Metricon Stadium, Saturday, February 23, 6.40pm EST
THE MISSING
Gold Coast Suns: Nathan Bock, Brandon Matera, Danny Stanley, Trent McKenzie
Hawthorn: Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Shaun Burgoyne, Brad Sewell, Xavier Ellis, Liam Shiels.
Brisbane Lions: Jonathan Brown and Jed Adcock, Jared Polec, Pearce Hanley, Brent Staker, Simon Black, Matthew Leuenberger, Sam Mayes.
LAST YEAR
Gold Coast: The Suns beat Melbourne but lost to the Lions in the tri-series opener, followed by losses to Geelong and Greater Western Sydney.
Hawthorn: Split the tri-series opener with a win over North Melbourne and a three-point loss to Richmond. The Hawks then thrashed GWS and Melbourne, but narrowly missed out on the Grand Final.
Brisbane Lions: Lost to Melbourne but beat the Suns in the tri-series, lost to Adelaide in Alice Springs, but then thrashed Carlton on the Sunshine Coast.
WHAT THEY SAY
Gold Coast: “Both the Lions and the Hawks will be a great test for our playing group, and we’ll certainly focus on them to an extent, but the games are also about implementing the defensive structures we’ve put in place over the summer and letting the squad play with a bit of freedom,” assistant coach Dean Solomon.
Hawthorn: "“It’s just a great opportunity for some of our young guys … it’s great exposure for the young players and hopefully they’ll get good experience out of it and see where it helps throughout the course of the year," coach Alastair Clarkson.
Brisbane Lions: "The team’s had a really good pre-season, but all teams are saying that at this stage of the year. We won our last three matches last year, and took that momentum into the pre-season and followed it all the way through. The boys are now cherry ripe to start playing footy," co-captain Jed Adcock.
WE SAY
Gold Coast: With Gary Ablett now playing, the Suns have picked a strong squad and an upset win over the Hawks in the opener would not surprise. All eyes will be midfielder Jaeger O'Meara, who after 12 months in the Gold Coast system is reportedly ready to star.
Hawthorn: The Hawks are ridiculously short – $3.50 – to win the entire NAB Cup, but they open their campaign with a squad that looks powerful at both ends of the ground but inexperienced in the middle. NT midfielder Jed Anderson has earned rave reviews and is the player to watch here, while Brian Lake debuts for his new club.
Brisbane Lions: The Lions are still missing a few here, most notably co-captains Brown and Adcock. But they finished last season well and are brimming with enthusiasm. Brent Moloney and Stefan Martin play their first games for the club.
