Franklin a shock pick as skipper
LANCE Franklin was last night crowned a shock AFL All-Australian captain as four Richmond premiership stars won selection.
The Sydney superstar earned his eighth All-Australian blazer after a season where he moved into the top 10 goalkickers in VFL-AFL history.
“To get those accolades you’ve obviously got to work bloody hard,” Franklin said.
“I feel like over my career I’ve worked to become the player I’ve wanted to become. “It means a lot.” Franklin, 31, has now played four All-Australian seasons at both Hawthorn and Sydney as he joined fellow eight-time selections Gary Ablett Sr, Gary Ablett Jr, Robert Harvey and Mark Ricciuto.
Franklin missed Round 23 with a groin problem but declared he was a certain starter for next week’s elimination final against GWS.
West Coast skipper Shannon Hurn was favoured to receive the All-Australian captaincy.
But while Hurn, 30 earned his first All-Australian selection on a halfback flank, selectors opted for Franklin, who is not in Sydney’s seven-man leadership group.
Suspended Eagles star Andrew Gaff was named on a wing and attended the Melbourne function, although was
whisked past the media by an AFL official.
Coleman Medallist Jack Riewoldt and Tiger teammates Alex Rance, Dustin Martin and Shane Edwards were selected. Rance has now won All-Australian honours for five consecutive seasons and was named last year’s captain.
Richmond, Hawthorn and West Coast provided 10 out of the 22 players.