The win over the Eagles broke a seven-game sequence without a victory and also a winless run against the Eagles that stretched all the way back to 2002.
Accordingly, the Lions have made only the one change, with McGrath coming in for Irishman Colm Begley, who has an injured shoulder.
Co-captain Luke Power said the young Lions were aiming to use the West Coast win as a springboard for the rest of the season.
"I think any win in the AFL is a good win, because it’s just such a tight competition,” Power said.
"But it’s a really big trip when you go over to Perth and to come away with a win makes for a much more pleasant flight home.
"West Coast is a hard team to beat over there at the best of times, so to do it when our backs were against the wall was terrific.
"There was a really good feeling among the boys after the game but now we’ve got to go on with it.”
Melbourne, which is again without skipper David Neitz, also made only one change, bringing in playmaker Cameron Bruce in place of injured young Queenslander Ricky Petterd.
Teams:
BRISBANE LIONS
B: Robert Copeland, Daniel Merrett, Jason Roe
HB: Jed Adcock, Josh Drummond, Jared Brennan
C: Tim Notting, Nigel Lappin, Cheynee Stiller
HF: Joel Macdonald, Jonathan Brown, Troy Selwood
F: Michael Rischitelli, Matthew Leuenberger, Joel Patfull
FOLL: Jamie Charman, Simon Black, Luke Power
I/C: Ashley McGrath, Will Hamill, Wayde Mills, Rhan Hooper
EMG: Cameron Wood, Scott Harding, Richard Hadley
MELBOURNE
B: Daniel Ward, Nathan Carroll, James Frawley
HB: Lynden Dunn, Clint Bizzell, Nathan Brown
C: Paul Wheatley, James McDonald, Cameron Bruce
HF: Simon Godfrey, Russell Robertson, Aaron Davey
F: Colin Sylvia, Brad Miller, Matthew Bate
FOLL: Jeff White, Brock McLean, Nathan Jones
I/C: Paul Johnson, Chris Johnson, Michael Newton, Simon Buckley
EMG: Colin Garland, Brent Moloney, Ben Holland
On the punt:
What a difference a week makes! After getting out to more than $10 in head-to-head betting for the match against West Coast, the Lions look positively skinny at $1.50. A Lions win by 39 or fewer points is more attractive at $2.30.
Punters and UNiTAB have obviously taken Melbourne’s firepower into account, because a combined score of 221 or more points sits at only $3.20. In seasonal exotic betting, Simon Black remains the highest-placed Lion in the Brownlow Medal market at $16 – on the seventh line of betting. Jonathan Brown, who looks primed for a big second half of the season is at a juicy $17 in the Coleman Medal market. With 34 goals, Brown is only 10 behind current leader Brad Johnson.
Key match-up:
Jonathan Brown (Lions) v Nathan Carroll (Melbourne)
Lions forwards – and Daniel Bradshaw in particular – have proved bogey opponents for the Demons in recent years and Leigh Matthews will be hoping the trend continues. The job on man-mountain Brown will presumably go to the occasionally inconsistent Carroll, who had eight kicked on him by Bradshaw in 2006. The year before it was the now-retired Alistair Nicholson doing it tough, allowing Bradshaw to kick a club-record nine majors.
Odds and sods:
***Of the 27 goals kicked in the corresponding fixture from last year, 12 came from key forwards: eight from Bradshaw, currently out for the season with a knee reconstruction, and four from Neitz, who will also be absent on Saturday night. Bradshaw has kicked 17 goals in his last two outings versus the Demons, accounting for 45 per cent of the Lions’ majors in those games.
***Melbourne was a particular beneficiary of the introduction of the rookie draft in 1997 – since being picked up that year, Russell Robertson (198 games) and James McDonald (191 games) have played more games than any other rookies, with the exception of ex-Lion Mal Michael. The Lions’ most successful excursion into the rookie draft netted current 122-gamer Robbie Copeland.
***The Demons will probably be glad this is the last of their ‘home’ games at the Gabba. Melbourne has won only two of six matches since starting the arrangement in 2001, losing by a hefty 74 points in 2005.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
