- Mitchell won two premierships with Franklin
- He had to struggle for three years before Buddy came along.
- I was left with first impressions that I will never forget.
Long before Sam Mitchell became Hawthorn coach, he was a champion player at the club where he honed his no-nonsense work ethic and developed the aura that propelled the Hawks back to the AFL finals.
But his playing days weren’t all championships and partying, as former teammate and current media personality Jordan Lewis recalled.
Lewis and Mitchell were part of the Hawks’ golden years, winning four championships during an era of dominance that will be incredibly difficult to surpass.
The first two flags also included Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, one of the greatest forwards of all time, before his departure to the Sydney Swans.
Mitchell had been at the club for three seasons before Buddy’s arrival, and Lewis recalled that things did not get off to the best of starts after he and Franklin were drafted ahead of the 2004-05 season.
The new recruits had asked Mitchell for a recovery boost during the pre-season with disastrous results.
Sam Mitchell and Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin became close friends during their playing time together at Hawthorn (pictured)
While Franklin (pictured with wife Jesinta) matured a lot during his career, his early days with the Hawks didn’t leave the best impression on Mitchell.
Teammate Jordan Lewis (right) recalled a shocking episode he witnessed between Mitchell (left) and Franklin (center)
“My first memory of Sam? When he picked me and ‘Bud’ up to recuperate. We were both hungover and Sam was driving a Mitsubishi Evolution,” Lewis said. News Corporation.
“It was the fastest car we’d ever been in and by the time we got to the beach Bud had thrown up three times.”
Fortunately, the vomiting didn’t ruin the relationship between Mitchell and Franklin, who became very close as the Hawks reached the 2008 and 2013 championships.
Franklin would eventually move to the Swans, where he would become a fierce rival to Mitchell on the field.
Remembering his former teammate ahead of his retirement in 2023, Mitchell spoke glowingly about his first impressions of Franklin, making no mention of his struggles in the Mitsubishi Evolution.
“I feel really privileged to have seen the part of his journey that I did,” Mitchell said last year.
‘I think a lot of us would remember when he first came along as this skinny kid, an incredible athlete, who didn’t have a care in the world and could do fantastic things with football.
‘We saw him go from that to the great man, father and icon of the game that he has become.
“Seeing how he’s grown and seeing him do it at two clubs is admirable, but I don’t think you can understand the amount of pressure he’s been under for so long.
‘Not only on the field, but in every aspect of his life, everyone has been watching everything he does, for almost two decades.
“I have enormous respect for him, he is a player of our generation if not more, on top of that I can’t help but praise everything he has been able to achieve off the field and the way he has become a great man.”
Mitchell is now the Hawks’ coach and is preparing the team for the sudden-death final against Port Adelaide on Friday.
Franklin (pictured taking selfies with fans this season) fondly remembers his days with the Hawks.
The Hawks have been the positive story of the 2024 AFL season and will look to continue their charge in their sudden-death final against Port Adelaide on Friday.
The Hawks are preparing for a battle on and off the field, with a Port One crowd on the prowl.
“We’re probably going to face the most hostile environment in the competition,” Mitchell said.
‘It will be just as loud as the MCG last week but instead of being neutral or a 60-40 crowd it will be 95-5 so we’re not taking this game lightly at all.
“We understand what is going to happen this week. It will be huge for us and we have to be prepared.”
