HAWTHORN star Lance Franklin’s focus is still aimed solely at his football, not his contract.
The star forward’s current contract expires at the end of this season and has been a constant talking point since he delayed talks of a new deal with the Hawks in February.
When news broke of Franklin’s desire to put talks on hold, the media has been in a frenzy, desperate to know whether the Hawks premiership player will re-sign or move on from the Club that drafted him in 2004.
Greater Western Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Fremantle have all been rumoured to be interested and well placed in terms of salary cap space to lure the most sought after forward in the competition.
For Franklin himself though, nothing has changed since February, still concentrating on his football rather than his contract situation.
“It’s something we’ll look at doing at the end of the season,” Franklin said at the Ricoh Centre on Tuesday.
“James Fantasia is over from the Bulldogs, we’ll sit down at the end of the season and go through it then.
“I’m just concentrating on Hawthorn Football Club and playing the best footy I can for this footy club.”
His comments echo the sentiments of his Coach, Alastair Clarkson who believes Franklin's contract situation won't be resolved until the end of the season.
"Our attitude we've taken to it is he's contracted to us for 2013 and at some point in time the two parties will come together," Clarkson said on Fox Footy's On The Coach last night.
Franklin's football though hasn’t been without its critics this season.
He was held goalless in Rounds 5 and 6 before booting three goals against the Swans and two against the Giants on Saturday.
The goalless fortnight drew criticism from external sources convinced his contract was impacting his on field performance.
The 26 year old knows his role at Hawthorn goes well beyond his goals tally and has been pleased with his output so far this season.
He says the spread of goal kickers at Hawthorn is a positive for the Club.
“I have played some all right football, but I think I get judged on the goals kicked," he said.
"The spread of goalkickers … Roughy, David Hale and Jack Gunston have been terrific players for us this year and we're all putting in and kicking goals, which is good.
"It's not just one avenue to goal.
“It would be a little bit different if we were losing, but we're winning games and that's what counts. It's a team game.
Franklin has kicked 20 goals in eight games so far this season and is averaging 16 disposals per game.