It is a Sir Doug Nicholls Round clash that could best be described as a depth test.

When the Lions face GWS at the Gabba on Saturday, both sides will be relying heavily on the contributions of a group of young players just making their way in AFL football.

For Brisbane Keidean Coleman, Deven Robertson, Jaxon Prior and James Madden have all played less than 10 games of senior football.

Although it is hoped a cast of reinforcements, headlined by Brownlow medalist Lachie Neale, may be available in the coming weeks, the Lions will head into the match at the Gabba with an unchanged line-up to the one that took care of reigning premiers Richmond on Friday night.

GWS also have their injury concerns but Senior coach Chris Fagan says his men always planned for the very best from the Giants.

“They're doing a tremendous job with all the injuries to their high-profile players,’’ he said.

“They've managed in the last few weeks to win enough games to force their way back into the eight.

“It tells you a lot about the depth of their talent, not only their depth of talent, but also the courage of their group and their tenacity and resilience.’’

The Lions and Giants are building a solid rivalry and with both heading into the match with strong winning form, Fagan predicted it would be another tough encounter.

“We've had some good battles with them over the last few years, including that (2019) close final up here the last time we played at the Gabba,’’ he said.

“We're aware of how well they're going.

“The games we've played against the Giants in the last two or three years have been very, very hard games of football and we're expecting exactly the same sort of grind on the weekend."