Former Essendon champion Tim Watson strongly criticised the Swans' move to sign Franklin to such a lengthy and expensive deal on SEN this morning.

"The Buddy deal is the biggest gamble ever taken in the history of the game with a player," Watson said on the Morning Glory program.

When asked if right now he would rather have Franklin or recently acquired Giants trio Heath Shaw, Shane Mumford and Josh Hunt on his club's list, the triple premiership great responded definitively.

"I'd go with the three players."

The Giants had been seen as Franklin's likely suitor for much of last season, but were ultimately left bewildered when the dual Coleman Medalist signed an unprecedented nine-year deal believed to be worth $10 million with crosstown rivals the Sydney Swans.

Franklin was very much a peripheral figure on Saturday, held to one goal as the Giants achieved undoubtedly their finest victory yet to upset Sydney by 32 points.

Further endorsing the Giants' list were the comments made by North Melbourne legend Wayne Carey about their spearhead Jeremy Cameron.

Cameron, an All-Australian last season as a 20-year-old, bagged four goals in Saturday's win, and Carey could barely have been more glowing in his praise for the youngster when speaking last night on Channel Seven's Talking Footy.

"In ten years time when we're judging him, he will be regarded as the best centre half forward we've seen," said Carey of Cameron.

Carey's comments on the matter hold particular sway as he himself is widely thought of as one of the greatest centre half forwards to have played the game. He captained North Melbourne to the 1996 and 1999 premierships, and kicked 727 goals over a career which yielded seven All-Australian berths.