Patfull was the third Lion to try his hand at stopping Franklin last weekend, as the Hawks ace exploded for eight majors and 14 shots on goal.
He says the experience was beneficial from a learning perspective but will be happy not to run into Franklin again before the round 19 rematch in Launceston.
”Every team has a couple of quality forwards but at the moment (Franklin) is probably the toughest to play on,” Patfull told lions.com.au.
”With his size and athleticism, he’s just a complete player and can pretty much do it all.
"But you definitely learn a fair bit playing on him. You can figure out where he likes to lead and get the ball, and hopefully that will be helpful down the track.”
Patfull is likely to square up against a familiar foe on Sunday at the Gabba – high leaping Melbourne forward Russell Robertson.
The 23-year-old played one of the best games of his young career in the corresponding fixture last year, restricting Robertson to a single goal.
While he’s looking forward to the challenge of again standing the three-time leading Demons goalkicker, Patfull says he won’t be sledging Robertson about his singing prowess.
With Melbourne winless through the season’s first five rounds, Robertson delivered some unconventional joy for Demon fans by finishing runner-up in television’s It Takes Two singing competition.
”A few of the boys have been telling me I should give him a bit of a dig, but I think I’ll give it a miss,” Patfull said.
”My singing isn’t too great, so I don’t think there’s much I could say.
"He’s a great player and can hurt you in a few different ways, so I’ll have to be on my toes.
”He’s good on the lead but then, as he showed last week, he can also jump right over a pack and take a screamer.”
The Lions can take their season record to 3-3 with a win over the Demons, with Patfull believing that the key to victory is starting well.
Hawthorn kicked the first two goals of the game last week and the Lions’ two wins to date – against Collingwood and Port Adelaide – have been the result of dramatic final quarter comebacks.
”We’ve spoken a bit in the last couple of weeks about how important it is to get a good start,” Patfull said.
"On the weekend, we weren’t too bad and ended up being in front at quarter-time.
”But we haven’t really taken control of a game yet. Hopefully we can get a few goals on the board early this weekend and put ourselves in a winning position early in the game.”
