FORM GUIDE
After a tough game against Adelaide at the Gabba a week earlier, the Brisbane Lions turned it around in a huge way last Saturday night at the MCG. The Lions took full advantage of an undermanned Collingwood outfit to absolutely belt the Magpies to the tune of 67-points.

The Lions stamped their authority on the contest early and never relented in a game where they celebrated Vice-Captain Tom Rockliff’s 100^th senior appearance for the Club. In true Rockliff fashion he played an enormous role for the Lions picking up 43 disposals and laying nine tackles during the match.

This young Lions side once again showed their loyal supporters the raw potential this current group is developing under the watchful gaze of Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch.

The Lions currently have a 7-13 record and sit 15^th on the ladder.

Fremantle is gearing up for another September appearance under Senior Coach Ross Lyon and took on their 2013 Grand Final conquerors Hawthorn last Sunday at Patersons Stadium. In a high quality and high intensity four quarters of football the Dockers emerged victorious by 19 points in the West and kept their top four aspirations firmly in view.

Matthew Pavlich was in rare form on the afternoon slotting five goals from various corners of the forward fifty and may be coming into some good form as the finals approach.

The Dockers currently have a 14-6 record and sit 4^th on the ladder.

This game kicks off at 1:10pm at the Gabba on Sunday afternoon.

TEAM SELECTIONS
The Lions Match Committee have named a 25-man squad, including Ashley McGrath, Nick Robertson, Ryan Lester and Zac O’Brien, with three players to be omitted prior to Sunday.

Marco Paparone is out with a shoulder injury.

Ross Lyon and the Fremantle Coaching Committee have also named a 25-man squad with the inclusions of Hayden Ballantyne, Nick Suban, Matt de Boer, Garrick Ibbotson and Jack Hannath.

Nat Fyfe will miss through suspension and Michael Barlow is out with a thumb injury.

CONGRATULATIONS ASH McGRATH AND DANYLE PEARCE
Congratulations to Ashley McGrath who yesterday announced his retirement from the AFL. The last remaining Premiership player of the Lions from their 2001-2004 three-peat era was a valuable contributor at both ends of the ground throughout his 214 game career.

McGrath’s 200^th senior appearance in 2013 will be remembered forever at the Club when he calmly slotted a goal after the siren to win the game for Lions against Geelong finishing off a 52-point comeback.

Fittingly McGrath finishes his career at the Gabba in front of his home crowd for the past 14 years and all supporters get one final chance to see the man in action for the Lions.

For the Dockers former NAB Rising Star winner Danyle Pearce will play his 200^th AFL match on Sunday.

KEY MATCH-UPS
Matthew Pavlich, Hayden Ballantyne and Michael Walters form the three-prong attack that Fremantle generate plenty of scoring from once inside 50. Pavlich kicked five goals last week and looked dangerous every time he went near the ball and Matt Maguire will probably get first crack at him. Ballantyne will more than likely have Ryan Harwood opposing him at the opening bounce and Walters may get someone like Jack Crisp early in the piece.

With Zac Clarke playing forward and rotating through the ruck, he will probably have either Justin Clarke or Darcy Gardiner when he does spend time forward. Joel Patfull could see himself taking on Chris Mayne who plays the third tall forward role to perfection most weeks with his relentless forward line pressure.

The ruck duel between Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands and Stefan Martin promises to be an engrossing contest. Martin has been one of the form ruckmen of the competition this season since coming into the Lions line-up and this week, like so many before it, is another huge challenge for him. The instructions from Leppitsch would surely be to deliver more of the same and make Sandilands chase him around the Gabba throughout the afternoon.

The usual suspects for the Lions in the middle of the ground such as Tom Rockliff, Pearce Hanley, James Aish and Dayne Zorko will have a tough day against the contested possession winning Dockers outfit. David Mundy, Tendai Mzungu, Ryan Crowley will be in there trying to get the ball into space for the fleet-of-foot players in Stephen Hill and Danyle Pearce to run and carry deep into the Dockers forward line.

Either Rockliff or Hanley will see themselves running against Crowley at some stage during the contest with Ross Lyon keen to restrict their influence on the contest. Crowley can’t run with both so it will be fascinating to see who Lyon sends him to at the opening bounce.

The Lions have their own run and carry players in Zorko, Josh Green, Lewis Taylor and Sam Mayes who will also be trying to get forward at all costs and impact the scoreboard.

The Lions are keeping the faith with the three talls down forward with Michael Close, Jonathan Freeman and Daniel Merrett providing the height as they have done for the past few weeks. They are getting a better understanding with each outing that they line up together and Freeman in particular benefitted last weekend kicking four goals in just his second AFL match.

Zac Dawson, Alex Silvagni and Mitchell Johnson respectively should be lining up on the Lions tall forwards with Johnson probably shuffling around to shut down any Lions forward that does begin to show signs of dominance and form.

Daniel McStay could once again find himself forward for the Lions providing that fourth tall forward, which requires an opponent that can play tall and short due to his agility at ground level and ability in the air. His presence should stretch the Dockers backline and he could be switched to play as an extra backman depending on the circumstances of the game.

The Lions have named an extended bench of hard running midfielders ensuring that they have the depth of midfield if the weather becomes warm on Sunday afternoon.

STATISTICS
The last contest between these two clubs was played in torrential rain in Perth will be remembered by the Lions for all the wrong reasons. The Lions could only manage one point to halftime, which was a rushed behind and only kicked 22 points for the game in an 83-point thrashing.

The Dockers have form on the board against the Lions having won the past six straight contests between the two clubs going back all the way to Round Seven of 2010. The average winning margin to the Dockers during this time is 30 points.

The Lions last triumph over the Dockers came in Round 16 in 2009 at Patersons Stadium by 15 points when Daniel Rich was best on ground with 31 disposals and Jonathan Brown kicked four goals on the day.

The Lions home ground advantage could be a factor as the Dockers have not visited the Gabba in more than three years, with their last match coming back in Round One of 2011.

Prior to the Adelaide game the issue of contested possession was raised with the Lions well down on that statistic in 2014. Currently the Lions are still ranked 18^th in the competition for contested possessions averaging just 125.9 per game, while their opponents the Dockers thrive on this aspect of the game and are currently ranked 4^th averaging 144.9 per game.

Captain Jed Adcock spoke earlier this week of the Lions playing with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality as the season draws to a close. It is this mindset that the players must embrace against a top four opponent known for manic defensive pressure and the ability to shut down their rivals. Adcock has stated that the Lions must stick to their guns and move the ball quickly even if mistakes are made and this is a positive mindset to finish the season for 2014.

No one will give the Lions a chance to upset the Dockers but then again no one outside of the Club would have believed that they could go the MCG last weekend and get a result.

LIONS RESERVES
Last week the Lions Reserves headed up down the highway for a NEAFL QClash with the Gold Coast Suns reserves at Metricon Stadium. Played in torrential rain, as a curtain raiser to the Gold Coast and Port Adelaide contest later that afternoon, the Lions Reserves ran out 60-point winners.

The big win by the Lions reserves ensured that the Gold Coast reserves would finish their season without a win. The Lions midfield relished the wet conditions and won plenty of football with Zac O’Brien (42 disposals), Nick Hayes (28 disposals) and Nick Robertson (26 disposals) all putting in excellent performances. Jackson Paine booted five goals on a wet afternoon in another good performance down forward.

This week the Lions Reserves head down to Sydney to face UWS Giants at Spotless Stadium in another curtain raiser, this time for the GWS Giants and Collingwood clash. The Lions reserves will be hoping to finish the season on a high after going back-to-back in the past two weeks.

This game kicks off at 1:00pm.

The Lions reserves currently have a 6-11 record and sit 9^th on the ladder.