Brisbane coach Chris Fagan was at a loss to explain his team's poor record at the MCG following its 25-point defeat at the hands of Hawthorn on Saturday.

The Hawks' run-and-gun triumph made it 13 losses from the Lions' past 14 visits to the venue, with 10 of those coming under Fagan's watch.

The veteran coach conceded his team was outworked by the young Hawks and rued the Lions' poor ball use, describing it as a disappointing performance.

He was unsure what to make of the poor record at the home of the Grand Final.

"We didn't talk about it today," Fagan said following the match.

"I felt last year we had some good performances here and some not-so-good performances.

"We'll try and do a better job next time. The answer is I don't know.

"We've been OK here as well. We'll see what happens next time we come here."

Brisbane broke a string of 11 losses at the ground with an inspired semi-final win over Melbourne last year before losing the following week against Geelong.

Its next opportunity to play there will come in a Friday night blockbuster against the Demons in round 18.

It was the second time this season the premiership hopefuls had struggled off a break, following a horror round one loss to Port Adelaide.

It will face Sydney next Friday night without midfielder Hugh McCluggage, who was concussed in a tackle laid by Hawthorn skipper James Sicily in the final quarter.

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said he hadn't seen a replay of the incident.

"I know the one because I felt for Hugh, and obviously he had to go off the ground, so thoughts go to him first and foremost," Mitchell said.

"At the time I thought it was such a desperate act, diving and just managing to get fingertips on him to get him, so I thought it was a great tackle, but I haven't re-watched it."

Sicily was playing his first match since a one-match ban for a bump on Saint Anthony Caminiti and was instrumental in victory with 32 disposals.

Mitchell said he was proud of his players after winning a third match from their past four contests.

"I thought we controlled a lot of the game, other than those three goals in three minutes just before half-time," he said.

"We're always after the results, but really what we're trying to do is show progress.

"Even in some of those losses we saw some steps forward.

"They're one of the best sides of the competition and we can tick that box and say, 'On our day we can compete with the best'."

Hawthorn has its bye next week.