FORM GUIDE
The Brisbane Lions were gunning for three straight wins when they hosted the GWS Giants last Saturday night at the Gabba. The Lions were unlucky losing Daniel Merrett before the game with a throat infection and it severely affected both their forward structure and back-up ruck stocks on the evening.

The first half was a tight and tough affair with nothing really splitting the sides with the Giants taking a one point lead into the long break. The Giants blew the game open in the second half to win handsomely and to add insult to injury, Jonathan Brown was helped from the ground in the third quarter after a sickening hit which left him concussed yet again.

The loss drops the Lions back to 17th on the ladder with a 3-9 record.

The Lions head west this week to face the Fremantle Dockers in Perth on Saturday evening.

Fremantle had a trip to the MCG last weekend to take on Richmond and it was ultimately their extra level of class and skill that allowed them to win a fierce contest.

The Tigers were committed to winning the hard ball but they undid plenty of their good work with sloppy disposal and inaccuracy on the scoreboard. The Dockers are building their season strongly after a sluggish start in the early rounds.

The Dockers’ record is currently 8-4 and they sit fifth on the ladder.

TEAM SELECTION
The Lions’ Match Committee has made three changes to the side for their trip to Perth this weekend. Jonathan Brown will miss with concussion, Mitch Golby has been omitted and James Aish will be rested.

Coming in to replace the above trio is Daniel Merrett, Nick Robertson and Tom Cutler.

Brown will be given as much time as necessary to make a decision on whether he returns this season after having suffered a number of heavy head collisions in the past few seasons.

The Dockers have made only one change to their winning side from last weekend with Tommy Sheridan omitted and Clancee Pearce coming back into the senior side.

KEY MATCH-UPS
The Dockers’ wins start with their approach of making sure that they win the centre square battle against all their opponents. They generally get first use from the towering Aaron Sandilands and if Stefan Martin thought the past two weeks against Will Minson and Shane Mumford were tough, then this contest is on a whole new level.

Martin will have the back up of Daniel Merrett this week to pinch hit in the ruck to give him a breather but both will be conceding height and weight against Sandilands. The aim for Martin and Merrett will be to break even as best as possible and give their midfielders Tom Rockliff, Jack Redden and Claye Beams, amongst others, the best opportunity to beat their direct opponents.

Rockliff will more than likely find himself opposed to the Dockers number one tagger Ryan Crowley making for a tough night at the office. It is imperative that the other Lions’ midfielders help their Vice-Captain out during the evening by getting in Crowley’s way as often as possible.

The Dockers have plenty of tall talent running through the middle of the ground in addition to the Sandilands with David Mundy, Nat Fyfe, and Crowley to name but a few who are all above 188cm.

Nat Fyfe in particular will spend time resting forward and one would expect that Lions Captain Jed Adcock will take him on when he does go forward. Adcock should try and drag Fyfe back up the field by running off half back when he gets the chance and get involved in as many scoring chains as he can. An interesting duel between the pair possibly awaits.

Joel Patfull could find himself opposed to Matthew Pavlich who had a good game last week, which included an amazing goal from 50 after three bounces down centre wing. Pavlich epitomises the Fremantle form guide for season 2014 and is getting better with each outing as the club builds towards finals. 

Matt Maguire or Justin Clarke will probably get the job on Zac Clarke when the big Docker is up forward.

The Dockers’ danger man and general pest Hayden Ballantyne kicked a career-best six goals last weekend and there is a good possibility that Ryan Harwood could be given the job of shutting him down. Ballantyne is a confidence player and with each positive act he performs it lifts the Dockers so the Lions will need to ensure they restrict the ball that Ballantyne gets on Saturday.

Daniel Merrett will head the Lions forward line with Michael Close in support as the second tall. They will find themselves lining up on Zac Dawson and Alex Silvagni, which gives the Lions duo an opportunity to hit the scoreboard. First choice defenders Luke McPharlin and Mitchell Johnson are injured so it is certainly not the strongest Dockers defence that Merrett and Close could have faced.

At their feet come the Mozzie Squad of Lewis Taylor, Josh Green and Dayne Zorko. They continue to build a great understanding on the field together and contributed seven goals between them last week against the Giants. The directive from Leppitsch and the coaching staff this week will be to do more of the same.

INTERESTING STAT
The Lions have lost their past five clashes against the Dockers with their last win coming way back in Round 16 in 2009 at Patersons Stadium. On that particular occasion, Daniel Rich was superb with 31 disposals and Jonathan Brown lead the forward line kicking four goals.

On top of this extended losing sequence to the Dockers is the fact that the Lions have struggled on their travels to Perth. The Lions are scoring an average of just 55 points across the past four games in the west while at the same time conceding an average of 103. This may be an indication that the smaller confines of the Gabba suit the team better than the wide open expanses of Patersons Stadium.

The Dockers are starting to hit some form having won their past four games and will be eyeing a victory on the their home turf. It will take a special effort from the Lions to come back to Brisbane with the four points but they need look no further than last weekend which was full of wins against the odds.

LIONS RESERVES
Last weekend the Lions reserves played UWS Giants and suffered a 22-point defeat at Coorparoo.

In a strange game the Lions lead at every change until a five goal to one final term got the Giants the win and also secured them second spot on the ladder.

Ryan Lester enjoyed a strong first half in the centre of the ground but was removed from the action at half time as the Lions senior emergency. The Lions reserves missed his contested ball winning ability in the second half as the Giants gained the ascendency.

Other good performers on the day were Tom Cutler with 29 disposals along with Nick Robertson who had 29, Jack Crisp with 23 and Jordan Lisle with 25. Lisle in particular played well in defence when he was moved onto 2013 number one draft pick Tom Boyd.

With the NEAFL playing its second representative fixture this weekend against the Tasmanian State League at Bellerive Oval the Lions reserves have the week off.

The next fixture for the Lions reserves is Saturday week when they face Aspley Hornets in a local derby at the Gabba.


Carl Nimb is an independent writer and Lions Member (#2604559) who will contribute to lions.com.au throughout the season.

You can follow him on Twitter @CarlNimb