Lance Franklin's journey to 1,000 AFL goals — the moments that made Buddy a modern great

Lance Franklin is officially the sixth player in the history of the VFL/AFL to kick 1,000 goals.

Buddy's journey from highly-touted draft pick out of Western Australia to the game's history books has been long, more difficult than once looked likely, and unbelievably enjoyable to watch.

Take a walk back through the best of the goals that brought Buddy here.

After a goalless debut in round one against Sydney, a rookie Franklin took his first steps up the mountain with a handy bag of three against Richmond the following week.

The first goal of his career came in inauspicious circumstances. A lead-up mark at half-forward, a 50-metre penalty thanks to a shove in the back from Joel Bowden and a cool set shot.

Buddy was away.

Franklin kicked 73 goals in the 2007 season, the first truly dominant campaign of his AFL career, but he went to another level in early September on a sunny afternoon at Docklands.

With a 55-metre bomb on the siren to win a final for the Hawks, Franklin had his first transcendent moment, proving that — at just 20 years of age — he had the stomach for even the biggest of moments.

Less than a year later, Buddy was immortalised with entry into a club so exclusive, he remains the most recent inductee.

That night, and that game against Carlton, was just bizarre. From the buzz around Franklin and Brendan Fevola's chase for the ton, the almost-choreographed pitch-invasion, players posing for photos on the field, all the way to Alastair Clarkson throwing everything at depriving Fev of his moment.

It very much feels like a game from a bygone era now, and what Buddy accomplished that night may never be matched again.

The 2008 grand final wasn't Franklin's finest game, but it was the crescendo to his best individual season and