The Lions reserves will again travel to Sydney, the city where they came ever so close to notching up their first win of the season against Sydney University, falling agonisingly short in a spirited 10 point loss. They face the Giants who sit just inside the top six with a 3-3 record and will be amped by the return of Jack Steele from the seniors.

WHERE AND WHEN: Spotless Stadium, Sunday, May 22, 11.40am AEST. 

WATCH IT LIVE: 

This week you will be able to watch the Reserves game here on lions.com.au thanks to the NEAFL live stream.

LOOKING FOR A GIANT SCALP

The Lions will be optimistic of earning the four points this weekend, as the Giants struggled to put away the winless Canberra Demons in Round 3, a big third-quarter getting them over the line in an otherwise unconvincing 20 point win. Whilst 0-6 the Lions have shown they can run with the best on their day, pushing top six teams Aspley and Sydney University right to the line.

ONE COACH’S OUTS ARE ANOTHER COACH’S OPALS

The endeavour shown in the NEAFL last week was not overlooked by Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch, who has included five of last week’s top performing reserves player’s in this week’s senior team.

The upside of the changes in the seniors is the addition of some quality talent to Shane Woewodin’s side, with Green, Josh Walker and Marco Paparone looking to build form in the NEAFL.

GREENER PASTURES

Josh Green has been named in the middle, as Justin Leppitsch looks to get some miles into the 23-year-old livewire’s legs. In addition to hunting for the ball in the centre, Green will likely sneak forward and have an impact on the scoreboard and support the recalled Walker and Archie Smith, who had arguably the best game of his short career against Sydney Uni last week. Expect to see Eric Hipwood push into the forward 50 as well, after he netted four majors against the Students.

ACCURACY AMENDED?

It amazingly took until Round 7, but the Lions reserves posted their first positive goals-to-behinds ratio last weekend in spectacular fashion with 17.2, accuracy an Olympic shooter would have been proud of. The straight kicking kept the Lions competitive as the Students started to kick away, and a good day with the shooting boots will go a long way to keeping the Giants honest. The Round 4 loss to Aspley will be in the back of the players’ minds, where they sprayed a frustrating 9.16 and lost to the Hornets by just 3 points.

JJ NOT FAR AWAY

Listed in place of the elevated Jackson Paine as the skipper for this week’s match, the Lions will be hoping for a captain’s knock from Geelong recruit Jarrad Jansen. The 16 guernsey would weigh heavy on any shoulders at the Brisbane Lions, but Jansen is starting to work towards his huge potential as a big bodied midfielder, sitting inside the top ten for tackles in the NEAFL with 32 from 6 games. He was named as an emergency for the senior match against Melbourne, and if he can string together some performances showing more potency by foot and a similar intensity at the contest a call up may be close at hand.

IT’S A BIG WEEK FOR… Josh Walker

Walker was recruited to the Lions for the tough task of filling the vacuous chasm left by Jonathan Brown, but so far this year has struggled to make a big impact, averaging 5 kicks and 1 goal per game. Justin Leppitsch will be hoping that a stint in the 2s will bolster the big man’s confidence, and a bag against the Giants will go a long way to earning his spot in a senior forward line that is pining for a kingpin whilst Josh Schache develops. Look for Walker to stay close to home if the Lions can win the clearances and link up with former Cats teammate Jansen bursting out of the middle.

LAST TIME THEY MET… Round 16, 2015: Brisbane Lions 11.4 (70) def. by WSU Giants 26.11 (167)

TEAM

LISTED INS: Josh Green, Josh Walker, Marco Paparone, Liam Dawson, Josh McGuiness

LISTED OUTS: Trent West, Nick Robertson, Jonathan Freeman, Jackson Paine, Billy Evans

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