Don’t boo Franklin, AFL Hawk warns

Don’t poke the bear.

Hawthorn midfielder Jordan Lewis says if fans are planning to boo former club favourite Lance Franklin in Saturday’s AFL grand final, maybe they should think again.

A dual-premiership star at Hawthorn, Franklin quit the Hawks after last year’s flag to join Sydney and has been a huge success, winning the Coleman Medal and finishing joint runner-up in the Brownlow Medal count.

Now in a dream match-up, Franklin will take on some of his best mates at the MCG on Saturday and Lewis says the champion forward will thrive on the intense atmosphere of the big stage.

“I’m against that side of the game,” Lewis told reporters on Thursday after Hawthorn’s training session at Waverley Park.

“Everyone who comes to the game has their own intentions.

“We can’t stop it. We’re not in a position to stop it.

“But you would think a guy who has given us nine years of good service, you’d think there’d be some sort of respect there and not boo him the way we’ve heard they’re going to boo him.

“But I think that spurs him on. He loves the big occasion.

“He loves proving people wrong and if we go along that path, we might poke the bear.”

Lewis, key forward Jarryd Roughead and Franklin were all drafted to Hawthorn in 2004 and made their senior debuts the following year.

Asked if he’d heard from Franklin this week, Roughead said it was all quiet.

“They fly out today. I daresay we’ll see him tomorrow,” Roughead said.

“We’ve got the parade and we can say g’day then.”

Lewis said while he has played in premiership sides in 2008 and 2013, the pain of the Hawks’ 2012 loss to Sydney was still keenly felt.

“In the back of your mind you still remember that sort of heartache,” Lewis said.

“It’s hard to get rid of it.

“Whether you use that as motivation, I don’t know.

“Maybe some guys will. Maybe I will when you’re out on the ground and you’re really hurting.”

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