The Lions have not lost at the Gabba in six games since hosting Hawthorn in round five and Roe says he and his teammates are determined to keep the streak going.

"Having the next couple of weeks at home could be huge for us," Roe said.

"Our form on the road hasn't been great recently so to be playing at the Gabba in front of our home crowd – that's exactly what we need right now."

The Bulldogs have made two changes, including Josh Hill and Ben Hudson at the expense of Stephen Tiller and Peter Street.

Hudson missed the Bulldogs' loss to North Melbourne with a back complaint.

Brisbane Lions
B: Joel Macdonald, Daniel Merrett, Joel Patfull
HB: Justin Sherman, Jason Roe, Ashley McGrath
C: Bradd Dalziell, Simon Black, Jed Adcock
HF: Michael Rischitelli, Jonathan Brown, Jared Brennan
F: Rhan Hooper, Daniel Bradshaw, Albert Proud
Foll: Jamie Charman, Luke Power, Travis Johnstone
I/C: Colm Begley, Matthew Moody, James Hawksley, Robert Copeland
EMG: Lachlan Henderson, Anthony Corrie, Tim Notting
In: Macdonald, Moody, Copeland
Out: Josh Drummond (quad), Notting, Henderson

Western Bulldogs
B: Lindsay Gilbee, Brian Lake, Tim Callan
HB: Ryan Griffen, Dale Morris, Ryan Hargrave
C: Nathan Eagleton, Matthew Boyd, Josh Hill
HF: Robert Murphy, Mitch Hahn, Brad Johnson
F: Jason Akermanis, Will Minson, Scott Welsh
Foll: Ben Hudson, Daniel Cross, Adam Cooney
I/C: Daniel Giansiracusa, Jarrod Harbrow, Farren Ray, Callan Ward
EMG: Andrejs Everitt, Sam Reid, Stephen Tiller
In: Hill, Hudson
Out: Tiller, Peter Street

On the punt:

TAB Sportsbet has the Lions as early underdogs for this one – but fairly narrowly. The Lions are listed at $2.05 to make it eight wins from 10 starts at the Gabba this year, while the third-placed Bulldogs are at $1.72.

After both sides combined for 199 points when they last met in round 12, the $8 on offer for a game score of between 191 and 200 points might prove attractive. With the Bulldogs the second highest scoring team in the competition behind Geelong, punters might like to off-set that by investing on a combined score of 221-plus points ($2.10)

Key match-up:

Joel Macdonald (Lions) v Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs) – Macdonald, returning from six weeks out with ankle injury, is keen to renew his rivalry with Murphy. However, the Lions' relatively small forward line-up means there are any number options, including Joel Patfull, Jason Roe and Ash McGrath. If any of them can blanket Murphy, it will be a massive boost for the Lions. The 26-year-old had 24 possessions and kicked 2.4 when the two sides last met and also paired 18 touches with two goals against North Melbourne in round 19.

Odds and sods:
 
The Lions (7-2 at the Gabba) have built an outstanding home record in 2008 – one bettered only by Geelong (9-0) and Adelaide (8-2). But if any team is a road warrior, then it's the Bulldogs. To date, Rodney Eade's side has ventured interstate five times this year for five wins, against Sydney (twice), Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Hawthorn. The only other undefeated team interstate is ladder leader Geelong (4-0).

Incidentally Geelong (2260) and the Bulldogs (2209) rank first and second in the competition for points scored. But neither side has an individual in the top-10 in the competition for goal-kicking. Steve Johnson (39 – 14th) leads the way for the Cats, while Brad Johnson (41– 13th) tops the list for the Dogs. By contrast, seven of the top-10 goal-kickers in the league play for teams currently outside the eight, including the Lions' Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw.

Life can be tough as a ruckman. Of the top-20 players in the league for hit-outs, only six have a better record in frees for as opposed to frees against. The Lions' Jamie Charman (22-32) and the Bulldogs' Will Minson (11-32) and Ben Hudson (16-27) certainly aren't immune from the curse – the direct opposite of which is epitomised by West Coast star Dean Cox (35-15).