SIMON Black, Jamie Charman and Daniel Merrett are all poised to play in the Brisbane Lions' round one clash with West Coast, despite sitting out the pre-season competition.
However, Lions coach Michael Voss confirmed that utility Jared Brennan, who injured his quad in last week's NAB Challenge match against Melbourne, will remain sidelined.
Speaking from the club's open day at the Gabba on Saturday, Voss said he wasn't concerned about the match fitness of the returning trio.
Black has recovered from a broken hand, while ruckman Charman and full-back Merrett have been managed through their summer training.
"They’ve got a lot of games under their belt and are quite smart in the way they go about it and prepare," Voss said.
"They all look in fantastic condition so the only thing they don’t have is that match practice. At the same time you can’t play them for the full 115 or 120 minutes, you have to have a more modified look about it."
Voss said the form of Matthew Leuenberger, one of the Lions’ best in Friday night’s 15-point loss to Richmond, would allow Charman to share time in the ruck on his return.
He added that Black's absence has provided opportunities for his teammates.
"With Black missing for a month it’s allowed others to step in and play different roles," Voss said.
"So get Blacky back in and he almost becomes part of our rotation. You can ease him back in too so I don’t see much of an issue."
Three straight NAB Challenge losses after a first-up win over St Kilda hasn't been ideal, but Voss said the Lions' focus is on their encounter with the Eagles on March 28.
"I would have loved to have been playing the NAB Cup grand final against Geelong, that would have been great, but we weren’t and there’s some things we’re working on," he said. "I don’t have any concerns.
"The pre-season is done, the practice matches are done and now we get into the real stuff.
"Straight after the [Richmond] game we were thinking about what sort of recovery we have to have and now it’s about being able to look after ourselves.
"It’s exciting. I can’t wait, the players can’t wait.
"I think you get to the back end of the pre-season and you sort of get to the point where you say round one is near and you want to be able to get stuck into it."
Dream Team watch – Simon Black is rated a $398,700 midfielder in Toyota AFL Dream Team 2009
Jamie Charman is rated a $278,300 ruckman in Toyota AFL Dream Team 2009
Daniel Merrett is rated a $169,800 defender in Toyota AFL Dream Team 2009
