LEIGH Matthews says the Brisbane Lions will approach this weekend’s away game against Geelong with the firm belief that they have the capabilities to defeat the reigning premiers.

The Lions have suffered heavy losses at their last two visits to Skilled Stadium but, Matthews -- speaking after Sunday’s 52-point win over Melbourne -- said his side was a definite chance to reverse that trend.

The Cats came perilously close to losing their first game of the season on Friday, eventually accounting for Fremantle by a single point in an Anzac Day nail-biter in Perth.

“I think it’s the best team we’ll have taken down there in a couple of years -- in terms of the shape we are in and how we are playing,” Matthews said.

“I believe we can win.

“Geelong only won by a point this week and by their own standards they’ve probably been a bit bursty -- they’ve played some fantastic five minutes but they’ve been a bit patchy through the four quarters of the last two or three games.”

The Lions may have the capabilities to upset the Cats, but Matthews admits they will need to get everything right preparation-wise to secure a fourth win of the season.

The Demons were never a threat during Sunday’s clash, but the game was played in energy-sapping heat and both sides looked spent by the final siren.

“It was a warm day (against Melbourne) and we have to get all our recovery protocols right this week,” Matthews said.

“We’ll have what we term a deluxe recovery.

“It’s about getting hydrated and refuelled and it’s not a week for going out and having a drink. As long as all the protocols are right, it (today’s heat) won’t be an issue.”

The Lions had 76 “inside 50s” and 42 scoring shots against Melbourne, with the final margin of victory not really reflecting their dominance.

While a final score of 19.23 (137) was evidence of inaccuracy in front of goal, young forward Rhan Hooper showed improved efficiency with a haul of 4.2.

“We’ve put in a lot of work with Rhan with his finishing and he’s starting to look confident in front of goals,” Matthews said.

“His problem has been that he rushes himself and he rushes himself at training as well. We’ve done a lot of work at training on that and not practicing missing, but practicing kicking goals for when opportunities come during games.

“What I’ve said to Rhan is that if he’s going to run 5m with the ball, there probably isn’t going to be anyone around to catch him because he has such speed.

“So he can actually run 10m or 15m more without being caught. It’s about not rushing himself and making sure he’s balanced on his last few strides.”