Franks for the memories. Things don't always go well with COLA

[Procrastinator35]

You hit the nail on the head there macmate.

Every player has bad games, but the way Buddy's been playing this year has suggested to me that football is no longer the most important thing in his life. He has the luxury of not turning up to games mentally yet still performing well on the back of sheer talent and athleticism. It looks to me as if he is really starting to abuse that luxury, and the Norf game was about the worst example of it so far.

He just looks as though his head isn't in the game at times, and for a bloke expecting to earn over a million a year that's not good enough. Compare his attitude on the field to Ablett Jr (another bloke on huge coin) and they are light years apart. Ablett is the consummate professional, Buddy... does he even want to play AFL anymore? Looks to me like he'd prefer to be hanging around his dickhead rugby mates Quade Cooper & Sonny Bill Williams.

Nice to see you & MacMate on the same page BOSK...Way too many posters on this site blinded by their Brown & Gold Goggles!...Hanging onto HOPE...Can be the biggest Bit#h of them all; just ask Pandora!

 

[mattyflux]

Nice to see you & MacMate on the same page BOSK...Way too many posters on this site blinded by their Brown & Gold Goggles!...Hanging onto HOPE...Can be the biggest Bit#h of them all; just ask Pandora!

Really looking forward to what you have to say when Buddy signs up again in the lead up to the finals......should be interesting

 

[Procrastinator35]

Really looking forward to what you have to say when Buddy signs up again in the lead up to the finals......should be interesting

Matty; you are all welcome to lock me up in the Medieval stocks & throw all your rotten fruit and veg at me...Hang on....You've already done that!!!!!

 

[mattyflux]

Matty; you are all welcome to lock me up in the Medieval stocks & throw all your rotten fruit and veg at me...Hang on....You've already done that!!!!!

I havent thrown anything at you, except maybe when you suggested Hodgey was a raging alcoholic. I just think sometimes you claim things to be fact or very close to when in fact there could be a plethora of other possibilities around certain subjects.
I respect that you think Buddy will leave as do many others, but you are no more sure that he will leave than I am that he will stay. There is definitely a chance he could go but I like to put faith in people and take them on their word until they give me a reason not to. So far Buddy has not given me a reason to not believe him.

If he does stay, what are you going to say after you have dragged him through the mud the way you have??

 

[Procrastinator35]

I havent thrown anything at you, except maybe when you suggested Hodgey was a raging alcoholic. I just think sometimes you claim things to be fact or very close to when in fact there could be a plethora of other possibilities around certain subjects.
I respect that you think Buddy will leave as do many others, but you are no more sure that he will leave than I am that he will stay. There is definitely a chance he could go but I like to put faith in people and take them on their word until they give me a reason not to. So far Buddy has not given me a reason to not believe him.

If he does stay, what are you going to say after you have dragged him through the mud the way you have??

Apologies Matty. No you have not thrown anything at me, proverbially, so to speak. I was using the term 'you' in its pejorative sense.

If he stays, which I'm pretty certain he Aint, then yes, I'll look an utter goose, Granted! I'm sure Grizz will have the perfect Avatar waiting to grace my I.D if that is the case... Perhaps The Fool!... We can all hope...

I, like others here are in awe of Buddy's natural ability. To me he has more natural God-given talent than any other player I have been privileged to watch! Matthews & Cyril included.........

But, Matty....And it's a big but;...He lacks the discipline & maturity necessary at this level to continually improve & work on his game. When you are young you can 'get by' on your raw instincts & talents, which Buddy has in spades...But as you get older these instincts diminish & can only be maintained & improved on with discipline.....

Every year since 2008 Buddy's kicking for goal percentages have worsened...He has been allowed to get away with this because of his freakish raw ability...

The same goes for his free-kicks against differentials... The worst of any player in the league over the past 5 years... again, gets away with it because of his undoubted abilities elsewhere.

The leaders at our club have allowed this to happen! It is they whom I hold accountable for the current state of affairs with regards Buddy!

My criticisms of him pertain to these issues! They are synonymous with his lack of maturity & selfish nature regarding the way he plays for himself rather than the team first!...For me it's Hawthorn FIRST.... I don't apologize for that....

I stand by my comments...But yes, there is always room for doubt & indeed Hope...People can & do change their minds!

Let me finish by saying that I would love nothing more, than for Buddy to kick the ton, win us the flag, & prove me wrong by re-signing with us....I'd then rejoice in every rotten egg thrown at my face on this forum with a kind of sado-masochistic enjoyment, the likes of which I have never felt heretofore!

Cheers Matty! ALWAYS HAWTHORN.

 

[mattyflux]

Apologies Matty. No you have not thrown anything at me, proverbially, so to speak. I was using the term 'you' in its pejorative sense.

If he stays, which I'm pretty certain he Aint, then yes, I'll look an utter goose, Granted! I'm sure Grizz will have the perfect Avatar waiting to grace my I.D if that is the case... Perhaps The Fool!... We can all hope...

I, like others here are in awe of Buddy's natural ability. To me he has more natural God-given talent than any other player I have been privileged to watch! Matthews & Cyril included.........

But, Matty....And it's a big but;...He lacks the discipline & maturity necessary at this level to continually improve & work on his game. When you are young you can 'get by' on your raw instincts & talents, which Buddy has in spades...But as you get older these instincts diminish & can only be maintained & improved on with discipline.....

Every year since 2008 Buddy's kicking for goal percentages have worsened...He has been allowed to get away with this because of his freakish raw ability...

The same goes for his free-kicks against differentials... The worst of any player in the league over the past 5 years... again, gets away with it because of his undoubted abilities elsewhere.

The leaders at our club have allowed this to happen! It is they whom I hold accountable for the current state of affairs with regards Buddy!

My criticisms of him pertain to these issues! They are synonymous with his lack of maturity & selfish nature regarding the way he plays for himself rather than the team first!...For me it's Hawthorn FIRST.... I don't apologize for that....

I stand by my comments...But yes, there is always room for doubt & indeed Hope...People can & do change their minds!

Let me finish by saying that I would love nothing more, than for Buddy to kick the ton, win us the flag, & prove me wrong by re-signing with us....I'd then rejoice in every rotten egg thrown at my face on this forum with a kind of sado-masochistic enjoyment, the likes of which I have never felt heretofore!

Cheers Matty! ALWAYS HAWHORN.

Haha! Pretty good reply. Not much you can say to that!

While I respectfully disagree on some of your obsevations on Buddy regarding his selfishness, I do agree with what you say about his maturity and discipline at times. I think he can get a bit hot headed at times and definitely gives away way too many frees but I think he has worked hard on doing the more unrewarded things for the team such as his tackling, one percenters, unrewarded running and is bringing others into the game which is great. I still think he is improving but I don't expect him to ever be perfect.

But anyway, that is for another discussion isn't it. I too hope you are wrong and will gleefully throw rotten eggs your way if does re-sign

 

[Procrastinator35]

Haha! Pretty good reply. Not much you can say to that!

While I respectfully disagree on some of your obsevations on Buddy regarding his selfishness, I do agree with what you say about his maturity and discipline at times. I think he can get a bit hot headed at times and definitely gives away way too many frees but I think he has worked hard on doing the more unrewarded things for the team such as his tackling, one percenters, unrewarded running and is bringing others into the game which is great. I still think he is improving but I don't expect him to ever be perfect.

But anyway, that is for another discussion isn't it. I too hope you are wrong and will gleefully throw rotten eggs your way if does re-sign

Yeah.... Pretty sure that you & 99% of the posters here on this forum won't need an invitation on that one!

P.S. The reason why I 'Ride' Lance & Hodge so much, Is because I believe they are the key to us winning the flag this year, if only they would fully commit themselves to the club & the cause.....Much the same way as John Kennedy Snr would 'Ride' Leigh Matthews on many an occasion saying "We need more from you." That is the context in which my criticism of these 2 is couched from! O.K

Cheers Matty & Go HAWKERS!

 

[mattyflux]

Yeah.... Pretty sure that you & 99% of the posters here on this forum won't need an invitation on that one!

P.S. The reason why I 'Ride' Lance & Hodge so much, Is because I believe they are the key to us winning the flag this year, if only they would fully commit themselves to the club & the cause.....Much the same way as John Kennedy Snr would 'Ride' Leigh Matthews on many an occasion saying "We need more from you." That is the context in which my criticism of these 2 is couched from! O.K

Cheers Matty & Go HAWKERS!

No worries mate. We all want the same thing don't we. Up the HAWKS!

 

[dipper86]

My criticisms of him pertain to these issues! They are synonymous with his lack of maturity & selfish nature regarding the way he plays for himself rather than the team first!...For me it's Hawthorn FIRST.... I don't apologize for that....

Before last week I would have said he had improved in these areas this year, but in Buddy's case its 1 step forward two steps back. Last weeks effort was one of the most selfish displays i have seen from a Hawthorn footballer in quite a while. he had no interest in playing the ball and instead played the man, he let the team down in a very big way giving away free kicks at will. he was playing poorly, we all know that...... but instead he chose the option of being nothing more than a brat rather than working hard for the team.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Scott Thompsons sole focus was to put Buddy off his game, especially after last years match in Tassie, credit to Thompson
Actually, the whole NM side had a steely determination to right the wrongs of last year. It was like a Final for them!
After last week more and more opposition clubs will try this, as it was very successful for Thompson
Lets see if and how both Buddy and Hawthorn learn from it

 

[MightyHawks]

Bud turned up as if he just had to run around yelling 13...

Our whole side turned up a little arrogant against North and nearly cost us

Can't afford to do that again

 

[HAWKS HEROES]

they bullied Buddy all game from what i saw i still can not fathom how he ended up on the back of that player weird as never seen that before

 

[TBoyleSuperstar]

I see no reason to worry about the Buddy signature. All I want to see is him play at his best all year, or at least, giving 100% each game. Of the 5 games this year, 3 have been good, 2 have been poor for mine. The 2 where he has been poor he has been more concerned with flexing his biceps a bit and pushing and shoving. When he keeps the ball as his sole focus, he's been very good.

Just need to make sure they keep his focus on the footy and we can win the thing this year. Then, if he wants to leave, at least he's given us something to enjoy before his departure

 

[Bosk]

Another shocker from Franklin today.

Admittedly he is receiving very close checking and bugger all latitude by his opponents but so far this year he isn't coping with it terribly well and it's starting to affect his confidence. Ted Richards next week will be a huge challenge for him.

 

[BobHawk]

Struggled again and seems out of form although he tried hard. Concerned with how he is responding because could get himself into trouble with some of those tackles. Has been playing up the ground a bit and maybe the reason. A bit like last year when Clarko tried him in the midfield a bit more. Didn't work.

 

[MrFujiMoto]

Possibly wont be playing the next couple of weeks with some ill discipline

 

[hardon]

ha! don't worry about buddy. have we signed clarko up for another 7 years yet? coaching merry-go-round might start again soon. little gem he is.

 

[Badesumofu]

Thought he was okay in the first half. Awful in the second. Wish he had Hodge's brain. Seriously consider dropping him for the Swans.

 

[madhawksfan]

Hawks might reduce their offer with the way Franklin is playing. He is playing lazy football, waiting for things to happen instead of working hard. Supposed to be a top 5 player in the AFL but wouldn't even be in the Hawks top 10 at the moment. Better pull his finger out quickly.

 

[Brown Blood]

Hawks might reduce their offer with the way Franklin is playing. He is playing lazy football, waiting for things to happen instead of working hard. Supposed to be a top 5 player in the AFL but wouldn't even be in the Hawks top 10 at the moment. Better pull his finger out quickly.

Interesting post - makes me think you have no idea though!

 

[Bosk]

Struggled again and seems out of form although he tried hard. Concerned with how he is responding because could get himself into trouble with some of those tackles. Has been playing up the ground a bit and maybe the reason. A bit like last year when Clarko tried him in the midfield a bit more. Didn't work.

I don't like seeing him play up the ground much either.

He isn't fast enough (at least at his current level of fitness) to break the lines and gives away too many frees when he goes to tackle - that's only partly his fault since umpires are ALWAYS very quick to penalize him but regardless you don't want to to see the side giving away too many frees in the corridor when the ball's in the middle of the ground since that's the perfect way to concede goals from turnovers.

More the point there isn't a terrible amount of evidence that playing further upfield allows him to 'break the shackles' and improve his confidence. If anything it seems to make him even more tentative when he does get the ball inside 50. Confidence is what he's really lacking right now but the best way he can regain it is to work harder, particularly defensively.

Something that would also help enormously is for one of Hale, Roughead or Gunston to have a massive game and therefore force the opposition coach to switch their best defender onto them instead of Buddy. You really can't blame Buddy for getting a bit fed up at having to play with a bloke wearing like a glove every week when its the other forwards who should be picking up the slack.

 

[Hawthorn23]

Ge will gain confidence if we stick him in the square and let him play 1 one 1. He won't lose if the ball is on the ground.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Hawks might reduce their offer with the way Franklin is playing. He is playing lazy football, waiting for things to happen instead of working hard. Supposed to be a top 5 player in the AFL but wouldn't even be in the Hawks top 10 at the moment. Better pull his finger out quickly.

I believe we have actually withdrawn our most recent offer already.

 

[Hawkk]

Who'd a thunk we've had the best start to a season since 2008 with supposedly the toughest draw in the history of the game all the while Franklin has been MIA.

Perhaps it's time for those that think Franklin is the be all and end all of our prospects over the next few years should make a cuppa, take a bex and lie down

 

[Bosk]

Who'd a thunk we've had the best start to a season since 2008 with supposedly the toughest draw in the history of the game all the while Franklin has been MIA.

Perhaps it's time for those that think Franklin is the be all and end all of our prospects over the next few years should make a cuppa, take a bex and lie down

Agreed. Don't forget though that Franklin is still taking the best defender ever week. Not only that but whoever is on him is being given instructions to play him as close as possible.

Take Franklin out of the side and that player then goes to Roughead and has more freedom to zone off to boot.