LIONS senior coach Justin Leppitsch is philosophical about Brisbane’s testing start to the 2016 AFL season that will pit his side against a series of competition powerhouses.

The full 2016 fixture was released yesterday and while Brisbane’s draw will be good for the financial bottom line, the win-loss record could be under pressure, according to The Courier-Mail.

In the first eight weeks, Brisbane play four 2015 finalists — West Coast, North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and Sydney — and four sides expected to rapidly rise after disappointing 2015 campaigns — Geelong, Port Adelaide, Collingwood and Gold Coast.

Read: 2016 AFL Fixture Release

The Cats, Power, Eagles, Suns and Carlton are the teams Brisbane will play twice in 2016.

“I suppose you always want to play the lower ranked sides first to give your season a kickstart but it doesn’t really matter because you have to play the good sides sometime,’’ Leppitsch told The Courier-Mail.

“It is similar to two years ago when we had a tough start but I’m not that fussed by it, to be perfectly honest. I know it sounds clichéd but I’m only focused on what we are doing as a footy club.

“We beat Port and the Doggies last year to show our best footy is good enough.

“If we can take in a fit and healthy list with the inclusions from the trade period then there’s no reason why we can’t play like that consistently.

“Then it doesn’t matter who you play.’’

Brisbane will host traditional crowd-pullers Collingwood (Round 8), Hawthorn (Round 10), Carlton (Round 21) and Geelong (Round 22) at the Gabba.

The Lions will play six games in Melbourne as requested and will play a majority of their home games on Saturdays.

Brisbane will start their campaign on Sunday, March 27 against 2015 grand finalists West Coast at Perth’s Domain Stadium in an early match-up with former Lions midfielder Jack Redden.