DARREN MONCRIEFF
Thursday 8 September, 2011
IN the end, it turned into a fizzer: Buddy didn't play and Cloke could barely get a kick.
But it meant that for just the second time, Lance Franklin has won a Coleman Medal.
The Hawthorn forward kicked 71 goals from 19 games at an average of 3.7 per match to be the AFL's leading goalkicker at the end of the home-and-away season.
And if Hawks fans are looking for omens, the last time this happened was in 2008, the year they won the flag.
Franklin can add to that tally this month with the Hawks, which finished the season in third spot on the ladder, a genuine premiership contender.
Collingwood's Travis Cloke, with three more games up his sleeve, was Franklin's main threat for the Coleman. Heading into the final rounds of the season, the gap had narrowed.
Franklin was on 71 goals and Cloke on 62 before round 24. But last Friday night's match saw the Magpies lose to Geelong by 96 points and Cloke well held and adding just two behinds.
Earlier, it had been revealed the Hawks would rest eight top-line players for its match against Gold Coast, Franklin among them.
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Last Modified on 08/09/2011 13:35