LANCE FRANKLIN'S march towards his 100th goal for the season will come in a shoot-out with another AFL sharp-shooter in Round 22.
That's according to Hawk Chance Bateman, who predicted his team-mate needs the three remaining home-and-away games to reach the elusive ton, not achieved in the regular season since Tony Lockett (Sydney) booted a century of goals in 1998.
Franklin's six-goal demolition of the Brisbane Lions on Saturday at Launceston brought his season tally to 91, seven ahead of nearest rival, Carlton's Brendan Fevola. Should Bateman's prediction go to script, it sets up a mouth-watering finale for the race for the Coleman Medal.
The hot-and-cold Fevola landed four goals at the weekend and is Franklin's biggest threat for the award. The Hawks and Blues clash in the final home-and-away match at Telstra Dome.
"I would be a pretty bold man to predict him kicking nine goals this weekend," Bateman said after Saturday's win. "I would like to see him get to the 100 and I think he will definitely take the next three games for him to get there."
If anything, Bateman's call eases the pressure on the gun forward. Not that he shows any of it.
"He's not the nervous type," he said. "'Buddy' just goes out there and does his thing pretty much. He's really team orientated and more focused on us winning a game than him kicking 100 goals."
The hard-running midfielder Bateman, the first Aboriginal man to play 50 games for the Hawks, said kicking goals is not Franklin's sole focus. Indeed, the spark that got Hawthorn going on Saturday came when Franklin galloped from half-back and drilled a 40m rocket to team-mate Cyril Rioli, whose resultant goal began a surge the Lions could not halt.
"A lot of the media talks about the goals he kicks himself but the team stuff he does goes unnoticed," Bateman said. "His tackling and his pressure have probably been better than any forward for this year.
"That doesn't get exposure in the media but it is something we are really pleased about in team meetings."
Meanwhile, the AFL is set to impose fines on people who jump the fence and celebrate Franklin's impending 100th goal.
The age-old tradition was last seen in 2004 when St Kilda's Fraser Gehrig brought up his ton in the preliminary final against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. Crucially, the 10 minutes it took to clear the ground seemed to halt the Saints' momentum and some supporters maintain that that shift cost them the game.
Fans who run onto the MCG can be fined up to $5000 and face a lengthy ban from the ground. Franklin is highly unlikely to achieve the feat this weekend at the MCG against Richmond. The Hawks play West Coast at Subiaco Oval in Round 21 before facing the Blues at the Dome in Round 22.
Preliminary discussions on the issue between the AFL and the relevant stadium officials have begun.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
AboriginalFootball@westnet.com.au
Monday, August 11, 2008
Last Modified on 12/08/2008 01:09