Lance Franklin (born 30 January 1987), also known as Buddy Franklin, is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 to 2013. Regarded as the greatest forward of his generation and among the greatest players of all time, Franklin is the seventh-highest goalkicker in VFL/AFL history with 944 career goals, the most of any current player, and has led his clubs' goalkicking on eleven occasions (six at Hawthorn and five at Sydney). He has been selected in the All-Australian team on eight occasions (three at full forward and five at centre half-forward), including as captain in the 2018 team, and has won four Coleman Medals throughout his career, with his biggest haul coming in 2008 with Hawthorn, when he kicked 113 goals for the year.
Franklin won two premierships, four All-Australian selections, two Coleman Medals and a Peter Crimmins Medal in his time at Hawthorn. He was Hawthorn's leading goalkicker for six consecutive seasons prior to his final season at the club in 2013, and also kicked the AFL Goal of the Year on two occasions (in 2010 and 2013). He also received a nomination for the 2005 AFL Rising Star award in round 4 of the 2005 season. After winning his second premiership at Hawthorn in 2013, Franklin moved to Sydney via free agency on a nine-year, $10 million deal, before representing Australia in the 2013 International Rules Series. Franklin had an immediate impact at Sydney, where he has won a further four All-Australian selections and two Coleman Medals, and was the club's leading goalkicker in his first five seasons there. Despite suffering a number of setbacks through injury and mental health, Franklin has played 300 games.