It’s the toughest road-trip in football and this weekend the Lions will be bolstered by the return of a number of senior players in their opening round match against the West Coast Eagles in Perth on Sunday.

Captain Tom Rockliff (hamstring) and Allen Christensen (finger) will feature despite not playing a pre-season game. Small forward Josh Green, who had foot surgery in January, has been named as an emergency. 

Defender Darcy Gardiner also returns from injury for his first senior match of the year. Gardiner has performed strongly for the Reserves in their practice matches earlier this month.

As revealed by lions.com.au on Monday, the Lions’ first pick in the 2015 National Draft Josh Schache will make his debut for the Club.

“It’s throwing him (Schache) into the deep end a bit but I think he’s got the body, shape and size and game to be able to compete right away,” Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch said.

“He’s shown enough, he deserves his spot and that’s why we’re playing him.”

Check out the teams.

Leppitsch was optimistic about his team's chances taking on the 2015 runners-up.

“I'm a believer that if you're going to go to Perth anytime, round one is a great time to do it,” he said.

“Everyone's new and a bit unsure of each other and what they've done over the pre-season, and some of the great upsets happen in the first three of four rounds.

“I'm excited by it and I know the boys are.”

Suspended Vice-Captain Dayne Zorko will be the notable omission from the Lions' team.

Follow the Game at the Match Centre.

Our Round 1 Team:

Milestones: Josh Schache (1st AFL Match)
New: Josh Schache (Murray Bushrangers), Josh Walker (Geelong), Tom Bell (Carlton), Ryan Bastinac (North Melbourne)

Trending Articles

  Match Preview: Round One

  Five Talking Points

  Roy's Ready