Lance Franklin's spectacular AFL career started with a whisper rather than a roar but will come full circle at the SCG on Friday night.
Franklin will make his 250th appearance on the same ground on which he made senior debut 12 years ago, for Hawthorn.
There was little evidence of the excitement he would bring in future years as he tallied six disposals and two marks in a 63-point loss in which he did not have a shot at goal.
Franklin's main memory of that match was not about himself but of playing against another future indigenous superstar.
"I lined up against Adam Goodes and now I find myself back here, so its' pretty special " said Franklin, who has a 3-1 record in his previous milestone matches.
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"It's actually gone quite quick; I remember getting in to my first year of football and a couple of the older guys said it goes fast and it really has flown up on me."
While he started in less than auspicious fashion, Franklin is arguably the biggest star and greatest entertainer across all the codes in football-saturated Australia.
His mix of power, mobility, and a monster left boot have made Buddy big box office.
It's fair to say he's more than lived up to being picked up fifth in the 2004 draft, where he wasn't even the Hawks first selection.
They picked Jarryd Roughead with the No.2 pick behind Brett Deledio, who was taken by Richmond, while Ryan Griffen and Richard Tambling were selected third and fourth by Western Bulldogs and Richmond respectively.
Franklin has won two premierships with Hawthorn and accumulated numerous individual accolades, including three Coleman Medals and six All-Australian nods.
The 30-year-old credited coaches Alastair Clarkson at the Hawks and John Longmire at the Swans, as having the greatest influence on his career.
"They've taught me a lot across my journey and it's something I'm very thankful for, that I've had two unbelievable coaches," Franklin said.
The forward has almost six full seasons left on his contract and said it would be up to Longmire to decide if his role changed.
He nominated the Hawks' 2008 and 2013 premierships as highlights but said he had been fortunate to be at two clubs where he played finals almost every year.
Franklin has appeared in five grand finals, for two wins and three losses, two of those playing for Sydney in 2014 and 2016.
"It'd mean the world to me to get back on the big stage of the grand final but there's a lot of work ahead of us to get ourselves back there and it starts this Friday night against Collingwood," he said.
Like the Pies, Sydney are yet to win this season.
"We've come up against some good sides but we know we've got a lot of improvement ahead of us," Franklin said.
