The Vodafone Brisbane Lions believe they are up to the challenge of clinching a win against their hoodoo side the Sydney Swans in their final match of the season this Saturday night at the SCG.

The Lions have not beaten Sydney since Round One of 2004 and have lost seven and drawn one of their past eight encounters with the Swans.Lions defender Joel Patfull believes his team will have plenty to play for this Saturday night against the Swans.

"We have not beaten Sydney at the SCG for a long time," Patfull said.

"We might have missed finals, but finishing with a win would give us a bit of confidence going into next year.

"We will go in hard at the footy and try to be a more physical presence on the ground."

Shutting down Sydney forward Barry Hall will be a priority Patfull and his fellow defenders given the big Swan’s recent form against the Lions.

"Daniel Merrett usually gets the job.

"When most teams play the Swans they usually put a loose defender back, try to zone in on him and cramp his space – so that’s something we will look at doing."

Patfull is likely to line up on Swans forward Michael O’Loughlin who looks to return to the Sydney side this week from injury.

"We had a draw against the Swans last year and we will go down there looking to finish the season well," Patfull said.

Patfull believes finishing the season with a win will give the Lions some momentum heading towards 2009.

"Over the summer it will be top priority to work on our form. We have six months to work on it which is plenty of time to improve," he said.