By Mathew Stokes
It was while he was dominating the competition in the first half of his career playing at Hawthorn that I first met “Buddy”.
Such was his aura that I was genuinely starstruck for the one and only time in my playing career when we crossed paths at an Indigenous players’ camp.
Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin celebrates a goal during the early years at Hawthorn.Credit: Pat Scala
He had kicked 100 goals in a season and led the Hawks to a premiership over the Cats in 2008 and was a superstar at 21.
Although my teammate Gary Ablett jnr was a superstar too, I had only ever known him as “Gazza”, my mate. Buddy was something different.
On the field, his football exploits filled me with fear.
Lance Franklin could do more on a football field than we ever imagined possible and unlike other Hawthorn greats such as Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Jarryd Roughead, there appeared no limit to what he could create.
He carried an aura about him and any time I tried to bump him or get in his space, he would deliver one line with a dismissive grin on his face, calling me a midget if he chose to respond to my annoying behaviour.
Buddy always said things with a smile and seemed to get away with it. To be honest, such was the esteem with which I held him, I’d just think “Buddy acknowledged me” so it was all good.
The biennial Indigenous camps were always good and I saw a different side of Buddy.
I only went to a couple of camps that he attended but because he was such an unbelievable player he arrived with a status no one else matched.
Lance Franklin was a proud Noongar man who lived life on his terms
There would be 75-85 Indigenous players on the camp and most were looking for Buddy to talk to, or wondering what he might say.
However, all Buddy wanted was to fit in and be one of the boys on the camp. He didn’t want to take the limelight away from the camp or be the spokesperson for the group just because of his standing in the game.
He did not want any adulation. He wanted to have a joke, hang out and have some fun, even encouraging us to make a trip to the casino more than once. He was good at fitting in.
Above all, he was going to be himself.
I saw that side of him in Ireland when the Indigenous team represented Australia in Ireland in 2013 with Buddy playing one Test – starting in the ruck – at Breffni Park in Cavan.
The group found a pub in Dublin soon after Buddy joined us in the country late, having visited his sister who was in Europe beforehand.
The boys were in absolute amazement that Bud was with us and we just had the best time. There was no one else in the pub and we saw this absolutely giving, lovable guy who just wanted to be one of the boys. It is why I always had so much respect for him as a person and as a player.
I can’t pretend to know what it would have been like for him at times during that period, but I assume he took his time to work out who he was and how he wanted to live his life, and where being a proud Noongar man with a huge public profile fitted into that journey.
I suspect he was finding his own way in relation to being a First Nations man, showing along the way that you don’t necessarily have to shout your opinions to be a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
As an athlete he was in a different sphere, a sphere only .000001 per cent ever reach.
When I reflect on the significance of Buddy being Indigenous, it is that, to me, he showed another side of being a great First Nations person.
He demonstrated to everyone that a proud First Nations person doesn’t necessarily have to be outspoken or standing up as a public voice on every issue, it’s about being comfortable in who you are and being proud of that.
Buddy showed that being comfortable in yourself was the most important foundation you could lay for future happiness.
That’s why I had to smile when Lance preferred to stay clear of the media conference that Sydney convened to announce his retirement last Monday.
He never liked fanfare and Sydney showed they knew, understood and respected the man who represented their club so well in three grand finals over 182 games for the Swans.
That’s what I loved about him. He did it his way. It might have taken him a while to figure what that way was, but I always really respected the fact that he stuck to what he believed in and how he thought he should operate.
I am just glad he was able to leave the game in the way he did.
Because I am, like everyone, a Buddy fan, and anyone who says they aren’t are kidding themselves.
Mathew Stokes is a Larrakia man who played 200 games with Geelong and Essendon. He played in Geelong’s 2007 and 2011 premiership teams.
