While remaining guarded about match-ups and exactly how the Lions will tackle the classy Carlton midfield, Sherman said stopping the supply to red-hot Brendan Fevola was a big key to victory.
And if he has to pick up Chris Judd in the process, he’s ready.
Sherman, 21, has put a disappointing 2007 behind him with a promising start to the season, courtesy of a midfield tagging role and some dash from the half-back line.
He expected Saturday night’s match to be “frantic” early.
“They’ve got some classy onballers with (Marc) Murphy and (Nick) Stevens and those sort of guys,” he said.
“We know if we can do that and put pressure on them, that uncontested side will go away and that suits us.”
Sherman said while the prospect of lining up on Judd was daunting, it was not beyond him.
Brisbane’s runner-up in the 2006 best and fairest count played on the Brownlow Medallist that year when West Coast visited the Gabba.
“It might evolve, but it’s one of those things where we’ll wait and see which way we want to go and how we’ll line up,” he said.
“I picked him up in 2006 here at home and it was a hot day so it’s going to be a bit different. Conditions are going to be different with a night game so we might see how we go. Our midfielders have been playing their core roles really well so we might go one-on-one yet.
“He’s obviously a tough customer around the stoppages, he’s great with his lateral turning ability out of the stoppages, just an uncanny ability to be able to turn blindly out of stoppages - he’s probably one of the best in the competition at it.
“It’s going to be a terrific challenge for most of our key midfielders to ensure they don’t get that access through the midfield to hit Fev up.”
Sherman said the tagging role was something he enjoyed.
“It’s always a good challenge. It’s good to know that you’re playing on a key player every week and you know that if you nullify them and keep them quiet you always come off the ground at the end of the day and feel good about yourself and get the respect from your teammates.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to string into my game and I’m glad they’ve believed in me to play that role.”
With a 3-4 start to the season that has included matches against Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney, Port Adelaide and Collingwood, Sherman said the Lions had spoken about the importance of the next month, where they play three successive home games after Saturday night’s trip to Melbourne.
Their prospects should be boosted with the return of co-captain Jonathan Brown, who missed the clash with the Cats, while Simon Black (groin) and Travis Johnstone (hamstring) trained strongly on Wednesday.
Last year Brisbane started with four wins and two losses, then had a horror stretch of seven matches without a win before making a late dive for the finals.
