Kangaroos great David King believes Buddy Franklin will eventually decide to remain at Sydney as his contract saga with the Swans drags on.
The star forward’s deal with the Swans expires at the end of the season and he has put contract talks on hold.
“At this stage conversations have been paused around my contract so I can put all my focus on playing footy,” Franklin said through his management last weekend.
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“No further comment will be made until the season is done and I have decided about my future.
“I am still undecided and need time after the season to make a family decision about whether I continue to play next year.”
The 35-year-old has been linked with a move north to the Brisbane Lions, while retirement is not out of the question either.
But King believes Franklin will agree to stay at the Swans once the contractual “arm wrestle” is finalized.
“I don’t see Buddy really desiring to go to another football club and having to prove himself over again regarding training standards, having to gather a group, getting to know a whole new club again,” the Fox Footy commentator told news.com .au.
“I don’t see him doing that all over again.
“I think he’s got a pretty good set-up in Sydney for what will probably be the last 1-2 years of his football journey.
“He’s been an outstanding person and player for our code so whatever he decides, I think we all just give him the grace that he’ll make the right decision.”
Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd said last month the Swans should be prepared to “let Buddy walk” to hold onto promising young players in a salary cap squeeze.
King agreed, saying the Swans are simply doing their due diligence and ensuring Franklin’s new contract doesn’t hurt them in the long-term.
“It is a business at the end of the day,” the dual premiership-winner said.
“Each player needs to run their contractual arrangements as a business. That’s just where we’re at.
“I don’t begrudge Buddy doing what he’s doing, I don’t begrudge Sydney doing what they’re doing. They’ve got to justify what they’re doing in building that next premiership opportunity. “They’ve got to look at life after Franklin even though he’s still there. It would be counter productive for them to set up a salary cap that would cost them a player somewhere down the track.
“We all understand what’s happening. It’s a contractual arm-wrestle, I’m sure it’ll sort itself out.”
Another out of contract player is Collingwood’s Jordan De Goey, who is in good form but has had several off-field indiscretions including a Bali nightclub video scandal which saw him issues a suspended $25,000 fine.
King believes the Magpies will be desperate to re-sign De Goey but any new deal will be “on Collingwood’s terms”.
“I think (Collingwood coach) Craig McRae’s handled it perfectly,” he said.
“They love Jordan De Goey the player and we see what he does with his ability to influence games, keep that scoreboard ticking over. Whether you like him or not personally, he’s a star of our competition.
“Do Collingwood want to keep him? I’m sure they do, 100 per cent. We’ve heard Craig McRae say that countless times.
“But at the end of the day it’s on Collingwood’s terms. The off-field has outweighed the on-field over the last 24 months. That’s become a concern for him. It will impact the contract tensions no doubt, but they clearly need Jordan De Goey to stay at Collingwood.”
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