THE BRISBANE Lions may not have enjoyed their most recent encounter with a finals-type atmosphere, but according to midfielder Jed Adcock, they can’t wait for another taste.

Following an impressive weekend win over Adelaide, the Lions are now 8-5 and well within striking distance of a first finals berth since 2004.

Adcock, now in his fifth season at the Gabba, is yet to play in a final but believes the 63-point round-12 loss to the Western Bulldogs served as a good preview of the intensity of September action.

"From the point of view of the opposition we were up against and how switched on they where, I think that was pretty close to what you would get in a final," 22-year-old Adcock said.

"Obviously there would be a bigger crowd and a more intense atmosphere for a final, but it was at the MCG, there was a big build-up to the game, and they put the pressure on us from the start.

"There are a lot of us, including myself, who haven’t played in a final before and it’s difficult to imagine what it would be like.

"But it’s what every AFL player dreams about. Hopefully things will work out for us over the next nine weeks and we’ll be playing finals this year."

The Lions can take another step towards securing a top-eight berth when they play bottom-of-the-table Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

A mid-season bye awaits the following weekend for the split round, before meetings with current bottom-eight sides Essendon, West Coast and Richmond.

"We tend to try and look only at the week ahead of us and that’s definitely the case this week with the bye coming up," Adcock said.

"The one thing you know for sure about Melbourne is that they haven’t been playing like a 1-12 side.

"We beat them earlier in the year but I remember in that match they outscored us in the last quarter and kicked five goals.

"They’ll take confidence out of the efforts they’ve put in against some pretty good teams since then and the fact they are playing at the 'G. They’ve also shown that when they get the ball in the forward 50m they kick goals."

The Demons may have had the better of the final term when the two sides clashed in round six, but the Lions had by far the better last-quarter form in round 13.

While Melbourne saw a 17-point three-quarter time deficit grow to a 40-point loss against the Sydney Swans, the Lions kicked three goals in as many minutes to kickstart their last quarter against the Crows.

Adelaide’s two-point lead was swiftly erased and the Lions went on to post a 13-point win.

"I don’t think there was anything really at the end of the third quarter that gave us that momentum," Adcock said.

"But Jamie Charman got on top in the ruck and the ball fell to the midfielders in the right places and we were able to get on a roll.

"You have to make the most of your opportunities in those kinds of situations and hopefully it’s something we are able to reproduce.