BRISBANE will be without one of its quickest and best ball users for Friday night's match against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.

Former skipper Dayne Zorko will miss a third straight match as he continues to deal with a calf injury, robbing the Lions of one of their line-breakers against Ross Lyon's stout defensive set-up.

They will regain Hugh McCluggage from concussion though, leaving coach Chris Fagan with the difficult decision of leaving out one of Kai Lohmann, Deven Robertson or impressive debutant Jaspa Fletcher.

Speaking on Thursday morning, Fagan said Zorko would be a chance to play Richmond in round 16.

"We want to take the safe pathway with him," Fagan said.

"He's just had to rest up a little bit. He's doing lots of alternate types of aerobic work, but I think he'll train today and over the weekend.

"Zorks is one of those guys that loves playing, so he's always frustrated when he's injured, but in the long run it'll probably be good for him."

MEDICAL ROOM Check out the full injury list

Brisbane has a 3-4 win-loss record without Zorko over the past two seasons, including splitting the four games he's been absent from in 2023.

Fagan said ball movement would be critical against the Saints in a match that has major ramifications for the top four.

Currently Brisbane (fourth) is a game clear of St Kilda (fifth).

"They're always a tough side to play against," Fagan said.

"They don't concede many scores. They get a lot of numbers back, so the challenge is to try and move the ball well enough before they get back there.

"The thing you can control to a fair degree is how quickly you move the ball from different situations.

"We've got to take our opportunities when they arise to move the ball quickly.

"They're a really honest team and we know it's going to be a very hard game."

Darcy Gardiner (quad) will return through the VFL this weekend.