THIS time last year, Lance Franklin was closing in on Coleman medal and a premiership assault while wearing the tag of potentially being the greatest footballer ever seen.

Now his side is sitting outside the eight and the spotlight has briefly moved off the talented Hawk despite him sitting third on the AFL goalkicking table.

But for a player who seems to have no hesitation playing the role of superstar when he is on the field, Franklin is happy to have a little less attention this season.

“That [the attention] is what comes with being a footballer. There is nothing you can really do about it,” Franklin told hawthornfc.com.au.

“You’ve just got to keep concentrating on your football, keep level-headed and grounded and just play football. If it comes with it, it comes with it.”

The 22-year-old is quick to move the focus to the entire team rather than the individual. 

“The main thing for us is we want to get back to playing some hungry football and keep winning. If the media comes with it, it comes with it,” he said.

The hype bubbled up again last week when Franklin stepped up to boot four last-quarter goals to get his side over the line against North Melbourne at Aurora Stadium.

Football great Wayne Carey once said that if a team was two goals down with two minutes to go, the biggest asset a player could have was to believe they were capable of kicking those two goals.

But Franklin says he never had any thought that it was solely up to him to get the win for the Hawks and that he merely went about his business as usual.

“Not really. It never really comes into your head. You just play the game and the boys were great from the midfield,” he said.

“We knew if we could get it in to the hot spot in the wet we might be able to do the job and luckily we were.”

When asked about his vital forward-line heroics, Franklin again brings the discussion back to the team as a whole.

“Being a forward, our job is to kick goals. Everyone in the forward line is not feeling the pressure. It’s a team game and we’re all working together. It’s our job to mark the ball and put it through. As long as we’re working as a team and the midfielders are winning the ball.”

The Hawks take on an in-form Collingwood this week. While the Magpies are a tough prospect at the moment, Buddy has booted 18 goals in the last three encounters between the teams – and Hawthorn wins.

But he says history against sides has little relevance to the result.

“There have been teams in the past where that’s happened. I’ve had some good games against Essendon in previous years and played them this year and had a pretty ordinary game,” he said.

“You look back on those games and try to draw confidence from them. You play every game on its merits.”

As for who has the job of guarding the Hawthorn No.23 this week, Franklin’s guess is as good as any.

“It depends on where I’m playing. If I’m playing in the midfield who knows who’ll come to me? If I’m playing up forward I’m not too sure.

“Presti (Simon Prestigiacomo) might take me, he might take (Jarryd) Roughead. It’s going to be interesting to see the exact match-ups on the day.”