BRISBANE Lions coach Chris Fagan witnessed Lance Franklin's brilliance up close for years at Hawthorn and got another reminder about the superstar's ability in his side's 54-point loss to Sydney on Sunday.

Franklin booted the game's opening goal and had five at half-time, before finishing with eight, with the highlight being a bomb on the run in the first quarter that he launched around 70m from the goal line.

"I knew he was going to kick it," Fagan said with a grin post-match.

"We were pretty happy to have him when I was at Hawthorn, and we were pretty sad to lose him, but all players get better with age.

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"I would have liked him in our side, the result might have been different!

"He's the master and he can sniff a goal in a split second, that’s why he's so good."

Despite Franklin's dominance, Fagan chose to leave young defender Daniel McStay on him for the entire match, and the young Lion copped a footy lesson from his star opponent.

Fagan revealed that he spoke with his backman at three-quarter time to check if he wanted to finish the game on Franklin, and he was rapt when McStay refused to take the easy way out and switch opponents.

"When I hear that its music to my ears and that’s what we're after as coaches," he said.

"They've all got a really good growth mindset, they understand that you've got to go through experiences like this and come out the other side to be a good player.

"These boys won't always be in the position they're in now, they will grow, and they will get better, and there will be better times ahead for them."