Young midfielder Hugh McCluggage says Brisbane will embrace the extra expectations placed on it following Saturday night's triumph over West Coast – starting with this weekend.

After the 44-point hiding of last year's premier the Lions could start favourite for their encounter with first-up loser North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

McCluggage, who played one of the best games of his short career against the Eagles, said Brisbane had to learn to deal with the hype.

"I think we've got to embrace it to an extent," he said.

"You can't read into it too much, it's only round one.

"You've got to enjoy it. We probably haven't had those expectations for a long time now and it's a little bit different for us.

"We're going to have to learn how to deal with it.

"At the same time, it gives us great confidence and belief that we can play well against the best sides."

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The 21-year-old finished with 20 disposals, five clearances, five tackles and a goal against West Coast, with his creativity instrumental in many of the Lions' chains of scoring.

"Straight after the game is the time to reflect and celebrate a little bit," McCluggage said.

"It's Round 1 and there's a massive season to go, 21 rounds still, so we've moved on already to next week and what we can do to beat the Kangaroos."

McCluggage said the Lions' pre-season of training in high heat and humidity was a clear advantage in oppressive conditions against the Eagles.

"It's obviously pretty hard for a team to come to Brisbane and play," he said.

"I guess West Coast have been training in the heat, but nothing like that in terms of humidity, and we train at night during pre-season – it's just being used to that.

"It's not a shock to the system. It really helped and you saw in the second half we ran over the top of them.

"Our fitness and ability to play in the heat really helps."