The AFL’s biggest off contract player drama has been a big talking point all year. Will Lance Franklin leave Hawthorn at the end of the year for the big offer from GWS or stay ‘loyal’ to the Hawks?
There are big concerns at Hawthorn that Buddy will leave for the Giants offer of between 10 million dollars over five years or 12 million over six years.
He would become the face of GWS and the highest earning AFL player in the game.
Is he worth it at the moment?
No. Of course being a forward his impact and goal returns will vary in between games especially at GWS due to the team and especially the midfield developing.
He will possibly ‘waste’ at least two of his prime years not competing in finals due to the team being nowhere strong enough to make the top eight.
It is easy to say he will leave just due to money. Hawthorn can only really cough up half of the cash offered to Buddy.
They will miss him but it won’t be a huge miss as they have other stars in the forward line. What they won’t have though is the genuine fear factor without Buddy there as they do now.
Hawthorn still have at least two years left in the premiership window but it does depend on the midfield getting restocked if they will have it open for longer.
It will still scare every side in the competition if Hawthorn keep Buddy.
If the Hawks win the premiership then I think the chances of him leaving will not be as high.
He will have the belief of winning more, something which is unlikely to be matched by GWS.
Just because they have good draft picks doesn’t mean they will contend for the flag in five years’ time.
Buddy would become one of the Hawks all-time greats by the time his career ends if he stayed.
But he will also have the opportunity to become one of the Giants all-time greats if he does decide to leave and take the cash and opportunity on offer.
He may not have as many chances to be dangerous when he gets the ball but by the time GWS are fully competitive week in week out he should be able to capitalise on that to do enough.
He is the type of player who sells memberships and the Giants would get a massive boost in attracting new fans across in Western Sydney to the AFL.
He may not be as famous as he is in Melbourne but there will be a few people who will already know about him and he will attract attention to the Giants.
Gold Coast had a massive boost when Gary Ablett signed for them and gave positive publicity before they started in the AFL.
This will help the Giants try to get on level terms in publicity for the right reasons, instead of being known as easybeats, which they still might be known as for some time to come.
What Lance Franklin will miss out on though is not being able to genuinely compete in finals with a side for the premiership for at least three seasons.
He does get paid a lot of money to end up in a losing side most weeks but you get the feeling that what Hawthorn can offer on-field will be stronger than what the Giants can for the next five seasons overall.
Of course the Giants look very likely to get the wooden spoon this year and Hawthorn are in good contention for the premiership.
Don’t expect this to be the last of the free agency player stakes as there will be a whole lot more in years to come.
Anyone prepared for Dane Swan and Bryce Gibbs next season?
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.
Jesse Hogan's striking charge was thrown out by the tribunal citing that negligible contact was made with Carlton's Lewis Young. AFL 360's Mark Robinson…
GWS captain Toby Greene has been suspended for the eighth time in his career after failing in his bid to clear himself of a…
Damien Hardwick has predicted Toby Greene's one-match suspension will be upheld by the AFL tribunal, but the triple-premiership coach says he wouldn't ban the…
Jonathan Brown has made a passionate plea to the AFL on On the Couch to give players leeway as they make split-second decisions, following…
Toby Greene has been offered a one-game suspension after making high contact with Carlton's Jordan Boyd, adding to his list of bans in recent…
Adam Kingsley leant on the "Toby tax" sentiment in defending Toby Greene, but the GWS captain has received a one-match suspension for a high…
