Hipwood looks at his Buddy double

COMPARISONS to Sydney’s Lance Franklin are coming thick and fast for young Brisbane AFL forward Eric Hipwood.

While admitting their styles are similar, the tall left-footer aims to make his own mark on the AFL rather than live in Franklin’s shadow.

A star in the Lions’ defeat of Carlton, Hipwood is dreaming of back-to-back victories when the Lions meet West Coast on Sunday in Perth. The similarities were there to see when the 19year-old swung onto his left foot from outside the arc to steady the Lions against the Blues at the Gabba. But Hipwood says his footballing influences stretch further than just the Swans star.

“I guess you can look at his game and mine and see that they are pretty similar,” he said.

“But I like to take parts out of everyone’s games – I look at Harris Andrews, at Joe Daniher, look at Tom Lynch - that’s how you become a great player, is taking parts of every player.

The Lions will be without Dayne Zorko, accepting a onegame suspension for striking.

Hipwood said that wouldn’t deter them from bringing another aggressive mindset into Sunday’s clash.