The Brisbane Lions have made three changes to the senior team ahead of their Round 6 clash against fifth-placed Essendon this Saturday afternoon at Etihad Stadium.

James Polkinghorne has been named after spending the past two weeks on the sidelines with a minor ankle complaint, while Billy Longer and Ryan Harwood have also been brought back into the side.

“It’s good to be back,” Polkinghorne said.

“It’s been a frustrating couple weeks but the ankle is 100 percent right now and I’m just looking forward to helping the boys out.”

Longer - the Lions’ first selection (Pick No.8 overall) at the 2011 National Draft - is set to play only his second AFL game after making his debut back in Round 3 against Fremantle.

The 18 year-old ruckman has been named on the interchange bench and will likely provide valuable support both as a back-up ruckman to Ben Hudson and as an occasional target up forward.

Meanwhile, Ryan Harwood has been brought back for his third match of 2012 to add some more grunt to the Lions’ midfield.

Making way for the returning trio are Andrew Raines (suspended), Josh Drummond (general soreness) and Sam Sheldon (omitted).

Drummond, 29, has played in each of the team’s past three senior matches, with his workload expected to be carefully managed throughout the season.

Raines will also miss this week’s match against the Bombers after accepting a one-match ban from the Match Review Panel for striking Geelong’s Joel Selwood.

The Brisbane Lions’ full Round 6 team is as follows:

B: Ashley McGrath (9), Matt Maguire (36), Ryan Lester (35)
HB: Mitch Golby (41), Joel Patfull (24), Daniel Rich (10)
C: Jed Adcock (7), Tom Rockliff (38), Pearce Hanley (11)
HF: James Polkinghorne (31), Jonathan Brown (16), Todd Banfield (18)
F: Ryan Harwood (2), Daniel Merrett (21), Aaron Cornelius (44)
Foll: Ben Hudson (22), Simon Black (20), Jack Redden (30)
Int: Jared Polec (4), Billy Longer (5), Patrick Karnezis (28), Jack Crisp (47)
Emer: Sam Sheldon (3), Josh Green (6), Niall McKeever (40)

In: Billy Longer, James Polkinghorne, Ryan Harwood
Out: Andrew Raines (Suspended), Sam Sheldon (Omitted), Josh Drummond (General Soreness)