Reigning Brisbane Lions Club Champion Joel Patfull will find himself holding down the fort in defence this Saturday night without regular partners in crime Matt Maguire and Daniel Merrett.

The trio have generally been the key posts of the Lions’ backline in recent seasons,
with at least two members appearing in all but five of the team’s past 74 matches.

But with Maguire still recovering from a leg injury suffered in Round 1 and Merrett suspended for the next three matches, Patfull finds himself as the last man standing.

To compound matters, rookie Justin Clarke also copped a one-week ban after showing a great deal of promise during his first four senior AFL hitouts.

“(Justin Clarke) has only played four games and is still developing as a footy player, but he’s fitted in really well,” Patfull told Dom Fay and Michael Whiting as part of this week’s Fancast.

“He’s been able to take that taller ruckman-type and let Dan and myself move down the order a bit and play on guys our own height.”

Although on-field incidents ultimately cost both Merrett and Clarke their place in the side, Patfull echoed the sentiments of Senior Coach Michael Voss in saying that he hoped the side would bring the same level of aggression to the Gabba this weekend.

“I know Vossy’s talked a bit since the game about walking that fine line, but that’s footy,” Patfull said.

“Both of them were pretty hard contests and I think we have to walk that fine line. If we go into a contest half-hearted, that’s when we get blown out of the water.”

“So as much as it’s not good that we’re going to miss those guys (out on the field), I think the fans and our coaching staff would be happy with us being over aggressive than less aggressive.”

Patfull, of course, won’t be forced to battles the Blues’ big forwards by himself on Saturday night, with Ryan Lester and Brent Staker named alongside him in the team’s back six.

Jordan Lisle and rookie Sam Michael have proven capable of shifting to defence at times, while Mitch Golby and Elliot Yeo can also punch above their weight class if required.

Either way, the Lions’ defence will have their hands full with Carlton’s versatile forward line.

“For us, it’s probably not the worst week for us to lose a few talls because Carlton have a slightly smaller forward line, but I guess it depends on how they (line up),” Patfull said.