The Lions have been buoyed by the return of star midfielders Simon Black and Luke Power as well as young guns Jack Redden, James Polkinghorne and Pearce Hanley.
31 year-olds Black and Power have been eased through the pre-season and are now ready to get some valuable match practice under their belt against the Demons.
It will be a particularly big effort from Power whose wife Anita gave birth to the couple’s first child, a baby daughter, on Tuesday night.
Redden, who finished fifth in the Lions’ Club Champion award last year, has overcome a hand injury to make himself available for selection. The 20 year-old Rising Star nominee has maintained a strong fitness base over summer and is looking forward to re-joining his team-mates on the field.
Both Polkinghorne (hernia) and Hanley (ankle) have also been passed fit to play following minor injury setbacks during the pre-season.
Making way for the returning quintet as part of the Lions 29-man NAB Challenge squad rotation are Todd Banfield, Jared Polec, Ryan Harwood, Mitch Golby and Aaron Cornelius.
Also still absent from the side are skipper Jonathan Brown, ruckman Matthew Leuenberger and defender Josh Drummond, but all three are still on target to face Fremantle in the Club’s AFL season opener on Saturday 26 March at the Gabba.
All Lions traditional Victorian members and Victorian Plus members will receive free entry into the match upon presentation of their 2011 membership card while non-members can purchase tickets at the gate.
The Lions will also have a membership area setup outside Gate 5 of Visy Park when gates open at 11am for fans to sign up as 2011 Club members.
MATCH DETAILS
Brisbane Lions v Melbourne
Saturday 5 March 2011
Visy Park, Royal Parade, Carlton North @ 12 noon*
*NB: Please note start time has changed from last week
The Lions full unplaced squad of 29 players is as follows:
1 - Mitchell Clark
3 - Sam Sheldon
6 - Luke Power
7 - Jed Adcock
8 - Matt Austin
9 - Ashley McGrath
10 - Daniel Rich
11 - Pearce Hanley
12 - James Hawksley
14 - Brent Staker
17 - Claye Beams
20 - Simon Black
21 - Daniel Merrett
22 - Tom Collier
24 - Joel Patfull
28 - Patrick Karnezis
29 - Andrew Raines
30 - Jack Redden
31 - James Polkinghorne
32 - Cheynee Stiller
33 - Amon Buchanan
34 - Jesse O’Brien
35 - Ryan Lester
36 - Matt Maguire
37 - Bryce Retzlaff
38 - Tom Rockliff
42 - Josh Green
43 - Rohan Bewick
46 - Broc McCauley (Rookie)
Click here for a full update on this weekend's NAB Challenge match.
