BRISBANE Lions coach Michael Voss says his side didn't get the respect it deserved for toppling an undermanned Geelong by 43 points last week.

Geelong stars Gary Ablett, Matthew Scarlett, Darren Milburn, Andrew Mackie and Cameron Ling were all rested for the trip to the Gabba and Voss' Lions went on to lead at every change and win comfortably.

Their ninth win for the season left them just one game out of the top four, but Voss said the kudos was not forthcoming. 

"We didn't [get the respect we deserved], and that's fair enough," the coach said from Perth on Friday.

"It probably highlights where we're at as a football group. It [respect] is very hard to gain.

"Leigh Matthews used to say that your reputation almost follows itself by about 12 months.

"That's why we’ve always got to continue to put our best foot forward and play out the season strongly. We haven't earned that right yet."

The Lions come up against Fremantle this weekend, a side that has played 10 debutants this season and only managed to kick one goal against Adelaide last week.

Voss said he expected a spirited response from Mark Harvey's men after last week's 117-point humiliation and he would prepare for their best.

"They've had a tough week,” Voss said “Whenever you get that you expect some sort of real spirited fight-back.”

Captain Matthew Pavlich and star ruckman Aaron Sandilands both failed to prove they were over minor hamstring strains on Wednesday night, but to make matters worse tenacious midfielder Byron Schammer (calf) will miss his first game for the season.

Voss said he would focus on the players Harvey did have to pick from, rather than Fremantle's extensive injury list.

"It's pretty easy to look at what they don’t have, but it's important to look at what they do have," he said. "They've got some genuine ball winners.

"Obviously Pavlich isn’t playing, he would be a genuine strength for them. But we've also seen them compete against Carlton a couple of weeks ago at home, and they do play very well at home.

"So you've got to be able to respect that and what they bring to the table.

"We've just got to prepare for their absolute best and make sure that we're on."

Voss described the news yesterday that defender Jed Adcock would not require a full knee reconstruction as the best possible scenario.

The Lions' vice-captain will miss 10-12 weeks.