Lance Franklin's coach says it's his competitiveness.
Rival coaches say he's impossible to plan for.
Opponents say he's the perfect package of skill, athleticism and aura.
All agree, Franklin is a footballing freak.
"Whatever you think about Lance Franklin and his talent, the thing that stands out to me is he's a competitor," Franklin's coach at Sydney, John Longmire, told AAP.
"He loves to win."
Franklin is on the cusp of the rarest of AFL feats.
The Swans and former Hawthorn great needs to kick five more goals to reach the 1000-goal landmark.
Only five players have scaled that summit: Tony Lockett (1360 goals), Gordon Coventry (1299), Jason Dunstall (1254), Doug Wade (1057) and Gary Ablett senior (1031).
Franklin, on 995 goals, gets the chance to join that esteemed company in Saturday's twilight fixture between the Swans and their Sydney-based rivals, GWS.
Giants coach Leon Cameron is plotting to thwart him but admits awe at Franklin and his achievements.
"He's a super player," Cameron told AAP.
"And he has been doing it for 17 years now, which is just unthinkable.
"I hope he doesn't get too excited in round one and hit his marker but we're going to have to be at our very best to stop him."
But just how do you stop the man universally known as Buddy - the nickname given to him by his father, Lance senior.
"He is almost impossible to plan for," Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley told AAP.
"He has got such a kit, the bag of stuff that he can do and draw on is so big and so wide and so exciting.
"You sit there trying to control and do your absolute best, but knowing the talent ... is very, very hard to stop.
"You hope he has an off day because his on days are unstoppable ... just too good."
Franklin's personal best haul in one game is 13 goals, against North Melbourne in 2013. He also has a bag of 10 and three of nine.
He booted 113 goals in the 2008 season. In a dozen of his 16 completed seasons, he's kicked more than 50 goals.
His sustained excellence has flummoxed the best defenders in the competition, including Richmond's Dylan Grimes.
"He has got the full package of ability," Grimes told AAP.
"He's the hardest player I have ever played on because he's got that speed, endurance and is an amazing finisher.
"He doesn't need much of a chance to really damage a game, he'll take it every time."
Port's fullback Tom Jonas doesn't know if he's been fortunate or unfortunate to be personally pitted numerous times against the 199cm, 106kg Franklin.
"You're always pretty nervous," Jonas told AAP.
"He cuts a serious figure.
"He has got an aura and a presence around him on the field ... he has that strut and the chest puffed out.
"When you're playing on him, he does like to lead up and mark the ball.
"He is probably not as strong in contested marks but it's when the ball is on the ground, he's so versatile and he is still in the game.
"I just hope the ball doesn't come down and call a few boys in front of me for support."
Franklin's honour list is mind-boggling. A dual premiership player at Hawthorn. Eight-time All Australian, including once as captain. Four-time Coleman medallist.
He's topped his club's goalkicking a dozen times - six each at Hawthorn and the Swans.
His individual brilliance is renowned. As GWS coach Cameron puts it, Franklin "puts bums on seats because people love to watch him play".
But coaches and opponents also hail Franklin as the ultimate team player.
"The thing you don't notice or doesn't get talked about with Buddy is how good a teammate he is," Jonas said.
"He is always bringing his other forwards into it. He's really supportive of them ... brings them into the game, communicates really strongly with them.
"He is not just a one-man band."
That trait extends off the field.
Franklin's private persona conflicts with the public view of a man, married to a Miss Universe Australia (model wife Jessinta), who signed a $10 million, nine-year contract with the Swans when leaving Hawthorn at the end of the 2013 season.
"He just loves his footy ... and he's good fun to be around," Longmire said.
"He loves the locker room banter ... whether that's on the training track or in the locker room, he's very personable."
