By Joel Dubber
(Reuters) -Tens of thousands of Sydney Swans supporters swamped the Sydney Cricket Ground in celebration on Friday when forward Lance “Buddy” Franklin booted his 1,000th career goal in top-flight Australian rules football.
The 35-year-old became the first player in 26 years, and the sixth overall, to reach the landmark figure.
Late in the final quarter, after Franklin eased through his fourth goal of the night from 40 metres out on the right forward flank, fans descended upon the oval in joy, halting the game between the Swans and the Geelong Cats.
“It was nice to get it done, it’s been playing on my mind a little bit,” Franklin said of the milestone during the half-hour break in play.
“It was an amazing moment, it really was… I’ve been playing for 18 years, so a lot of hard work to get there but I wouldn’t have been able to get there without great team mates around me to provide those assists.”
Pitch invasions were once common in Australian Football League (AFL) matches as a way for fans to celebrate players who kicked 100 goals in a season, but that feat has become rarer as the game has become faster and more congested.
Franklin’s first 580 majors came playing for the Hawthorn Hawks, with whom he won two premiership medals, between 2005 and 2013, before a move north to Sydney.
He is the only player to have kicked 1,000 goals entirely in the game’s modern era, which started in 1990 when the AFL was formed from Victoria’s near century-old state league.
Sydney defeated Geelong 17.5 (107) – 10.17 (77).
(Reporting by Joel Dubber in Perth; editing by Clare Fallon)
