BRISBANE have to hunt the hunters if it's any chance of upsetting premier Richmond on Saturday, says Lions coach Chris Fagan.

Despite a 0-3 start to the season, Brisbane has shown marked improvement on its 2017 wooden spoon form, and could easily have won each match.

Now they face Mission Impossible – playing the Tigers at the MCG, a team they haven't beaten since 2009.

"When you're a team in our positon and we're progressing and improving, it's all about scalps and ticking boxes against teams you haven't done it against for a while," Fagan said.

"I don't see Richmond as being vulnerable – we just have to match them in every area.

"The critical thing when you play the Tigers is they like to hunt the ball and they like to hunt you.

"We have to be able to do the same thing, but do it better than them and use the ball really well. That's our challenge.

"All teams have (weaknesses), but we have to play our game well."

The Lions should receive a huge boost, with captain Dayne Beams expected to be named for his 150th match after being a late withdrawal with illness against Port Adelaide last Saturday.

Fagan said without Beams and experienced defender Daniel Rich (ankle), he was happy with the even contribution against the Power that saw the Lions get within five points of a huge upset.

He said it was encouraging to get so close, but frustrating to still be winless.

"I was happy to see the players were disappointed," he said.

"What that said to me was they believed they could win.

"Sometimes when you don't believe you can win, you're not so upset when you lose.

"We treat all games as a learning experience and we learnt a lot out of that game last week."

Saturday afternoon's match will be the Lions' only chance to play at the MCG this year.