It’s about us, not them.

That’s the message from Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss in the lead up to tomorrow night’s clash with Carlton at Etihad Stadium.

Despite the pressure of making finals well and truly off the Lions, and the Blues needing a win to stay in the hunt, Brisbane are not necessarily out to “spoil Carlton’s party”.

“For us it’s more about what we need to be able to get done throughout the course of the game and I guess we’ve probably focussed a little bit less during the week about the opposition,” said Voss.

A brief, mid-week reference to the 91 point round 2 Gabba mauling last time they met was enough for Voss to maintain “they’ve been the best side we’ve played the whole year” but he refused to shift the emphasis off his group.

“We’ve had round 2 as a really good reminder about what that (the opposition) looks like so I don’t think we need to emphasise it a hell of a lot more."

“Our focus has been about combinations and relationships and making sure that we put a little bit of predictability in our ball movement so we come in with a little bit of understanding amongst each other about what we need."

“The biggest thing for us is that at this point in time we want to settle the group down. We’ve had a lot of changes in the last couple of weeks and giving guys opportunities to be able to settle into their roles and get familiar with one another, that’s also pretty important."

“But there’s also a contract that when you come into the club, we need physical output and if we’re not going to get the right required physical output then your position or such is going to be discussed. That’s the requirement that we have and that’s what we want to be able to make sure we get out of this game.”

It seems the footy Gods are against the Lions with Voss alluding to the return of midfielders Mitch Robinson and Andrew Walker adding to a midfield that is already a “genuine strength” and allowing the Blues to get back to a “more familiar Carlton-like” side.

“It’s all about timing isn’t it? Sometimes you get them at good times and sometimes bad times."

“I’m looking forward to seeing how our mid group can match it against those guys."

“We’ve obviously got a group that we think can go down there and get the job done.”