Lance "Buddy" Franklin, Jr (born 30th January 1987) is an Indigenous Australian rules footballer who has played for the Hawthorn Football Club since his debut in 2005, one of 16 leagues in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Franklin was born in Perth, Western Australia to parents Ursula and Lance Snr. Sport runs in the family: Lance Snr represented his state in Hockey; older sister Bianca is a notable netballer and his cousin Jeff Garlett plays for the Carlton Football Club.
Franklin moved at an early age to Dowerin, WA, attending Dowerin District High School from years one to ten and later attended school at Wesley College. He played one senior game for the Perth Demons in 2004 and represented WA at the national under 18s carnival.
After attending Draft Camp and showing promise, Hawthorn selected him with their second pick, number five overall, in the 2004 AFL Draft.
2008 was Frankin's stand-out year and saw him establish himself as one of the elite players in the competition. He was the recipient of the Coleman Medal after kicking 102 goals in the home-and-away season. His season-high of 9 goals came against Essendon in round 11. Franklin kicked his 100th goal for the season against Carlton in round 22, becoming the first to kick 100 goals in the AFL home-and-away season since Tony Lockett in 1998, and the first Hawthorn player since Jason Dunstall in 1996, to reach 100 goals in a season.
Source: Wikipedia