Having been on the wrong end of his fair share of lop-sided matches during his time at the Brisbane Lions, Matthew Leuenberger is expecting to face a fired-up St Kilda this Saturday night.

Leuenberger empathised with the Saints’ 101-point defeat at the hands of Geelong last weekend, and said that such losses are generally followed by a strong response.

“You’ve always got to be wary when you come up against a side that has been whacked,” Leuenberger said on Wednesday.

“They’ll just want to come out and prove that they’re competitive. We’ve been in that boat before, and that’s how we’ve approached it.”

The in-form Lions ruckman said St Kilda are a far more dangerous opposition than their most recent result would suggest.

“They obviously got beaten badly against Geelong, but prior to that they’d been very competitive in the game that they’ve played,” he said.

“They’ve matched it with top eight sides for about three quarters and dropped away for quarter, which has hurt them – they’ve been a bit similar to us this year.

“I reckon it’s going to be a good contest.”

Leuenberger also heaped praise on teammate Brent Staker, who is set to line-up for his 150th AFL game this Saturday night at the Gabba.

“I’ve spent a ton of time with him. Last year I had a season-ending injury, and he did as well, so we spent countless of hours together doing rehab training,” he said.

“He’s a great character, Stakes. He’s attitude towards his footy is fantastic.

“He’s been through a fair bit, he’s had a rough few years, and for him to get to 150 I think is an awesome achievement.”