Bayley Fritsch should become an even more important player from a structural perspective, given key forward Jacob van Rooyen will be unavailable due to concussion.
Tom Hawkins returns to familiar surroundings of Geelong - but is it the tonic he needs to regain some of his confidence back after a goalless four games.
Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
Last, year in the second showdown, Adelaide destroyed Port by 47 points with a staggering 20 marks inside 50 with Tex Walker the main star.
There’s no disputing that Cam Guthrie will be important against Melbourne, given Patrick Dangerfield is set to miss due to injury.
