The Lions have received a massive boost ahead of Saturday night’s match against Carlton with the addition of three Club Champions and two valuable defenders to the side that lost to Geelong by 27 points in Round 7.
Jonathan Brown, Simon Black, Travis Johnstone, Jason Roe and Josh Drummond all return from injury to replace Matthew Leuenberger, Lachlan Henderson, Cheynee Stiller, Albert Proud and Robert Copeland who have all been omitted.
Brown returns after missing the Lions’ Round 7 match against Geelong at Skilled Stadium with a tight quad. After playing freely without any hint of injury in last week’s AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match, he has been given the green light to resume his duties up forward.
The reigning Coleman Medallist has an impressive recent history against Carlton, polling a maximum nine Brownlow votes in his past three matches against them.
Brownlow Medal fancy Black has overcome a niggling groin injury that kept him out of both the Lions’ Round 7 match against Geelong and the Hall of Fame Tribute Match. The Club’s leading possession winner this season will be a welcome addition to the team’s midfield.
Johnstone, a Club Champion at former club Melbourne, missed his first match with the Lions after a hamstring injury forced him to stay at home when his team made the trip to Kardinia Park in Round 7. The silky midfielder is now set to play his first competitive match in Melbourne since moving to Brisbane at the end of last year.
Josh Drummond has also been added to the Lions backline for the first time since hurting his quad during the Round 2 clash with Collingwood at the Gabba while Jason Roe will make his season debut after recovering from a quad injury suffered in the pre-season.
The full Lions team is:
B: Josh Drummond (39), Daniel Merrett (21), Joel Patfull (24)
HB: Jared Brennan (17), Joel Macdonald (26), Jason Roe (29)
C: Anthony Corrie (18), Simon Black (20), Tim Notting (8)
HF: Michael Rischitelli (35), Jonathan Brown (16), Justin Sherman (11)
F: Rhan Hooper (33), Daniel Bradshaw (36), Travis Johnstone (4)
Foll: Jamie Charman (19), Luke Power (6), Jed Adcock (7)
Int: Scott Harding (5), Mitch Clark (1), Troy Selwood (28), Ashley McGrath (9)
Emerg: James Polkinghorne (31), Matthew Leuenberger (23), Cheynee Stiller (32)
IN: Jonathan Brown, Simon Black, Travis Johnstone, Josh Drummond, Jason Roe
OUT: Matthew Leuenberger, Robert Copeland, Cheynee Stiller, Albert Proud, Lachlan Henderson
