A FUTURE tug-of-war between Sydney and Hawthorn looms after superstar forward Lance Franklin and wife Jesinta welcomed a baby boy.
Baby Buddy was born this week, with the proud father announcing that "Our Baby boy has arrived" on Instagram on Wednesday.
He is Buddy and Jesinta's second child after Tullulah was born last year.
Franklin has played 118 games for Sydney after starting his career with 182 matches at Hawthorn, so both clubs will be eligible for baby Buddy under father-son rules if he chooses to pursue an AFL career.
It's a big week for Franklin, with the Swans confirming he'll play his first game in 581 days on Saturday, after overcoming a series of calf, hamstring, groin and other injury concerns.
MEDICAL ROOM The full AFL injury list
The match against Adelaide will be Franklin's second game since June 2019, the only other match being his 300th in round 23, 2019, when he kicked four goals.
He has been an All-Australian eight times, four times each at Sydney and Hawthorn, and has won four Coleman medals, again sharing the honours evenly at the Swans and Hawks with two apiece.
The 34-year-old has won two premierships, both at Hawthorn.
He is entering his eighth season at the Swans, and his 17th in the AFL, after signing a nine-year, $10 million deal with the club in 2013 that has two seasons to run.
