Lance Franklin - Is He The Best? | Thebigtip

One of the biggest arguments in the AFL for a long time is who is the best? Out of all the stars in the game, which single player is the best. We have all heard the arguments that midfielders like Chris Judd, Gary Ablett, Matthew Boyd and Dane Swan are among the best in the AFL. We have also heard that such defenders like Luke Hodge and Brendan Goddard are the best, but has it ever been considered that a centre half forward can be the best player in the AFL? Not Nick Riewoldt, not Jonathon Brown, not Matthew Pavlich. Is it possible that Lance Franklin at his best is the best and premier player in the AFL?

When you look at a list of Franklin's career highlights, he has done a mighty lot for a player who is still only 24-years-old. Below is a list of just some of Franklin's achievements in the AFL.

AFL Premiership Player (2008)
All-Australian (2008, 2010)
Coleman Medal (2008)
Kicking 100 goals in a season (2008)
Hawthorn Best & Fairest (2008)
Hawthorn Leading Goal Kicker (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
AFL Goal of the Year (2010)


The list could go on for longer, but to keep things easy, we will leave it at that. We'll move on and look at Lance Franklin's stats in the 2011 season. He has started this season brilliantly, just like any other in the past. He is kicking the goals that the Hawks need him to, but he is also up the ground finding his own ball and sometimes even in defence helping out. So far in 2011, Franklin has kicked 32 goals including two bags of six and two bags of five. On five occasions, he has picked up over 20 possessions as well, including the last two weeks where he has had blinders.

A quick look at Franklin's last two weeks shows his pure class. In Round 8 against St Kilda, he found 23 possessions and had 10 scoring shots. In Round 9 against Sydney, Franklin got the ball a career high 28 times, had 12 scoring shots and had 19 score involvements. With Round 10 coming up soon, and still a long way to go, you can only imagine what Lance Franklin could do.

Below is a video, showing the party tricks that Franklin can pull out of the bag at any time. If Franklin continues playing the way he is right now, on a consistent basis you can only imagine what he will have achieved by the end of his career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUcnjGKOw80