Clarko won't raise star's defection in pre-game talk, says ex-Hawk
ALASTAIR Clarkson won't raise Lance Franklin's defection to the Sydney Swans to motivate his players during his pre-Grand Final address, ex-Hawk Campbell Brown says.
The hype surrounding Franklin's September showdown against his former teammates has dominated the build-up to this year's decider.
But Hawthorn coach Clarkson is unlikely to seize on the Buddy factor to rev the Hawks up before the bounce, Brown told AFL.com.au.
"He wouldn't mention him more than any other player," he said.
"Obviously a bit more time and effort will go into Buddy, being the star he is, but [Clarkson] will approach it like any other opposition key position player.
"He won't want to bring him up too much because a lot of the guys are still very good friends with Buddy personally, so he'll keep it strictly business.
"If anything, they'll want to try and stick it up Bud for leaving 12 months ago and not give him that dream finish that he wants."
Brown, who was a premiership teammate of Franklin's in 2008, is worried the Swans superstar could wreak havoc against the Hawks – but only if he kicks straight.
Franklin has kicked only six goals (and six behinds) in three Grand Finals – below his career finals average of nearly 3.4 goals per game.
"You know Buddy's going to be having five, six, seven shots on goal," Brown said.
"It's just important that you push him wide, you make him have pot shots from the boundary from a long way out because how straight he kicks could determine the result."
Brown – who tipped his former club to win the flag by nine points - echoed Jordan Lewis' warning for fans not to 'poke the bear' by booing Franklin this Saturday.
"If you're a Hawks supporter you'd be silly to boo Buddy because he absolutely loves it," Brown said.
"He gets his tail up the more pressure is on him. So they should go to the game and be very quiet when he's around the ball."
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