CHRIS Fagan has vehemently defended Stefan Martin's form, saying his ruckman was a guaranteed starter in Saturday's QClash against Gold Coast.

Fagan conceded there would be "a few changes" following Brisbane's horror loss against Collingwood, but Martin would not be one of them.

Magpie Brodie Grundy was hugely influential in his team's 62-point win last Thursday, but Fagan said it was just one down game from Martin.

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"Stef's been in great form, and Oscar (McInerney)," Fagan said.

"On the back of one game against Brodie Grundy, who is probably the hot ruckman in the competition at the moment … you get beaten from time to time.

"You wouldn't have asked me that question after the Essendon game, so one week's not going to make any difference there."

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Fagan said he had used the nine-day break between games to "audit" Brisbane's form, conceding it needed to work on defence against the Suns.

While the Lions coach seemed a little tense in a joint press conference on Wednesday with Stuart Dew, the Gold Coast mentor was relaxed.

Dew laughed when asked whether Touk Miller would tag Brisbane skipper Dayne Zorko, as he did twice last season.

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"I'm sure at some point they'll be running next to each other – how often and how long, we'll just wait and see," he said.

"I'm sure they're probably both expecting it."

It's the first time in 17 matches between the clubs that both will enter it with a positive win-loss record – both are 3-2.

However, both are coming off heavy losses.

"I think coaches are always looking for a response after a poor performance," Fagan said.

"You'll have patches when you don't go so well, but it's your ability to bounce back quickly. We're both in the same boat."