Franklin booed at AFL's grand final parade

Hawthorn-turned-Sydney superstar Lance Franklin has been given a bitter taste of what to expect in tomorrow’s AFL grand final.

Franklin, who won last year’s flag with the Hawks before defecting to the Swans on a lucrative 10 year contract, was greeted with loud boos as he took his place in the traditional grand final parade through Melbourne today. The jeering persisted for the entire route, which ended on the steps of Melbourne Town Hall as players from both teams were presented to the crowd. The build-up to this year’s grand final has been engulfed in drama, with the police shooting of a teenage terror suspect resulting in increased security and a warning for patrons to be vigilant, while the Hawks confirmed a separate scare at their training, yesterday. The club said a razor blade, broken into two pieces, was found on the ground at Waverley Park an hour before the Hawks players were due to run out for their final training run in front of thousands of fans. The discovery forced security and club staff to scour Waverley Park before the session was able to go ahead. Today’s booing of Franklin – whether in good humour or otherwise – follows a warning by star Hawks midfielder Jordan Lewis about ‘poking the bear’.

Lewis said the champion forward will thrive on the intense atmosphere of the big stage.

"I'm against that side of the game," Lewis told reporters on Thursday after Hawthorn's training session.

"Everyone who comes to the game has their own intentions.

"We can't stop it. We're not in a position to stop it.

"But you would think a guy who has given us nine years of good service, you'd think there'd be some sort of respect there and not boo him the way we've heard they're going to boo him.

"But I think that spurs him on. He loves the big occasion.

"He loves proving people wrong and if we go along that path, we might poke the bear."

Lewis and key forward Jarryd Roughead, who are joint vice-captains at Hawthorn, both made their senior debuts in 2005 in the same year as Franklin.

Asked if he'd heard from Franklin yesterday, Roughead said it was all quiet.

"They fly out today. I daresay we'll see him tomorrow," Roughead said.

"We've got the parade and we can say g'day then."

Lewis says while he has played in premiership sides in 2008 and 2013, the pain of the Hawks' 2012 loss to Sydney is still keenly felt.

"In the back of your mind you still remember that sort of heartache," Lewis said.

"It's hard to get rid of it.

"Whether you use that as motivation, I don't know.

"Maybe some guys I will. Maybe I will tomorrow when you're out on the ground and you're really hurting."

Sydney will start as favourites and Lewis says the fear of failure is ever present.

"There's certain thoughts that creep into your mind, what if it doesn't happen?," he said.

"We try to stop those negative thoughts coming in.

"We tasted success last year and it felt so good so they're the memories you try to bring up and try to think about before the game."

Lewis says the Swans have firepower all over the ground.

"Their backs are really good and their forwards are so potent," he said.

"They've got a really damaging midfield. They bat pretty deep and that's where we think the game will be won and lost."