{"id":20361,"date":"2015-12-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/uncategorized\/missing-finals-the-best-decision-ive-made-says-lance-franklin\/"},"modified":"2015-12-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T00:00:00","slug":"missing-finals-the-best-decision-ive-made-says-lance-franklin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/sport\/missing-finals-the-best-decision-ive-made-says-lance-franklin\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing finals the best decision I\u2019ve made: Buddy"},"content":{"rendered":"

A refreshed Lance Franklin says taking time away from football to battle mental health issues during the Sydney Swans\u2019 2015 finals campaign was the best decision he\u2019s made.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt was a tough time for myself leading into the finals,\u201d Franklin said in a video interview posted online by the Swans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really struggling and put my hand up and said I needed help. I\u2019m so glad I did it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took some time away, and it was the best decision I\u2019ve made.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH the Lance Franklin interview here:<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling good,\u201d said Buddy.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a really hard three months for me, but I\u2019m feeling happy, healthy.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI just got back from a nice holiday overseas. Its nice to be back in Sydney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Franklin had to cut a path through a posse of camera crews and reporters to join teammates for day one of Sydney’s pre-season on Tuesday after sensationally sitting out this year’s finals series while battling a mental health issue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“It’s just a good sign that he’s back here and where he wants to be,” Swans coach John Longmire said.<\/p>\n

“Ultimately he feels really comfortable training and playing. And like any player, that’s what they do. Football’s critical and we understand the importance of it.<\/p>\n

“We know that over the course of the pre-season that various challenges happen, injuries or whatever, but we expect Lance to be available at this point.<\/p>\n

“It’s not something that just goes away because you turn up to training. It’s something he’ll keep working on as well,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I think most people would recognise it’s been a challenge for him. It’s not an easy thing to do, to come out publicly first and foremost.<\/p>\n

“I hope it really helps his career but, almost more importantly than that, helps him as a person. I think that’s the most important thing to come out of it,\u201d said Longmire.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO: VIDEO OF CAPTURED ISIS TERRORIST CRYING GOES VIRAL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SEE ALSO: SHOCKING IMAGES EMERGE FROM STEREOSONIC FESTIVALS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A refreshed Lance Franklin says taking time away from football to battle mental health issues during the Sydney Swans\u2019 2015 finals campaign was the best decision he\u2019s made. \u201cIt was a tough time for myself leading into the finals,\u201d Franklin said in a video interview posted online by the Swans. \u201cI was really struggling and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20363,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[143],"tags":[],"geo_market":[],"class_list":["post-20361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMissing finals the best decision I\u2019ve made: Buddy - 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