He drives expensive cars, has a model girlfriend and a reputation for being the centre of attention.

Least of all, Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin is a very, very good footballer.

Maybe more than anyone of the current era of AFL stars, Buddy epitomises the standing footballers have in the Victorian community. 

Buddy’s not a sportsperson; he’s a rock star.

This time last year, he was preparing for a grand final for Hawthorn, the team that had nurtured his unique talent, and his social life, from his teenage years. This year he’s playing for Sydney, with Hawthorn being the opponent.

He switched to Sydney in the off-season on one of the most ridiculously overblown contracts ever offered in the modern era. 

His nine-year deal to play for Sydney is more than most average Australians would earn in a lifetime.

Details of the contract were met with all levels of derision; from mild outrage to volcanic hysteria in the football community. 

Ironically, one of the reasons for Buddy relocating to Sydney was supposedly to get away from the AFL spotlight in Melbourne.

Buddy, however, has become a model for the modern AFL masterpiece.

The move north hasn’t been all sun, sand and fun. 

The year started modestly on and off the field for Buddy.

Paramedics were called to his Bondi Beach apartment on January 3, after he collapsed due to an apparent seizure.

In February, a teammate crashed Franklin’s luxury Mercedes. Not to be outdone Buddy, in April, smashed girlfriend Jesinta Campbell’s Jeep into parked cars.

Once the football season gained momentum, maybe in sync with the man himself, Buddy’s on-field deeds began wowing fans. Sydney supporters – at least those north of the border – are particularly fickle about AFL. They won’t bare the cool winter nights in the absence of success or a star with whom to pledge allegiance.

In a way, Franklin is the perfect fit for a Sydney light on AFL culture but which loves a celebrity.

On Monday night Buddy finished with 22 votes in the Brownlow Medal – the most of any season in his career.

Today, Buddy is a man with the AFL world at his feet.

Yet the fascination with his role in today’s grand final doesn’t start and end with whatever influence he may have on the field.

Today, the thousands of Hawthorn supporters who idolised Buddy will be, metaphorically, baying for his blood.

If the Hawks lose it might be the toughest defeat to take. 

If they win, it might just be the sweetest victory of all.

It’s all or nothing, the ultimate highs and the dramatic lows. That’s what life is like in the Buddy bubble. 

andrew.eales@fairfaxmedia.com.au