Head to head: Carlton 22 wins, Brisbane Lions 16 wins, no draws
Last time: Brisbane Lions 16.11 (107) d Carlton 12.16 (88), round 2, 2010 at the Gabba
MISSING IN ACTION
Carlton
Chris Johnson (wrist) - 1 week
Matthew Kreuzer (knee) - season
Brock McLean (knee) - 3 weeks
Rhys O’Keeffe (back) - indefinite
Jarrad Waite (suspended) - 2 weeks
Brisbane Lions
Jed Adcock (foot) - 3 weeks
Donald Barry (sinus) - TBC
Callum Bartlett (knee) - season
Jonathan Brown (abdominal strain) - 2 weeks
Jamie Charman (ankle) - season
Xavier Clarke (knee) - test
Josh Drummond (knee) - indefinite
Brendan Fevola (groin) - TBC
Mitch Golby (knee) - season
Matt Maguire (foot) - 1-2 weeks
Ash McGrath (hamstring) - test
James Polkinghorne (thigh) - test
FORM
Carlton: LWWLL
Brisbane Lions: LWLLL
SUMMARY
Both sides are terribly out of sorts and will be desperate for a win here. The Blues need to reaffirm their grip on a top-eight spot and the Lions must win to breathe life into their faltering finals campaign.
A loss to the lowly Tigers - on their home ground no less - has the Lions' season teetering on a knife edge and with Brendan Fevola joining Jonathan Brown on a lengthy injury list, Michael Voss has to re-shuffle his deck and hope to come up with a winning hand.
A loss to the lowly Tigers - on their home ground no less - has the Lions' season teetering on a knife edge and with Brendan Fevola joining Jonathan Brown on a lengthy injury list, Michael Voss has to re-shuffle his deck and hope to come up with a winning hand.
Losses to North Melbourne and Fremantle have taken the gloss off an otherwise encouraging first half of the season by Carlton. The loss of lead ruckman Matthew Kreuzer is a massive blow which forces Brett Ratten into a major re-think on how to use his big men.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Former Blues rookie Sam Jacobs has impressed with attack on the ball in the back-up ruck role, but now he'll have to prove he's got the tank to carry more of the load with Kreuzer out.
Former Eagle Brent Staker was recruited as a forward, but has mostly filled gaps down back in the depleted defence. He kicked three goals last week and with Fev out he'll need to provide a spark in attack for the Lions to prevail.
QUESTION MARKS
How will the Blues' ruck tandem work? Jacobs looks set to take on the bulk of the centre work with Shaun Hampson to relieve and spell up forward.
Who's going to kick the Lions' goals? No Fevola plus no Brown equals no scoring?
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
With Fevola out the shaky Blues should be able to right the ship against the injury-hit Lions. The ruck is a concern for Carlton, but the Lions have to try and fill too many gaps across the ground. Look for the Blues unpredictable attack to hit back after a down week.
Chat with host Murray Belkin and other fans in the AFL Match Centre on afl.com.au from 7.10pm Thursday or join the conversation on Twitter: #aflblueslions
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
