Franklin backed to fix AFL inaccuracy

Hawthorn utility Shaun Burgoyne has defended his star AFL teammate Lance Franklin, describing him as a “one-off” who will fix his goalkicking inaccuracy.

Franklin’s wayward kicking was brought into focus after he contributed 3.7 to the Hawks’ wasteful 15.25 on Friday night in the win over Melbourne.

The Coleman Medallist, arguably the league’s most gifted player, has only managed 9.22 in his last four matches.

But Burgoyne said on Monday that Franklin was a prolific ball winner who inevitably would have lean patches in front of goal.

“He amasses so much of the ball – when you’re getting anything between five and 15 shots a game, you’re going to miss a few and kick a few,” he said.

“With ‘Bud’, he just works so hard up the field, gets back and he’s having a lot of shots, which is a positive – hopefully this week he’s kicking straighter.

“He is a one-off, he has his own set routine he goes through that’s probably not the norm.

“He kicks goals from the pocket that left footers aren’t supposed to kick goals from.

“He’ll work it out, he’s such a good player.”

Burgoyne also said goalkicking was one of a number of issues the Hawks had to address ahead of Saturday’s big match against Fremantle in Launceston.

But he said there were positives out of the win against Melbourne, particularly their ability to win contested ball and matching an opposition who were playing one-on-one football.

A fortnight ago, Sydney mauled Hawthorn in the second half for a demoralising loss.

“It’s another stepping stone for us – they (Fremantle) have obviously played some really good footy,” Burgoyne said.

“They’re in the top eight for a reason … we’ll have to bring our best game this week.”

Small forward Michael Osborne was scheduled to meet a knee specialist either on Monday or Tuesday to discuss a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament which might need a season-ending knee reconstruction.

Captain Luke Hodge faces a fitness test this week after he missed the Melbourne game with a leg injury.

Meanwhile, Burgoyne laughed off media criticism of his own form after the Sydney loss.

“I’ve had to play forward, mid and back at times and I will just play the role I’m assigned to each week,” he said.

“That’s all you can do.

“I quite enjoy moving around – obviously we’ve had injuries in the back half this year.

“But you’ll play almost every position in a game, probably bar ruck, that’s the way the game is going.”

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!