AFL fan speaks out after returning Buddy Franklin's 1000th goal ball

The Sydney Swans fan who snaffled Buddy Franklin's 1000-goal milestone ball has given a hilarious account of the incident after answering an SOS to return to footy on Monday.

Franklin sparked scenes of absolute mayhem at the SCG on Friday night when he became just the sixth man in AFL/VFL history to kick 1000 goals or more over the course of his professional career.

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In extraordinary scenes, thousands of fans poured onto the ground to celebrate the momentous occasion with Franklin, but one fan who wasn't wrapped up in the chaos was Alex Wheeler.

That's because the Swans supporter had managed to grab the footy, before exiting the gates at the SCG with the prized possession tucked safely and securely under his arms.

The Swans launched an appeal to get the footy back after footage emerged over the weekend of the fan in question, claiming the prized Sherrin.

"I have the pill, I have to get out of here," the fan said in the video clip.

The Swans on Saturday offered a reward to anyone who returned the prized Sherrin after footage emerged on social media of a spectator claiming it behind the goals.

The Swans retweeted the video, inviting the fan to meet Franklin at a training session and present the ball to him.

"To the person who caught the ball, we would love to get it back for Buddy!" the club posted.

On Monday, Wheeler answered the call by giving the ball back in exchange for a pair of boots, another footy and a Swans jumper that were all signed by Franklin.

The Swans supporter was also presented with a pair of five-year club memberships and a letter of appreciation signed by coach John Longmire.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Swans fans said his only thought after famously claiming the milestone ball on Friday night, was getting it home so he could "cuddle" up with it in bed.

“I didn’t even think about it (handing the ball back) that night. I obviously had a couple of stubbies and just trying to enjoy it myself,” Wheeler told reporters.

“We went out to one of the pubs locally for a little while and I just got too paranoid that someone was going to knock the footy off from my house, so I went home pretty early and cuddled up with it in bed.

“It wasn’t probably until the next day … It was probably always my intention to give it back to the Swans and Buddy. It’s going to be no good to me, I don’t have a pool room to put it up in unfortunately.”

Wheeler said he had a few bruises after going “head over biscuits” in his desperate attempt to grab the footy from Buddy's momentous goal.

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The Swans fan also revealed that despite his mates' best attempts to persuade him to sell the ball for big money, he felt returning it was the right thing to do.

“They were like ‘mate you’ll make an absolute fortune out of this, you’re a moron if you don’t sell it for a lot’. But I don’t think that was the right way to go with this,” he said.

“I want to see it back at the SCG, so the young guys playing AFL can cherish that moment and see the ball. You get that image of an old man taking his son to the footy and showing him the ball, I’d really like to see that.”

Franklin offered his thanks to Wheeler for returning the ball and reiterated how special the milestone was in the context of his glittering career.

“It’s nice of Alex to give the ball back. It was a really special night and to receive the ball back means the world to me,” Franklin said.

“I haven’t had too much time to reflect on it just yet but obviously it was a significant moment. I absolutely loved it.

“I wanted to get it (reach the milestone) done as soon as possible but it was perfect timing to get it done here at the SCG and then to have my family across from America, Adelaide, Perth - it was such a special moment to have those people that have been through everything with me.

“For me, it’s something I’ll look back on when I finish my career and be proud of.”

with AAP

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