BRISBANE'S loss against Hawthorn on Saturday had nothing to do with the venue and everything to do with its lack of work-rate, said forward Cam Rayner.

The 25-point defeat to the Hawks dropped the Lions' away record to three wins from seven matches in 2023 and consigned them to a 13th loss from their past 14 visits to the MCG.

Ahead of his 100th game on Friday night against Sydney at the Gabba, Rayner put the heat on his fellow forwards to lift their intensity.

"If we played the way we did on the weekend at the Gabba, we're still losing here," he said.

"I don't think it matters what ground we're playing at, the way we played on the weekend just wasn't acceptable.

"It's the way we've been defending the ground. Us, as a forward line, probably haven't worked hard, we need to get our work-rate up.

"This year we've done it really well, it's just the last couple of weeks we've been a bit slack at that.

"We can bring the flair and that will come natural, but we need to get back to that hard work that we've been doing throughout the year."

After jostling with the top two teams for much of the season, Brisbane is now battling to remain in fourth after losses either side of its bye to Adelaide and Hawthorn.

Sam Mitchell's team picked them apart at the weekend, using the extra width of the MCG to great effect, with Rayner saying it was the forward line group of seven that had to set the tone.

"As a forward group it's something we've prided ourselves on … to drop off and have an impact like it did on the weekend was disappointing," he said.

"It's the energy we need to bring to every game. It's the defensive pressure we need to start with."

Brisbane will be bolstered by the return of former skipper Dayne Zorko from suspension against the Swans, but will be without concussed midfielder Hugh McCluggage.