If Brisbane's players weren't aware of the club's decade long drought against Sydney, coach Chris Fagan made sure they knew all about it this week. 

The last time the Lions took the four premiership points against the Swans was in round 22, 2009, but when they meet at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon, they will start warm favourites.

Fagan described Sydney as a formidable opponent, particularly when "their backs are to the wall".

"You just put it on the whiteboard and say, "boys, what do we think about this?"

"If we want to be a great team we have to start beating some of these teams that have had the wood on us for a long period of time.

"You used to always hope those things motivate, but at the end of the day you have to go back to the behaviours and processes and get those right and know that if you do, you give yourself a really good chance to get over the line."

Brisbane has already recorded some drought-breaking victories in 2019, beating West Coast for the first time in seven years and North Melbourne for the first time in five in the opening two weeks. 

However, Fagan remembers well the last time Sydney (1-5) were in such a predicament.

It was 2017, his first year in coaching, and a trip to face the 0-6 Swans in Sydney resulted in eight goals to Lance Franklin and a 54-point hiding.

There'll be no Franklin on Saturday, missing with a hamstring injury, but that hasn't quelled the Lions coach's concern about his opponent.

"We see that as a great challenge for us and a way we can demonstrate our development and we're looking forward to that opportunity to do the same thing against a team that has dominated us for a decade."