After their season appeared on the brink at 1-6, the Hawks toiled hard to put a six-win streak together going into the mid-year break.
It hasn't always been pretty, but Franklin feels the chemistry and consistency that eluded the team earlier in the season is growing by the week.
"We haven't been playing our best football, anybody watching our games would probably realise that too, so there is a lot of upside for us," Franklin says.
"We're winning games without playing our best football and that's got to be a good sign.
"In that last few weeks we've started to get players back and that helps any team not just us.
"We're looking pretty good on that front with Josh Gibson and Campbell Brown not too far off which will help our defence a lot."
Franklin says there was no particular match, meeting or training session that turned Hawthorn's season around, but he admits to some soul searching as the losses mounted.
"I wouldn't say there as a heart-to-heart meeting or anything like that - it was more about constantly talking about what we needed to do to win games," he says.
"Individuals probably weren't quite as hungry at times as they had been in the past, but in the last six weeks we've been able to dig in and really go after the football.
"We're winning a lot more of the contested ball and the tackling pressure has been up so that's what gets you into any game. I think those have been the two key factors over the last six weeks.
"If you're winning the contested ball it means you're hungry."
If hunger is the key then Franklin must be starving if his stunning five-goal display against Essendon is any guide.
The mercurial forward spurred his team to victory with two breath-taking efforts early in the last quarter, but he laughs almost self consciously and quickly moves on to the next subject when quizzed on the goal of the year contenders. He was just doing his job he says.
But Franklin does admit he would have preferred to follow up arguably his best game of the year quickly rather than cool his heels for a week over the split round.
His own season has mirrored that of his team's in many ways with suspension and injury robbing him of the chance to get a head of steam up and leaving him frustrated early on.
"There's not much you can do about it now," he says of his part in the debate over the bump. "It is what it is."
"Anything head-high these days and you're going to be looking at weeks out so there's not much you can do about it. The bump is probably out of the game these days and it's gone to tackling [instead]."
"It has to be [out of my game now] otherwise you're looking at weeks."
The Hawks didn't break the 100-point barrier once during their barren spell with Franklin looking on from the stands on two occasions. Key forward partner Jarryd Roughead has often come in for the most scrutiny when the attack isn't firing, but Franklin is quick to leap to his mate's defense.
"As a club we're more than happy with where he's at," he says.
"His defensive pressure and his tackling are up and as long as you're doing those sorts of things I think you're always going to be in the game. He's brought those things to our club this year again … but I think sometimes forwards can get judged on kicking goals alone.
"You've got to look at what they're doing when they're not having set shots as well."
Having combined for 33 goals in the past two games, Franklin can feel the improvement in the chemistry among the Hawks' forwards and is bullish about the attack's prospects down the stretch.
"This year probably hasn't been as good as previous years [in terms of consistency], but I think we're on the up as a forward line just as the whole team is," he says.
"We've just got to keep working hard and I don't think we're too far off being at our best which is really exciting for the club."
