Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge is holding onto a slim hope that star forward Lance Franklin will stay with the AFL premiers.
The future of highly-rated youngster Taylor Adams is linked to Franklin’s decision, which is expected this week.
Adams’ manager said the midfielder might not leave Greater Western Sydney if Franklin rejects their massive offer and stays at Hawthorn.
Adams wants to return to Victoria and he has spoken to five clubs about his future.
Franklin might have performed his last official Hawthorn function on Monday when he visited Tasmania as part of their premiership celebrations.
Club great Dermott Brereton said on Monday he had given up hope of retaining the two-time Coleman medallist, while Hawks legend Leigh Matthews was already looking to life after Franklin.
Hodge, though, said nothing had been confirmed.
“You can’t really assume anything at this stage,” he told reporters at a Hobart premiership fan day.
“It’s a big call for him, he’ll make his decision in the next day or two, he’ll inform the club.
“We’re still hoping that he stays.”
But Hodge said Franklin would be mindful of life after football when the 26-year-old considers a massive offer likely to be topped up by an AFL ambassadorial role.
“He’s got to look at his interests probably post-football as well,” Hodge said.
“No doubt it’s going to be a lot of money that’s getting offered to him.”
Adams’ manager Winston Rous told the AFL website that his client is more likely to leave the Giants and return to Victoria.
But he confirmed Franklin’s decision is a factor.
“I would think if maybe Lance didn’t go, then their environment changes and the dominoes might fall in a different direction,” Rous said.
“It’s more likely than not now that he’ll be making his way back to Victoria.”
Franklin would leave with his teammates’ blessing and the Hawks showed throughout 2013 they are well-placed to defend their premiership without him.
Club president Andrew Newbold said he was proud the team had not let Franklin’s future become a distraction during the season.
The Hawks only lost three times this year and capped an outstanding season on Saturday when they beat Fremantle in the grand final by 15 points.
Newbold sounded on Monday like a president who was resigned to losing the club’s top player.
“I’m just trying to prepare myself and I think we’ve done that for the year,” Newbold told 3AW.
“The other thing we’re really proud of is the fact that we remained focused as an organisation on what we wanted to achieve despite some people saying that was going to be a distraction for us.
“The players and coaches handled that magnificently.”
Franklin announced in February he was putting off his contract negotiations until the end of the season and that immediately led to talk that it would complicate Hawthorn’s premiership campaign.
