JONATHAN Brown is one of the game's great centre half-forwards and Bryce Retzlaff is in awe.

The 19-year-old tall forward from Labrador on the Gold Coast can hardly believe his luck - firstly, that he's playing in the AFL and, secondly, that he's learning from Brown - a two-time All Australian, a triple premiership player and a Coleman medallist.

Retzlaff was taken by the Lions at No.84 in the 2009 National Draft and after playing a season in reserves has now played the past four games in the seniors.

And in Brown he has the best teacher in the business, and he knows it.

When the two embraced after Retzlaff's two goals against Adelaide last Sunday, it was the master giving his apprentice a hug for a job well done.

When talking about Brown, the 195cm, 91kg Retzlaff sounds like a youngster opening his first present on Christmas morning.

"We've got a pretty good friendship. I try and hang around him like a bad smell," he said.

"He's probably one of the greatest centre half-forwards of all time so any time I get to spend with him is like gold. He's really good to me as well. He takes a lot of time out to help me.

"So I'm pretty fortunate because he does spend a lot of time with me, so I'm just trying to learn as much off him as I can.

"There wouldn't be many kids in the AFL in a better position, playing alongside one of the blokes I admired growing up. He's just a freak. There's only four or five players in the competition at his level.

"There's everyone else and Jonathan Brown is just a step above so to be around him, training on the same ground as him is great, let alone him taking a bit of interest in you and spending a bit of time with you; so I'm certainly very lucky that's for sure."

Retzlaff said he spent an hour with Brown after most training sessions to discuss leading patterns and contest one-on-one marking sessions.

They will also look over footage to see just where Retzlaff can improve.

He came to the club as a skinny 79kg and despite putting on 12kg the past 18 months, is still a lightly framed key-position player.

But Retzlaff uses other strengths at the moment and is trying to model himself off Brown's ability to run his opponent into the ground while the muscle is still coming.

"He's so good because he trains harder than everybody else and that's one of the biggest things I've learnt from him," Retzlaff said.

"He just goes above and beyond everybody else and sets a new standard in terms of how hard you train. He's got faults in his game as well, he's not perfect, and he keeps working on them as well. The way he attacks his training is pretty amazing really."

Retzlaff had his best game for the club in the win over the Crows, taking seven marks in his 12 disposals, and kicking two goals.

He said he had already learned plenty in his four-game career, particularly after being beaten by Dustin Fletcher in his second game when the Lions lost to Essendon.

But with Brown back and Mitch Clark also firing up forward, Retzlaff said getting the opposition's third defender would give him more of a chance to compete.

If Retzlaff is something, it's persistent and patient.

"Two years ago if someone said I'd be playing AFL footy alongside Jonathan Brown, I'd tell them they're dreaming. You pinch yourself sometimes, I'm pretty fortunate in the position I am. Not many kids get to do what I do for a living so it's certainly not something I take for granted."