Brownlow medalist Lachie Neale will return to bolster the Lions midfield in their top four clash with Melbourne at Giants Stadium on Friday night.
The reigning Merrett-Murray medalist completed a brisk training session in Sydney this afternoon to pencil his name on coach Chris Fagan’s team sheet.
Veteran defender Ryan Lester also ticked the final box of his rehabilitation to earn a recall after two games out with a hamstring injury.
Rhys Mathieson makes way for Neale while Lester will replace James Madden.
Neale has made a quicker than expected recovery from surgery to repair a syndesmosis injury suffered against Carlton in round six.
Fagan said Mathieson had done a superb job in the midfield, but Neale’s form over recent years was impossible to ignore once he was fit.
“Obviously he (Neale) is a very, very good player,’’ he said.
“Having said that the blokes who have been playing in that spot have been tremendous over the past five weeks.’’
He said Neale's inclusion was not influenced by the fact his men were up against the ladder leading Demons and had been based solely on the recommendation of the Clubs medical staff.
“I always take those decisions out of my hands because I think that's the best thing to do," he said.
"They're the experts and I listen to them. I've got no reason not to, they've been really good over the last four years."
Fagan said Lester’s return was also a boost for the Lions who are chasing their eighth straight win against a Demons outfit that boasted plenty of height in attack..
"We were a little bit nervous the last few weeks without the talls, but we've defended well as a team," Fagan said.
"They do have some good, in-form tall forwards in (Tom) McDonald, (Luke) Jackson and (Sam) Weideman and whether they pick Ben Brown or not I'm not sure.
"They've got plenty of artillery to put up there, so it's good to have Ryan available again."
