TRIPLE Hawthorn premiership coach John Kennedy Snr believes Buddy Franklin has become a crowd-drawing phenomenon equivalent to that of Peter Hudson, and has the capacity to take his career even further than the famous former forward did.
Kennedy, who coached the club to its first flag in 1961, said there are striking similarities between Franklin and Hudson owing to their respective exciting styles.
"They both have this in common; they make the turnstiles tick," he said, at the City Hawks Lunch at the RACV Club on Wednesday.
"People came to see Peter Hudson. I used to get annoyed at people who would say, 'I'm going to see Peter Hudson'. I would say, 'Why aren't you coming to see Hawthorn?' They're coming along to see Buddy Franklin too."
However, Kennedy believes Franklin has the ability to go a step ahead of the freakish goalkicker in Hudson, who booted 727 goals over nine seasons.
"I think Buddy Franklin has a long way to go yet," he said.
"Peter knows what I think of him. He was a genius and the most accurate kick I've seen.
"Buddy I don't know very well, but I've watched him play like a lot of you here. He generates a certain level of excitement that hasn't been in football.
"He runs after the ball, he turns around, he's up against the boundary and he kicks vaguely in the direction of the goals. You watch it and watch it and it's a goal. People jump up in excitement. Even I do.
"Then he takes one 25 metres out on a bit of an angle and he goes back, and you're watching and then you look away, and then it's not there."
He also said Franklin's work ethic on the training track sets him apart from the rest.
"When it comes to training, I've watched him train, he's very impressive," he said.
"I also like it in matches when the ball has been on the other forward line for too long and Buddy doesn't hang around on his forward line; he ducks up and gets it himself.
"When it comes to hard training, I think Buddy gets a tick there."
Former Hawthorn captain Leigh Matthews agreed Franklin was unique, and often felt compromised when coaching against him during his time with the Brisbane Lions.
"I would say from the deep recesses of my soul, when I was coaching against the Hawks I almost wanted to go and watch him play," he said.
"It was almost like my dark side coming out. I didn't even want to admit it to myself.”
Matthews also said he is an "enormous admirer" of fellow Hawk Luke Hodge, and urged the club's supporters to enjoy the era the club is entering with such exhilarating players.
"I don't think there is another player who knows how to play the game better," he said.
"Hawthorn is a very exciting team to watch and you should all feel very fortunate.
"It only lasts awhile. We'd like it to last for longer, but it's impossible.
"Champion players are very hard to replace, and if you get a group of champion players together, which ultimately is going to make a champion team, you've got to enjoy that patch because when they retire, you can very rarely replace them with champions.
"Right at the moment, the Hawthorn people should rightly be very excited with the spectacle their team is giving them, and with their genuine chance to sing the song at the end of the game on the weekend."
