Merrett has been named to oppose Carlton’s star full-forward Brendan Fevola and is hoping his teammates can put the brakes on the Blues' running brigade.

“Carlton likes to play that really quick-moving style of football and hopefully our midfielders can restrict that,” Merrett said.

“If Carlton gets the ball flowing through the corridor it becomes even harder to play on a guy like Fevola.

“I’m hoping we can have a really big and vocal crowd there on Saturday night. It’s our last home game of the season, obviously it’s a must-win game for us and we really need our supporters to help us do it.”

The ninth-placed Lions are chasing an eighth consecutive win at the Gabba, while Carlton has included Paul Bower and Ryan Houlihan as it bids to keep its very slim finals chances alive.

Brisbane Lions
B: Joel Macdonald, Daniel Merrett, Joel Patfull
HB: Justin Sherman, Jason Roe, Ashley McGrath
C: Bradd Dalziell, Simon Black, Jed Adcock
HF: Michael Rischitelli, Jonathan Brown, Matthew Moody
F: Rhan Hooper, Daniel Bradshaw, Anthony Corrie
Foll: Jamie Charman, Luke Power, Jared Brennan
I/C: Pearce Hanley, Travis Johnstone, James Hawksley, Robert Copeland
EMG: Tim Notting, Troy Selwood, Lachlan Henderson

In: Corrie, Hanley
Out: Colm Begley, Albert Proud

Carlton
B: Heath Scotland, Andrew Walker, Kade Simpson
HB: Shaun Grigg, Michael Jamison, Bret Thornton
C: Jarrad Waite, Nick Stevens, Brad Fisher
HF: Marc Murphy, Cameron Cloke, Jordan Russell
F: Matthew Kreuzer, Brendan Fevola, Andrew Carrazzo
Foll: Shaun Hampson, Bryce Gibbs, Chris Judd
I/C: Dennis Armfield, Paul Bower, Steven Browne, Ryan Houlihan
EMG: Joe Anderson, Mark Austin, Adam Bentick

In: Bower, Houlihan
Out: Jason Saddington, Simon Wiggins (calf)
On the punt

Following the Lions’ impressive win over the Western Bulldogs last week, they’ve been installed as firm favourites for this clash - $1.36 in head-to-head betting, compared with the Blues’ $3.

Punters looking for a little more value might recall the Lions’ 117-point mauling of Carlton at the Gabba last year. The Lions have won eight straight against the Blues and are $3.25 to win by 40 points or more. The $7 about the Lions being the weekend’s highest scoring side could also prove attractive.
Key match-up
Jamie Charman v Shaun Hampson
Charman was a valuable contributor to last week’s win over the Bulldogs and if he can get an edge on Carlton’s young ruckmen the Lions will be well positioned for an 11th win of the season. Hampson and Matthew Kreuzer are inexperienced and Cameron Cloke is more of a key position utility who is used in the ruck. Charman, on the other hand, has 124 games under his belt and should have an advantage with his physical approach.

Odds and sods

* Expect plenty of action from each side’s key forwards. The Lions pairing of Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw has accounted for more than 43 per cent of the team’s 1994 points to date. Meanwhile, Carlton spearhead Brenda Fevola has 29 per cent of the Blues’ 2021 points. Other than that trio, neither club has a player with more than 25 goals.

* The Blues are a fast-finishing side (10th fourth quarters won to date), so the home side will be keen to build a break in the lead-up to three-quarter-time. The Lions have a distinct statistical advantage in the middle two quarters of games, having won 21 combined second and third quarters, compared to Carlton’s 14.

* The Lions can take their Gabba record for the year to an outstanding 9-2, including eight wins on the trot. Carlton, on the other hand, would probably much rather the game was being played during the afternoon – the Blues are 6-5 in day games, but only 3-6 once the sun goes down and the lights come on.