BRISBANE LIONS Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch is wary of a new look Gold Coast side ahead of tonight’s final NAB Challenge match at Metricon Stadium.

The Suns appointed veteran coach Rodney Eade over the summer and Leppitsch expects the new coach to make a few changes to the side the Lions have seen in the past.

“We play them (the Suns) a lot, that’s just the way it goes. We know each other’s sides pretty well.

“The difference is they’ve got a new coach now, a new style, they seem to be playing pretty fast footy which is no different to the way Rocket (Eade) has coached any of his past teams”, he said.

“They’ll be a pretty tough team to stop defensively that’s for sure.”

Leppitsch said the advantage of having a mostly healthy list was the competition for a place in the Lions’ line-up.

“They’re always playing for a spot, there are only 10 or 12 guys on our list that are probably consistently playing at a high level, another three or four that have found their spot and another three or four that are sitting around the fringes.

“That’s just the way it goes with our team at the moment. We haven’t made many changes out and that’s a good sign, we’ve got some consistency in our group so hopefully the players can keep that.

“A good team’s a consistent line up and we’ve got that at the moment.”

The coach said it is important the team built upon the structures and combinations the coaching staff had tested in the pre-season competition, but first and foremost they can escape the match without injury.

“Whilst you want to get a lot of fitness and your game styling out of pre-season, keeping fit players on the park is the most important thing and the players know that too.”