MELBOURNE has called on West Australian young gun Koltyn Tholstrup for his AFL debut as a replacement for suspended forward Kozzy Pickett against an unchanged Brisbane side.

Tholstrup, a powerful half-forward who was taken with pick No.13 in last year's AFL Draft, will come in for Pickett who failed in his bid to overturn a one-game suspension for a high bump on Adelaide's Jake Soligo.

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The Lions will go into the MCG clash with the same squad that defeated North Melbourne in Gather Round. Milestone man Lachie Neale, who will play his 250th game, and forward Zac Bailey will both play after they overcame sore spots in the wake of the win over the Roos.

Dees midfielder Clayton Oliver has been named despite managing a finger injury in recent weeks.

Recent clashes between the two teams have provided no shortage of drama.

In round 18 last year, the Demons overcame a 26-point deficit early in the final term to win by a point courtesy of some Jake Melksham heroics.

The round two clash was marred by a power outage at the Gabba in the last quarter with the Lions leading by 40 points. After a 38-minute delay, the Demons booted five unanswered goals to cut the margin to 11 points.

And in a memorable semi-final clash at the MCG in 2022, the Lions broke an 11-game losing streak at the home of football and sent the Demons crashing out of the premiership race in straight sets.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11

Melbourne v Brisbane at the MCG, 7.30pm AEST

MELBOURNE

In: K.Tholstrup
Out: K.Pickett (suspension)

R4 sub: Taj Woewodin

BRISBANE

In: Nil
Out: Nil

R4 sub: James Tunstill