He did not kick a goal.
In 166 games since, he has been kept goalless just 14 times.
Twice he has been kept goalless two weeks in a row.
The first time was in round 6 and 7, 2005.
It has happened again in the past two weeks.
Never however, has Franklin been kept goalless three weeks in a row.
Aiming to restrict him to a duck egg again this week is Sydney Swans premiership and All Australian full-back Ted Richards.
In terms of profile and headline grabbing exploits the two could not be further apart. But slowly their names are becoming linked as their battles in big games absorb the footy public.
Once again this week, Franklin will take on Richards at the MCG, as he did in last year's Grand Final.
In that epic game Richards won the war although the battle was evenly split.
After the siren on that memorable day, Richards explained to AFL.com.au how hard it was to quell 'Buddy' and we were able to detail the importance of their dual.
..........................
TED RICHARDS was always going to have the biggest job in the biggest game of the season. The All Australian full back would play on Lance 'Buddy' Franklin.
If that wasn't a tough enough task of itself, he would need to do so with an injured ankle that required an injection at every break during the game.
That's why sitting at home alone on Monday night and watching his good friend (and former teammate) Jobe Watson win the Brownlow Medal was a welcome distraction.
He enjoyed Watson's win from afar because he knew what he had gone through to reach that point (Richards still shares close friendships with Mark Bolton, Chris Heffernan and David Hille from that era) but he could not participate in the celebrations.
He was readying himself to play in his second Grand Final at the age of 29 and with 180 games experience behind him.
As is the modern full-back's lot, Richards earned only one Brownlow vote - in round three against Port Adelaide - but the quality of his year had been noted a week earlier when he won All Australian selection for the first time.
That was some effort for Richards, who left Essendon as a 22-year-old after four years and 33 games. He had struggled to gain selection at the Bombers but found himself in a Grand Final in his first season with his new club in 2006. He played well in a losing Grand Final.
He began to establish a career but through 2009 and 2010 he looked on the verge of losing his place on the list. He's always loved travel and had a commerce degree so a good career outside of football beckoned.
But Richards is made of stern stuff. Under new coach John Longmire and with Craig Bolton retiring, he found a spot as a key defender and flourished.
Bolton was there to watch as Richards took the spot he had filled in the Swans' 2005 flag and was rapt with what he saw.
"I thought he was terrific, second quarter in particular after 'Buddy' got off to a flier with a couple of key spoils and in the last quarter a few critical marks," Bolton said after the game.
It was always going to be a tough day but Richards stuck to his task in a way that defines his career. His thoughts and those of his teammates show what is required to be part of a premiership, even when you are assigned the opposition's most dangerous player.
FIRST QUARTER
4 minutes: Richards slips as he's about to try to punch from behind during his first contest with Franklin. Franklin takes the mark and misses his shot from 35m. Richards keeps his cool and directs traffic from the kick-in. His coolness looks to be more hopeful than convincing. His lack of confidence in the ankle he injured against Collingwood in the preliminary final looks to have contributed to his untimely slip.
Richards: "I've played on him (Franklin) before and I know you can't keep him quiet the whole game, as much as I would like to. I knew he would have shots on goal. I went into the game knowing that and I thought I've just got to limit those opportunities."
17 minutes: As Rioli streams in from half-forward, Richards faces a decision of whether to follow Franklin out towards Rioli or double back towards the goalsquare. Richards reasons that Rioli will take a shot so he doubles back. Rioli elects not to take a shot. He handballs to Franklin about 35m out near the boundary, on Franklin's preferred side. The big Hawk wheels around and takes a shot but misses. Richards' decision is vindicated.
Alex Johnson: "We're a pretty tight back six down there and 'Buddy' started to get on top of us a little bit, but we just tried to keep our cool and focus on the next contest."
25 minutes: Franklin shakes Richards free to stretch up and take a mark near the 50m arc at a 45-degree angle on his preferred side. Richards has become entangled because he can't keep up with Buddy and has fallen to ground. While Richards remains on all fours, Franklin wheels around, takes a few steps past him and lets fly. His shot drifts in and goes through the goals. At quarter-time, Richards goes to the huddle to get an injection and reset himself for the task ahead. Although 'Buddy' is clearly playing well, there is no need to make any major changes.
Richards: "(We) didn't really adjust. Fortunately in that first quarter they definitely had a strong wind behind them and we had that wind in the second."
SECOND QUARTER
4 minutes: Richards receives the ball at half-back and hobbles downfield for a few steps before shanking a wobbler towards the wing. The ball bounces innocuously over the boundary — but the umpire pings him for deliberate. It's a decision that flatters Richards. His kick did not reach the boundary by design. It was just a terrible kick.
22 minutes: Swans forward Mitch Morton kicks two goals in five minutes. He manages to be cool under pressure and stretches the Swans' lead to 16 points. It eases the moment slightly for Richards.
Richards: "[I] thought Mitch Morton kicked a couple of real crucial goals for us. Whenever they had a bit of momentum we were able to get a score back and really get some scoreboard pressure back."
26 minutes: Richards spoils Franklin when he was in position to take the mark. He's clearly affected by his ankle. It's heart in mouth stuff whenever the ball comes in towards him. Neither player is engaging in any by-play. This encounter is too tense.
Richards: "He does his thing, I do my thing. We're both too tired to have a conversation out there."
29 minutes: Breust lays a block that enables Franklin to mark uncontested in front of a pack. Richards punches his palm in frustration. Franklin misses badly, hooking the ball across the face of goal. The Hawks have failed to kick a goal for the quarter. Richards deserves praise for his resilience against the odds.
Nick Malceski: "[We] tried to get a support player for him to come across when we could. [It] did not happen every time."
The Swans go in to half-time 16 points in front.
Nick Smith: "We fought back in the second, [we] had a really good second quarter."
THIRD QUARTER
The Swans shoot to a 27-point lead but there is no time to relax for the defenders. They know the game has plenty of life left in it.
Craig Bird: "We knew they would keep coming at us even when we jumped out to that little lead in the third quarter."
14 minutes: Hawks ruckman David Hale marks and kicks a long goal. The Swans had kicked eight unanswered goals but Richards is concentrating so hard on his task that he thinks the game is unfolding very differently.
Richards: "The last thing we wanted was to have a real big run for a whole quarter. [It] seemed like that was how it was for the whole game. We'd kick two or three, they kicked two or three, there was never - from what I can remember - a six or seven [goal] run on. It was a real arm-wrestle."
23 minutes: Hale's goal is followed by four consecutive Hawthorn goals. 'Buddy' kicks two of them, including a monster goal when he wheels on to his left from 60 metres out.
Richards: "The last thing I wanted to do is panic if they got momentum. The ball was coming down a fair bit and he had some shots on goal and he played bloody well but I knew I was going to have to just keep fighting."
24 minutes: Isaac Smith kicks a running goal from the bounce and momentum seems to be with Hawthorn. Richards gathers the defenders in a group and stays positive.
Richards: "We try to get around each other after every goal is scored no matter what and at certain stages throughout the game when they did have that run on we were aware we just have to slow this game down a bit."
25 minutes: Lewis Roberts-Thomson becomes an extra man in defence to help out. He is expected to lend support in the air and it comes as a relief to Richards.
Richards: "I think it worked - we were able to grind out the quarter."
It is not a desperate measure however. Richards has taken his game to another level this season and he organises the extra man to make sure it has the desired effect.
Malceski: "Teddy's leadership in that back seven we have got down there is unbelievable. He instructs. He tells blokes where they have to be for sets up [and] the match-ups. That is the level he has taken his game to."
The Swans go into the three quarter-time break with a one-point lead. It has been a tough quarter for the defence and in particular Richards, with Franklin so dangerous. Richards keeps drawing on his mental strength as the quarter unfolds.
Richards: "[We] try our best to stay resilient, hold your nerve and stick to the plan we went in to the game with. The worst thing you can do at that stage is panic."
FINAL QUARTER
3 minutes: Hawthorn kicks the first two goals of the quarter to take an 11-point lead and the Swans face the biggest test a group of footballers can face.
Smith: "When they got two goals up in the last the boys really dug in."
Alex Johnson is in his second year of senior football and playing just his 45th game. He does not let the situation overwhelm him for one second.
Johnson: "[It] makes you go harder. You want to have nothing left. It is the ultimate prize in footy."
6 minutes: Franklin continues to create opportunities for himself but he can't kick straight. He kicks another behind. Richards is doing as much as he can to make Franklin have to kick long shots.
Richards: "If he gets goalside, all they need to do is put it out in front of him and he can just run on to it, so I tried my best all day to stay goalside of him but there is only so much you can do."
12 minutes: Dan Hannebery kicks a goal after Lewis Jetta manages to knock the ball on to him in space. The Swans are becoming more attacking in their ball use and their defenders have valuable experience in tight moments.
Heath Grundy: "[I] wasn't too nervous actually. [We've] had some tight ones during the year; just playing your role and trying to get through."
18 minutes: Kieren Jack ties the scores. Richards had played in the 2006 Grand Final when the Swans lost by a point but that is a long time ago now. There is no way anyone Swan will stop.
Grundy: "I think you find little bit extra in those tight, close ones."
21 minutes: Richards sits under a high kick in a strong position to outmark Franklin. While the ball is in the air his mind is ticking.
Richards: "At some stage I had to make the decision: 'Am I going to spoil it or am I going to mark it?' I just backed myself and luckily it stuck."
24 minutes: Franklin marks but does not seem confident enough to kick it from on the 50 metre line. He passes the ball to Jack Gunston inside 50. Gunston hits the post.
32 minutes: A Malceski snap is the sealer.
Richards: "I knew that we needed to score and I was so relieved."
33 minutes: In the coaches box, Peter Berbakov looks up as the ball returns for a centre bounce. He notes there is 30 seconds to go.
Berbakov: "There was a bit of scramble of play and then it was bananas from the 15 second mark to the countdown."
Richards is a premiership player in a year he made All Australian. Franklin has played a super game, kicking three goals, four behinds but Richards has stayed calm in the key moments. He has battled an ankle injury and prevailed.
Richards on the ankle: "Right now it is pretty much cooked. I was rapt I was able to get through the game with a lot of help from doctors and physios. It was pretty much strapping tape holding my ankle together at the end."
Smith stands nearby and is full of praise for Richards.
Smith: [With a] sore ankle [he] did a superb job on Buddy. [It] epitomised our whole ethos, just having a crack, [it] doesn't matter the situation just having a crack."
