Ever since Lance Franklin gained prominence as a precocious colt from Western Australia, the tongues have been wagging.

And after his performance on Sunday evening against Melbourne at Telstra Dome, 'Buddy' is again the talk of the town - especially among the brown and gold faithful.

His five-goal performance - including four in the final term - was the catalyst in Hawthorn advancing into the second round of the NAB Cup.

Yet if you speak to the man himself, the talk was simply about the team after the match.

"It was a long game. It was good to get a win though and it's good for the boys' confidence leading into the season though," Franklin told hawthornfc.com.au after the 24-point win.

"We stuck to our guns and we went in hard and it was obviously good to come away with the win.

"It does our confidence good I reckon, leading into round one."

If hearsay is to be believed, this is not the type of talk associated with Franklin, yet in attempting to get him talk about his sterling performance, it was still the team that was at the forefront of his mind.

He even believed his play was fortuitous on occasions.

"I wouldn't say I was rapt (with my performance), but the ball fell my way a few times and I was lucky to get on the end of it," Franklin said.

"This is my third season now and my first real pre-season that I've got under my belt and I did all of the training and I probably only missed one or two sessions and I was really confident going in that I could do all of the work and do the running.

He revealed he enjoyed sharing the moment with the brown and gold crowd as he saluted the fans with some fist pumps after his stunning three goals in five minutes to kick-start Hawthorn's winning charge in the final term. And really who could blame him?

"I love the crowd and it's good to get out and kick the goals, so coming away with a win for the boys is great," Franklin said.

At 196cm and 99kg and just 20 years old, the sky is the limit for Franklin. He possesses some extraordinary talent on the football field and it's no wonder he has become a talking point throughout the football fraternity.

Spread the word. It's only the beginning.