Will there ever be another 1000 goal milestone?
Lance "Buddy" Franklin kicked his 1000th goal this round, an amazing feat only reached by 6 other players in AFL/VFL history.
I think that we won't see a milestone like this for a very long time if ever.
There's many reasons for this and I'm going to go through them in this article.
The game time has gotten shorter and all round lower scoring matches and less blowouts means that individuals won't kick as many goals.
If a player kicks 5 or more goals he'd get a special mention in the news and his face would be on the back page, but 20, 30 years ago a forward would be expected to kick 5 or more goals.
Buddy Franklin started his career during this time and has played the key forward role for almost 18 years, racking up the goals since.
I'm sure most people have seen Buddy's "Thirteen, Thirteeeeen!" Goals in Launceston, just showing the type of player he is and his ability to kick big bags of goals even when it's not expected.
Franklin is 35 years old making him one of the oldest players in the AFL, and to be this good at an age where most have retired is extraordinary.
Players are lucky to still be playing, especially at a good level in their 30s and the age that players are ending their careers at is decreasing with player's skill levels peaking at a younger age.
I highly doubt that I will experience another player kicking their 1000th goal and don't know if anyone else will either. There are so many factors that went into Buddy being able to do it that I don't think future players will be able to meet.
Watching Buddy kicking his 1000th goal was a spectacle and was something I could proudly say, "I was watching when Buddy booted his 100th."
