Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch says fans can expect to see a near full-strength Brisbane Lions side this Sunday when they face Gold Coast in Townsville.

The Lions rested a dozen first-choice senior players for last Thursday’s NAB Challenge match against Hawthorn, and ultimately paid the price with a hefty 22-goal loss to the reigning AFL premiers.

But Leppitsch defended his decision to field one of the most inexperienced Lions teams in history.

“We rested a quarter of our senior group, the reason being because of our travel schedule and (it gives us) the ability to just keep them fresh for Round One,” Leppitsch told LIONS TV as part of the Vero Coaches’ Wrap.

“We also got to expose our kids to the toughest team in the AFL competition at the moment. It was a very tough task for a young kid. It was unfortunate the draw we had, to play Hawthorn at that time. It would have been nice to maybe play a lower team that was maybe playing a few more of their kids, but that’s the part we couldn’t control.

“That meant the scoreboard blew out a fair bit, but we still learnt a lot about the boys on the night.

“Individually were some glimpses of talent with (James) Aish, ‘Robbo’ (Nick Robertson) with his competitiveness, and even Tom Cutler with his outside run.

“You would’ve seen a nice few efforts from Dan McStay as well, who is the future of our key defence.”

The Lions will field a different looking side this Sunday, with Leppitsch revealing that the final two practice matches will feature a near full-strength side.

“From here on in will be a full dress rehearsal for Round One,” Leppitsch said.

“We don’t have to worry about game time, although guys may still be rested for injury sake. If there was somebody on the brink of getting injured, then of course we would want to rest that particular player.

“It’s still five weeks before Round One and we need to keep managing our players and their pre-season.”