The match, scheduled to commence at 4:10pm, will be played immediately prior to the AFL blockbuster between the Swans and Essendon.
The Swans are currently entrenched in the NEAFL top four, and are led by 2012 Norm Smith Medallist Ryan O’Keefe and a host of other quality players who can’t quite crack into the AFL’s number one side.
While it promises to be a tough challenge for the Lions, Development Coach Mitch Hahn believes that the experience will be invaluable.
“It’s another great learning opportunity for our developing young players,” Hahn told lions.com.au.
“Hopefully our senior guys can give the younger blokes some guidance on how to adapt to travelling interstate on a shorter week.
“To play a curtain raiser on an AFL ground under lights on a Friday will be a terrific opportunity to see how far we’ve come as a group.”
The Lions fielded just 14 listed players last week against Gold Coast, but are hopeful of welcoming back draftee Tom Cutler from a groin strain.
“Tom’s a chance to play,” Hahn said.
“Given it’s a shorter week, he’s done a nit of extra work on the track and looks like he’ll play at this stage. Even if he does come up, we’ll be sure not to play him 100% of the game. We want to manage him through so that he can finish the year off strongly.”
The Lion will be searching for back-to-back wins for the first time this season, while a win could see the Swans move into second place – just behind cross-town rivals UWS Giants.
