Lance Franklin believes his 2016 season was close to his most consistent season he has had in the AFL.

The 29-year-old booted 81 goals this season, his best return since joining the Swans at the start of the 2014 season.

It is also the third highest tally Franklin has kicked in a season for his entire career.

What makes his feat of 81 goals in a season even more remarkable is that the star forward played a role further up the field during the second half of the season.

“I think my season was pretty consistent and probably one of the most consistent seasons I have had in a while,” Franklin said.

“I am reasonably happy with the way I went about my football this year and really can’t wait to get back to pre-season and hit the ground running.

“This year I was able to get myself up the ground, get my hands on the ball and then be able to kick inside forward 50.”

Franklin said it was his strong pre-season, arguably his best at the Swans, that was the catalyst behind his strong 2016.

“It was on the back of a lot of hard work, a lot of hard training sessions and I was able to get out on the track for every session,” he said.

“I hadn’t been able to do that for the first couple of years of being here so I put my consistency down to that.”

Franklin will return to pre-season training with the remainder of his senior teammates on December 5.