A raft of injuries, and an untimely suspension, means the Brisbane Lions Reserves will approach this Saturday’s NEAFL match against the third-placed NT Thunder at the Gabba severely undermanned.

Only 13 listed players were part of last week’s Reserves side that travelled to Sydney, and less are expected to line up against the Thunder.

Matthew Leuenberger and Brent Moloney have already been effectively ruled out for the match with minor Achilles injuries, while Archie Smith will have to pass a concussion test if he’s to play.

In better news, James Polkinghorne and Isaac Conway are both outside chances to return, while the completion of the State U18 Championships means that the regular top-ups from the Academy will also be available.

But the Lions won’t be using a lack of soldiers as an excuse when they take to the field in the Gabba curtain raiser on Saturday.

Instead Reserves Coach Leigh Harding believes the match presents his team with an opportunity to bounce back after last weekend’s disappointing 127-point trashing against the UWS Giants.

“We get another opportunity to play against a quality team at our home ground, the Gabba,” Harding told lions.com.au.

“Our boys really look forward to these curtain raisers. No doubt it will be a thrill for the NT boys as well, given they don’t get many opportunities to play at regular AFL venues.

“They beat us quite easily when we played them at TIO a few months back, but they haven’t travelled that well this year.

“I think we’ll get some of the state kids back as well, which might help us. It will be a big challenge, and I’m interested to see how our boys respond.”

Lions fans are urged to arrive at the Gabba early this Saturday to watch the Reserves’ match against the NT Thunder from 3:30pm.

Not only will supporters get to witness first-hand some of the young listed Lions players in action, but they can also expect to see plenty of promising talent from the Academy – some of whom might well prove to be Lions in the future.