Allen Christensen will return for the Lions’ Qualifying Final against Richmond after he was named in Senior Coach Chris Fagan’s 22-man team.
Christensen missed Round 23’s loss to the Tigers at the MCG after suffering a hamstring injury in Round 22.
Cedric Cox has been omitted, while Ben Keays, Josh Walker, Lewis Taylor and Ryan Lester have been named as emergencies.
Christensen is one of a handful of players at the Lions with vast AFL Finals Series experience. The forward won a flag with Geelong in 2011 and played in their 2012 and 2013 finals campaigns.
Senior Coach Chris Fagan told media earlier this week that Christensen’s body had recovered well after a two-week rest.
“He was as good as gold last week,” Fagan said.
The Lions have not beaten Richmond in 13 matches, but Fagan and the team believe Saturday night could be a great opportunity, but know they must step up to the plate from first bounce.
“We know if we want to be the best, we have to beat the best,” Fagan said.
Captain Dayne Zorko said the playing group were looking forward to the challenge.
“We’ve addressed the areas that we certainly need to improve. Guess we’ll see Saturday night whether we’ve addressed them well enough,” Zorko said.
“We need to bring our energy; we need to bring our energy to the contest and bring our pressure game. If we can do that it certainly puts us in a good position.”
The Gabba game is officially sold out, with those at home able to watch the game on Channel 7 from 7pm.
IN: Allen Christensen
OUT: Cedric Cox (Omitted)
