Underneath the cape Hawthorn's Lance Franklin dons for his regular feats of AFL superheroism lies a blue-collar work shirt.

So says teammate Michael Osborne, who believes those who marvel at Franklin's freakishness forget one of his best qualities - his workrate.

Osborne, who rolls up for work every day alongside Franklin, admits he sometimes can't believe what the Hawks' spearhead can do.

Yet he said the 21-year-old's hard work is often overlooked, as he regularly takes on two and three opponents - and as Franklin did so spectacularly with eight goals in a qualifying final demolition on the Western Bulldogs Friday night, beats them.

"Because he's getting a lot more attention, he has to work harder for his possessions," Osborne said.

"Full credit for him for the workrate he's produced.

"You forget he's still only a young bloke and he's still maturing. If he can keep improving ... well, he's already a superstar, who know how much further he'll go?"

Hard work is Osborne's stock-in-trade and he has re-invented himself this year as a solid forward line support act to Franklin.

Osborne was one of the Hawks' many stars in their 51-point win over the Bulldogs at the MCG with his own bag of four goals.

It was a personal best for the 26-year-old, who was staring down the barrel of delisting at the end of last season - mostly because of a succession of injuries.

He got a reprieve and has found a new niche.

"It's been good, just getting a full pre-season under the belt and getting the workrate up," Osborne said.

The Hawks now have a week off before their preliminary final - a godsend given they are now sweating on the fitness of four players injured on Friday night.

Key defender Trent Croad has a foot injury and didn't reappear after halftime, while Cameron Stokes (leg), Rick Ladson (shoulder) and defender Grant Birchall (hip) all now have time to get their bodies right.

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