By Jake Niall
The Sydney Swans want to give retired champion Lance Franklin a send off in front of their fans at their final-round match later this month.
But the Swans will leave it up to Franklin to decide whether he wishes to have that farewell at the SCG, where the Swans are scheduled to play Melbourne on the final day of the home-and-away season.
The Swans are hoping to farewell Lance Franklin at the SCG, where he kicked his 1000th AFL goal last season.Credit: Getty Images
Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham said the club wanted to give Franklin – one of the greatest and most electrifying players in the game’s modern history – a tribute. Franklin retired abruptly last week after suffering a season-ending calf injury against Essendon in round 20.
“The hope is we’ll do it on the Sunday of the final round,” Pridham told this masthead.
“We definitely want to do something (for Franklin). We’ll see what he wants to do.
“We’d love to do it. As far as I’m aware, nothing’s organised.”
Franklin and his wife Jesinta are moving from Sydney to live on the Gold Coast.
The Swans host Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon this weekend, play Adelaide away in round 23 and then finish the home-and-away season with what shapes as a finals-shaping blockbuster against the Demons, who are seeking a top-two position.
The final home-and-away game against Melbourne would be the logical opportunity for Franklin to appear before the Swans’ faithful, given that they might not host a final if they make the final eight.
Famously reticent despite his flamboyance as a footballer on the field, Franklin did not front at the media conference to announce his exit from the game after 19 seasons, representing first Hawthorn and then the Swans.
Franklin could also be given a motorcade with other retired players on grand final day, if he does not wish to have an SCG farewell.
While the Swans did not win a premiership with “Buddy” in the decade after he crossed from Hawthorn on a $10 million, nine-year contract, they made three grand finals (2014, 2016 and 2022) and experienced huge growth as a club during the Franklin years.
The club’s membership increased from 35,358 in 2013 – Franklin joined the Swans at the end of that year – to more than 62,000 this season, Pridham said.
Average attendances at the SCG went from 25,629 in 2013 to 31,711 this season and gross broadcast viewership of the Swans’ games reached 19.4 million including finals in 2022.
Pridham said the club’s fan base, according to YouGov, is the largest in the AFL, reaching 2,162,820 in April of this year, having been 1.135 million at the end of 2014.
The club’s QI media value – a measure of audience size and dollar appeal for sponsorship by Nielsen Sports – increased from $52.2 million to $91.1 million ($70.3 million in home and away season).
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.