Richard Hadley is a chance to play his first AFL game in more than two years for the Lions on Sunday, against a Sydney line-up which still has a question mark next to the name of star full-forward Barry Hall.

Hall, who injured his knee against Richmond last week, was named at full-forward for the Swans - with Friday likely to be D-Day for him proving his fitness for Sunday's Rivalry Round blockbuster at the SCG. If Hall doesn't play, he will end a streak of 103 consecutive games, which began in 2002.

The Lions' 25-man squad, meanwhile, is most notable for the inclusions of Jamie Charman, Nigel Lappin and Hadley on an extended interchange bench. Hadley's last senior game came all the way back in the 2004 Grand Final loss to Port Adelaide, with a pair of knee reconstructions ruining his last two campaigns. Lappin missed last week's win over St Kilda with a cork, while Charman is yet to play since the second round of the pre-season competition because of an achilles injury.

The Lions will be hoping to spoil the party for Sydney forward Michael O'Loughlin, who will play his 250th game and move within 11 matches of John Rantall's club record. Darryl White, Gavin Wanganeen, Peter Matera and Nicky Winmar are the only indigenous players to have played more games than O'Loughlin.

Sydney goes into Sunday's game in sixth spot, while the Lions sit atop the table with two wins and a percentage of 182.

LIONS

B: Colm Begley, Daniel Merrett, Wayde Mills
HB: Jed Adcock, Jared Brennan, Robert Copeland
C: Justin Sherman, Ben Fixter, Cheynee Stiller
HF: Chris Johnson, Jonathan Brown, Tim Notting
F: Michael Rischitelli, Joel Patfull, Ashley McGrath
FOLL: Cameron Wood, Simon Black, Luke Power
I/C (from): Nigel Lappin, Beau McDonald, Matthew Moody, Scott Harding, Marcus Allan, Richard Hadley, Jamie Charman

SYDNEY

B: Ted Richards, Leo Barry, Nick Malceski
HB: Tadhg Kennelly, Craig Bolton, Sean Dempster
C: Amon Buchanan, Brett Kirk, Ben Matthews
HF: Ryan O’Keefe, Michael O’Loughlin, Jude Bolton
F: Jarrad McVeigh, Barry Hall, Luke Ablett
FOLL: Darren Jolly, Adam Goodes, Nic Fosdike
I/C (from): Peter Everitt, Heath Grundy, Tim Schmidt, Matthew Laidlaw, Jarred Moore, Luke Vogels, Adam Schneider

ON THE PUNT

Sydney was a strong $1.42 favourite after the naming of sides on Thursday night, something that is unlikely to trouble a Lions outfit that is becoming noted for bucking the odds. The Lions, for the record, were at $2.75. Those who fancy the Lions to snap a five-game losing spell against the Swans will get healthy odds for both a victory of 39 points or less ($3.30) or a win by 40 points or more ($11).

Jonathan Brown's five-goal haul against the Saints last week has resulted in his Coleman Medal price tightening in to $6. Brown ($14) has also now snuck ahead of Simon Black ($15) in Brownlow wagering, while fans of young gun Michael Rischitelli might like the looks of the $101 being offered about him winning football's highest honour. Rischitelli's play in the win over St Kilda had commentators, the press and fans in raptures, but it seems punters have yet to follow suit.

KEY MATCH-UPS

Daniel Merrett (Lions) v Barry Hall (Sydney)
An intriguing match-up - not least because of the doubt this week over whether a knee injury would keep Hall confined to the sidelines. The Sydney spearhead, however, has been named and, if he takes the field, will provide the in-form Merrett with a chance to showcase his rapidly blossoming defensive credentials. Merrett already has one head-to-head victory over Hall, having put the stops on him in the Round 21 clash in Sydney last year. More spice is added by the fact that Hall was the one full-forward to consistently cause former custodian Mal Michael problems and had kicked 14 goals in the previous three outings against the Lions.

Jonathan Brown (Lions) v Craig Bolton (Sydney)
Bolton has been named to get first crack at his one-time teammate at the Gabba, but it wouldn't surprise to see other Swans given the job of trying to limit man-mountain Brown - namely Ted Richards and Leo Barry. Whichever Swans finds himself with the big job, he's going to be conceding significant weight to Brown and, in the case of Bolton and Barry, a decent bit of height as well. Brown showed last week that he doesn't have to have a surplus of opportunities to impact on a game, kicking an important 5.0 in the Easter Thursday win over St Kilda.

Ben Fixter (Lions) v Adam Goodes (Sydney)
It's the match-up everyone has been talking about, although as with Bolton-Brown, there could be any number of Lions doing battle with the 2006 Brownlow medallist. If the teams lined up as named, Simon Black would be Goodes' direct opponent but it's difficult to see Leigh Matthews playing his ace ball winner on the Swans’ trump card. There are, therefore, a host of candidates who might end up with the tough run-with role - Fixter, Tim Notting, Robbie Copeland and Colm Begley would all have claims - but their task will be identical and far easier said than done: stop Goodes.

Jared Brennan (Lions) v Michael O'Loughlin (Sydney)
Brennan has started the season in career-best form in the key defensive position, but O'Loughlin will be his biggest challenge thus far. Having outplayed Justin Koschitzke a week ago, Brennan must now turn his attention to a player who is probably underrated by those who reside outside of the Harbour City. Quite why this is the case is a mystery, as 250-gamer O'Loughlin's record speaks for itself. Dangerous both overhead and at ground level, the 30-year-old kicked 47 goals last year and has 424 majors for his career, good enough for third-best on the Swans' all-time list behind a couple of handy blokes named Bob Pratt and Tony Lockett.

ODDS & SODS

***Of the five 100-plus consecutive games streaks carried through into 2007, three of them belong to Swans players. Adam Goodes has played 170 straight matches, starting in 1999, with Brett Kirk adding to a 109-game streak that began in 2002. Barry Hall's 103-game run also started that year but is under threat by his much-discussed knee injury.

***The Lions and Swans have been at opposite ends of the debutant scales over the past two years. The Swans have had seven players play their first games of AFL football, including three last year. The Lions, on the other hand, have had 21, including 10 in 2006. There is a chance both sides will have a pair of 250-gamers on the field on Sunday but the Swans have the edge in 100-game players, with 12 of their 25-man squad having reached the milestone, compared to only eight for the Lions. No team in the competition boasts more than Sydney's 253 combined finals, with only the Swans, West Coast and Adelaide ahead of the Lions (189 games)

***Goodes won last year's Brownlow Medal with a total of 26 points - almost a quarter of which were picked up against the Lions. The now dual Brownlow winner was voted best afield in each of the Swans' meeting with the Lions, having racked up hauls of 24 possessions (Round 21) and 28 touches (Round 6).

***Injury and trades have robbed this Rivalry Round clash of one of the more talked-up individual rivalries of recent years. For years, Jason Akermanis and Jared Crouch did battle in Lions-Swan clashes, seemingly without forging any friendships. But Akermanis has moved on to the Bulldogs and the previously unbreakable Crouch remains on the outer because of injury.

***With eight best-and-fairest awards, four premierships as a player and another four flags as a coach, Lions mentor Leigh Matthews ranks amongst most successful and decorated people in AFL/VFL history. Prior to the Swans picking up the 2005 premiership, his opposing number at Sydney, Paul Roos, might just have had the highest concentration of decoration and unfortunate lack of success. Leading in to the 2005 grand final, Roos had endured 356 games as a player and 83 as a coach, without lifting the premiership cup. Roos and Matthews are the only current AFL coaches to have chalked up 300 games as players.