THE BRISBANE Lions have drilled things back to basics, with coach Michael Voss calling for improved work-rate and defensive pressure to kick-start a post-bye revival.

The Lions limped into their mid-season break with a largely uncompetitive loss against Collingwood in round 10 and return on Saturday with the arduous task of playing Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.

With a 3-7 win-loss record, any hopes of a finals appearance are long gone for the pre-season champions, and Voss has simplified the goals.

He said the Lions were not talented enough to rely on stars getting them over the line, and had reinforced a team ethos that had been so successful in the NAB Cup.

"I think the big thing for us is that we've got to make sure our work-rate is right up there," Voss said.

"Whenever you have a break it's a nice time to hit the reset button on what we value and what we need to get right.

"A big thing for us is that whole group mentality is important. We're not pretending we have the stars to rely on to get the win.

"We have to have our work-rate, we've got to make sure we don't have defensive lapses because it's that group mentality, as we've seen in the first half of the season, that's what's given us a chance in games.

"There's no talk of anything else other than the consistency and replication of that over time and that's something we haven't seen in the first half of the season."

Some stars may return against the Dockers, with Tom Rockliff (quad), Matthew Leuenberger (thumb) and Daniel Rich (shoulder) all completing Wednesday's training warm-up at a rain-soaked Gabba.

Leuenberger was pulled aside by the team doctor to have some strapping reapplied to his injured hand.

"Whether they're playing by this week, that's too early to tell," Voss said.

"As far as Leuey and Richy go, let's see how they train. We have to make sure they're absolutely right to go. The game is too brutal to do otherwise."

Saturday's match also marks another significant milestone for Lions champion Simon Black, who surpasses Marcus Ashcroft as the club's games record holder when he runs out for the 319^th time.

So long his teammate, captain and now coach, Voss was full of praise for his fellow Brownlow medallist.

"From the very start his mentality was to see who was good at what they do and 'I want to learn off that'. His persistence to get better is to be admired.

"We all know his ability around the stoppages and to win the footy has been second to none in the last 15 years. I'm sure at onetime or another, he'll be honoured in the Hall of Fame, I'm absolutely sure of that."