Jeff Kennett says he had no indication Lance Franklin suffered from epilepsy or mental health issues in his six-year stint as Hawthorn president.

But the Beyond Blue chairman said it should surprise no one that the AFL’s highest-profile footballer could succumb to mental illness.

‘It can affect anyone, at any time,’ Mr Kennett told Neil Mitchell.

‘Without knowing what (form of mental illeness) it is, specifically, what he and what the Sydney Swans have done deserves to be absolutely saluted.

‘We are seeing the goalposts changing in the way in which people react to an illness that should be treated in the same way as a broken arm.’

Listen: Jeff Kennett on Buddy Franklin’s mental health issues