THE BRISBANE Lions are expecting Carlton not only to be playing for its slim finals chances on Saturday night, but the career of coach Brett Ratten.
On the surface the 11th against 13th match doesn't appear to have too much riding on it, but Lions' rookie sensation Dayne Zorko believes otherwise.
He says the Lions want to put the final nail in Carlton's coffin and snuff out any remote chance it has of sneaking into the top eight.
The Blues are two wins plus percentage outside the finals picture with four rounds remaining.
"Brett Ratten's job is probably still on the line, so they're playing for him," Zorko said on Wednesday.
"They're still playing for the eight and we're going to try and shut that out this weekend."
The Lions (7-11) have had a dismal last five weeks with four losses and a lucky win against Gold Coast.
They have been particularly poor in the past fortnight, being thumped by West Coast and rolling over in the final quarter against Richmond in Saturday night's 48-point loss.
On Sunday, captain Jonathan Brown described the performance as embarrassing and unacceptable, and Zorko said there had been some soul-searching this week.
"It's more about finishing off and to stop talking about what we're doing and start showing it on the field," Zorko said.
"For 10 minutes at the start of the last quarter [against Richmond] we were red hot and things were going our way.
"They got a couple of clearances and that was the end for us, we put our head down and shut up shop, so to finish out games is going to be our number one priority for the rest of the year and see if we can get some wins out of it."
Zorko said the Lions were wary of Carlton's midfield despite the absence of suspended Chris Judd given that the Blues cut the Lions apart in a 91-point round-two victory.
"We know the importance of the game for us to finish off the year and take confidence and momentum into next year. It's not an easy game, but we won't make it easy for them.
"They're a great midfield, they're elite, they're classy, they're strong everywhere … our midfield will be up for it."
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
