The Brisbane Lions might have had some memorable wins at Etihad Stadium in recent years, but it traditionally hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Club.

A dominant performance against the Western Bulldogs in 2012 wearing a Fitzroy-inspired Hall of Fame guernsey, last year’s upset over Essendon in Round 8, and the 2013 NAB Cup premiership triumph, are all rare highlights at the Docklands venue.

The fact remains that the Lions have lost eight of their past 10 games at Etihad Stadium by an average margin of 54 points – and that’s not including the triple figure NAB Challenge defeat at the hands of Hawthorn on their most recent visit during the pre-season just three months ago.

The Lions will be hoping to buck that trend this Saturday afternoon when they meet North Melbourne, who have won the past four meetings between the two sides at the stadium.

And with the Kangaroos slipping outside the top eight after last week’s round of matches, they will be determined to ensure the Lions’ unfavourable record at Etihad Stadium continues.

“Traditionally we haven’t played a lot of great footy at Etihad Stadium, so it’s a really good challenge for our group to go down there and turn the tables on how we’ve performed there in recent times,” Assistant Coach Simon Black told LIONS TV as part of the Vero Coaches’ Wrap.

“We draw some confidence knowing that we beat them last time we played them (at the Gabba), but they’ve played some fantastic football this year and no doubt they’re going to try and string a bit of consistency together from here on in.

Black hoped that the young Lions side could maintain the level of effort and competitiveness shown in last week’s narrow loss to Essendon at the Gabba.  

“The biggest learning from last week is that we have to bring that effort every time we play – whether it’s at the Gabba or in Melbourne or anywhere else around the country,” he said.

“We need to play our own game.”