Serious injuries to Tom Liceratore and Eric MacKenzie has sparked debate about the value of practice matches when many players are focused on getting through unscathed in their preparations for round one.

Liberatore's knee injury on Saturday came just 24 hours after West Coast club champion Eric Mackenzie suffered a year-ending ACL rupture.

Speaking to SEN, Brisbane Lions midfielder Daniel Rich – who returned from an ACL injury in his side's three-point win over St Kilda on Saturday – pondered whether increasingly tough pre-seasons would take a cumulative toll on players' bodies.

"There's a fine balance. You obviously need a good base to get you through the year or you're going to fall down later in the year," Rich said.

"It's important to play against other teams; you can play as much as you like against your own teammates but at the end of the day there's nothing like playing against opposition with a different game plan.

"But the pre-seasons are pretty long and tough. Whether they're going to have a toll on players' bodies in years to come is the big question."

Rich, who had not played since round three last season, said he was excited to return in the Lions' new-look midfield – which included former Collingwood star Dayne Beams, who gathered 25 touches in his first hit-out.

"(Beams) reminds me a little bit of 'Blacky' (Simon Black). He's not the quickest bloke going around … but he just seems like he's got that bit of extra time and got that class," Rich said.

"It's fantastic to have him, especially in the middle, hopefully we can climb the ladder with him leading from the front."