FORM GUIDE
The Brisbane Lions have been on a rollercoaster the past three weeks, having been involved in big losses to Adelaide and Fremantle and a big win over Collingwood.

Last Sunday afternoon at the Gabba, the Lions were given another close-up look at the defensive pressure that Fremantle can exert on teams on a weekly basis during the season. The final result was a 58-point win to the Dockers in what was both the last Lions home game for 2014, and the final game in the career of Ash McGrath. It is a game that Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch will look to use in the future to show the young Lions what is required to become a top four outfit in the AFL.

The Lions currently have a 7-14 record and sit 15th on the ladder.

Last Saturday night Geelong again faced their arch rival Hawthorn at the MCG, in a contest that can aptly be described as “a game of two halves”. The Cats were dynamic in the first half running with the ball and playing on at all costs to open up a five goal lead by the half-time break. The Hawks were irrepressible after the main break suffocating the Cats and piling on a stunning 10 unanswered goals to set up a 23-point win.

The Cats currently have a 16-5 record and sit 3rd on the ladder.

This game kicks off at 7:40pm at the Simonds Stadium on Saturday night.

TEAM SELECTION
The Lions Match Committee have named debutant Jordon Bourke – son of former Bears ruckman Damian – along with Zac O’Brien, Matthew Leuenberger and Jackson Paine for Saturday night’s clash. Out of the team goes Ash McGrath who has retired, Matt Maguire with an ankle injury, Ryan Harwood with a foot injury and Michael Close who has been omitted.

Chris Scott and the Geelong Coaching Committee have swung the selection changes with Mitch Brown, Josh Walker, George Horlin-Smith, Lincoln McCarthy and Billie Smedts all coming back into the senior team.

Going out is Hamish McIntosh, Allen Christensen and Steven Motlop who are all being managed along with Shane Kersten with a hamstring injury and Brad Hartman with an adductor injury.

CONGRATULATIONS JORDON BOURKE
Congratulations this week goes to Jordan Bourke as he makes his senior debut for the Lions.

Bourke becomes the second player from the Hyundai Lions Academy to play AFL and he also becomes the Lions 10th debutant in 2014.

All Lions members and supporters have had the privilege of seeing some seriously talented kids pull on the Club jumper for the first time in 2014, which shows that the future could be very bright at the Gabba.

KEY MATCH-UPS
The Geelong forward line is built around their champion spearhead Tom Hawkins. He has had another productive year in the forward fifty for the Cats kicking 55 goals to sit fourth on the Coleman Medal tally. With Matt Maguire sidelined, Justin Clarke will most likely get first crack at Hawkins.

Josh Walker has been recalled to fill the role as the second tall forward and will probably find himself on Darcy Gardiner while the dangerous Jimmy Bartel could find himself opposed to either Joel Patfull or Jed Adcock simply because he demands the best and most experienced defenders that the Lions can supply.

Since a Round 12 call up Stefan Martin has run the ruck department for the Lions on a solo mission to help his teammates the best that he can. He has done this job brilliantly and this week he gets a legitimate partner in crime with the return of Matthew Leuenberger. This is an area of the ground that the Lions should look to exploit. Geelong has named Mark Blicavs, who is the only recognised ruckman in the Cats’ team.

The Brisbane midfield will be led again by Vice-Captain Tom Rockliff, who continues to post ever-impressive disposals and tackle numbers, along with Pearce Hanley, Jack Crisp, James Aish, Claye Beams and Sam Mayes. They are all players that can win their own footy and get it moving towards the Lions forward fifty.

They come up against a Geelong team lead magnificently by Captain Joel Selwood along with Mitch Duncan, Josh Caddy, Cameron Guthrie and James Kelly which is a midfield unit with a great blend of experience and youth heading into yet another September campaign. They are combative and love contested football and will test the young Lions midfielders, particularly on their home patch in Geelong.

Where the Lions may be able to trouble the Cats is in the form of the half forwards and wings with the ‘Mozzie Squad’ in Dayne Zorko, Lewis Taylor and Josh Green providing serious pace against the Geelong defence. Corey Enright, Andrew Mackie and Billie Smedts will have their work cut out during the evening to curtail these three speedy Lions.

The Lions strategy of using three tall forwards continues through to the last week of the season with Daniel Merrett and Jonathan Freeman this week joined by Jackson Paine in the forward fifty. The Lions forwards had a tough day at the office last week against Fremantle and won’t have it any easier with Harry Taylor, Tom Lonergan and Jared Rivers, who are some of the best in business at shutting down their direct opponents. Daniel McStay as a fourth option in the forward fifty might may find himself on someone like Andrew Mackie.

STATISTICS
The Lions and Cats have a very closely fought recent history when looking back at the past three clashes, particularly the two games of the 2013 season.

The Round 13 contest in 2013 at the Gabba, which has since been dubbed the ‘Miracle on Grass’, will live long in the memories of both Lions and Cats fans. Down by as much as 52-points midway through the third quarter the Lions flicked the switch to pile on goal after goal with the end result an Ash McGrath shot after the siren from the fifty metre arc to secure the Lions a classic win.

The teams met again later that year in Round 23 at Simonds Stadium with the end result a one-point win at the death to the Cats after a wasteful afternoon in front of goal where they kicked 15.22 to the Lions’ 17.9.

The Round Two encounter at the start of 2014 at the Gabba was a scrappy 25-point win to the Cats in muggy and rainy conditions with Stevie Johnson the best of ground that afternoon.  He collected 37 disposals and laid 10 tackles and luckily he is one man that the Lions do not need to worry about on Saturday night.

One area of the ground that the Lions will be working overtime is their defensive fifty. The Cats are ranked first for marks inside 50 averaging 13.6 per game for a total of 286. Tom Hawkins has taken 79 marks inside fifty for the Cats this year. By way of contrast the Lions are ranked 18th averaging 8.2 per game for a total of 172 for the year.

The Lions have an edge on the Cats when it comes to their clearance work around the ground ranking 14th in the league with an average of 37 per game. The Cats, surprisingly, rank 18th in this category averaging just 33.1 per game providing the Lions with an opportunity to win the footy.

We have mentioned previously that the Lions have struggled to win contested possessions of the football against quality opponents. They are still ranked 18th in the league averaging 125.3 per game, while the Cats are ranked 11th averaging 136.1 per game. The Lions will need to get parity with the Cats on winning contested footy or risk the fate they suffered when they played both Adelaide and Fremantle who dominated this aspect of their respective contests against the Lions.

Seeing as though they are guaranteed a top four spot and double chance in the finals regardless of the result, Geelong might be a bit indifferent to the clash.

This could open the door for one more Lions win in 2014 and if they are successful then the Lions will win at Simonds Stadium for the first time since Round Six in 2003!

LIONS RESERVES
Last week the Lions reserves headed down to Sydney to face the UWS Giants with back-to-back wins on the board and hoping to make it three in a row. It was not to be with the UWS Giants running out 15-point winners and ultimately claiming top spot on the NEAFL ladder and a home preliminary final.

In what was a tough year for the Lions Reserves, they did finish off the season reasonably well to claim six victories in total.

Zac O’Brien had a particularly good year in the Lions reserves and was named on the wing in the NEAFL Team of the Year on Sunday night at the NEAFL Awards night held in Sydney.

The Lions reserves finished the season with a 6-12 record and 9th position on the NEAFL ladder.