Sydney superstar Lance Franklin was well below his best in the 81-point Grand Final defeat to Geelong on Saturday.
The key forward went goalless and had just five disposals, a lacklustre showing despite the ball not entering his area consistently as a result of the drubbing.
Having been beaten soundly by Steven May in the Qualifying Final and Jack Henry in the Grand Final, Kane Cornes pondered how Franklin’s last season will play out after he inked a one-year contract extension last week.
“A big discussion point will be Buddy Franklin,” Cornes said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“Two of the worst games in the whole of his career came in this finals series.
“He was badly beaten against Steven May and yesterday (Saturday) he had butterfingers early, he wasn’t reading the ball in flight and whilst there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity for him, he’s certainly not the player that he was.
“He’s signed that one-year contract extension and it’s going to be interesting to see how things play out for him and the club next year.”
While Franklin still managed a solid 53 goals in 2022, Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd believes his farewell year could be a “real challenge” for the veteran as he’ll have to play a role that hasn’t suited him across his 17-year career.
“He had a really solid year, he kicked his 50 goals,” Lloyd said.
“But Leigh Matthews made a good point after the game, he said his athleticism has allowed him to play as a mobile forward.
“But now he doesn’t have that anymore, he has to play like a key forward for the rest of his career.
“That’s not what he is, they played Jack Henry on him who can go with him, but he (Franklin) doesn’t have the aerial ability.
“It’s going to be a real challenge for him next year, he has to play like a Johnathan Brown or a (Wayne) Carey in his last year, which he isn’t because he can’t move like he used to.
“He was totally within his rights to play on, but you hate seeing players struggle in their last year.”
Franklin has kicked 1047 career goals and looks set to move into fourth all-time in 2023 should he kick 11 or more majors in his last season.
"Two of his worst games in the whole of his career have come in this finals series."
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) September 25, 2022
The worrying finish to the year for Buddy Franklin, despite announcing he will go around again in 2023. #9AFLSFS | Watch on @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/HGJrTkP9fG