Leading AFL pundits believe Sydney Swans star Lance Franklin’s form problems are terminal, with former All-Australian Leigh Montagna calling on the club to announce his retirement immediately.
The Swans’ fall from 2022 Grand Finalists to 14th on the ladder in 2023 is linked to their megastar forward’s sharp drop in form.
Franklin had just four eliminations and went scoreless on the weekend as the Swans lost 17 points to Fremantle at home to SCG.
Over his stellar career, Franklin averaged 14.92 takedowns and just over three goals per game.
In his first season, he averaged 10.65 eliminations and scored just over one goal per game. In 2023, Franklin is averaging just nine eliminations per game and has scored just seven goals in six outings.
Franklin’s decline in form is obvious to all and former All-Australian Leigh Montagna has called on the Swans to immediately announce his impending retirement.
Franklin won two premierships with Hawthorn before his high-profile move to the Sydney Swans, where he won another flag
Franklin struggled to compete with Fremantle skipper Alex Pearce in the air in Swans’ loss to Dockers on Saturday
Montagna called on the Swans to get ahead of the story and announce Franklin won’t be playing beyond this season to inject some positivity into his senior year and allow fans to celebrate their champion.
“There’s going to be a lot of noise and a lot of bad luck and a lot of things to come for Buddy and his form, his place in the team…because we can all see he’s really struggling,” Montagna told Fox Footy.
“Before the narrative gets too loud and too negative about Bud, I’d like to see the Sydney Swans and Bud as a combination come out and officially announce that this will be his last season and turn the narrative into a celebration.
“Turn it into something where all the fans can celebrate, in my opinion, one of the top five players to ever play the game.
“I think he deserves the celebration and the time to say goodbye and for the fans to recognize him.”
Experts believe Franklin will continue to lose battle against younger, more nimble opponents as the season progresses
Former St Kilda star Leigh Montagna (pictured) has called on Swans to announce Franklin’s retirement now so fans have the chance to celebrate his career
Former Hawks champion Dermott Brereton identified all the areas where Franklin is losing the battle this season
Former Hawks champion Dermott Brereton said Franklin has lost all his weapons and will continue to be beaten by faster, more agile opponents after watching him struggle against Fremantle’s Alex Pearce on Saturday.
“You turn into a grumpy old man,” Dermott Brereton said.
‘It’s a bit sad. You have your weapons as a footballer. Your brain is fantastic, you know how to play. But his weapons have always been his incredible agility, his incredible pace for someone with incredible size.
“He’s never had air marking as a strength, so when you lose your guns, what’s your fallback position?”
“Your fallback position is he likes to play from behind, he likes to get the opponent underfoot, then he’ll slap the hand, second hold, third hold and mark the ball high off the ground. But not jump.
“But when you have a guy who’s actually bigger than you, faster than you, and more mobile than you, you have no weapon against him. Buddy had no weapon he could beat Pearce.
“Any physical weapon Buddy ever possessed, and they were phenomenal, were null and void against a 200cm fast opponent.”
Joel Selwood received a hero’s farewell, stepping down with a premiership with Geelong and celebrating for weeks afterwards
Many champion players, like Gary Ablett Jr (pictured), retired without the celebrations they were due
North Melbourne star and two-time Premiership winner David King agreed with Montagna, saying the Swans had an opportunity to learn from other clubs’ past mistakes.
“I think the hardest thing to do in our game is to leave the champions,” King said.
“I think clubs have got it wrong over the years. Brent Harvey’s release was really mediocre, I don’t know if we celebrated Wayne Carey enough, Jonathan Brown enough, Gary Ablett Jnr enough.
“I think Collingwood did it really well with Dane Swan…I like that [Montagna’s suggestion].’
