Big names return for the Lions

The Brisbane Lions have added some big names into their initial 29-man squad to face Geelong in Melbourne this Saturday afternoon at 3pm.

NB: The Lions v Geelong NAB Challenge match has been moved from 3:30pm on Friday 5 March at Southport to 3pm on Saturday 6 March at Visy Park in Melbourne due to the extreme Queensland weather conditions.  

Triple Club Champion and Brownlow Medallist Simon Black headlines the long list of inclusions and will line-up for his first official match of the pre-season together with dashing defender Josh Drummond.

Black will once again assume his role as the Lions’ midfield general while Drummond is likely to bolster the team’s strong backline.

Senior players Jed Adcock, Daniel Rich, Brent Staker, Daniel Merrett and Matthew Leuenberger also return for their second pre-season hitout after being rested for last Friday’s practice match against Carlton.

Ruckman Jamie Charman will miss the match after injuring his ankle while young midfielder Jack Redden and rookie Claye Beams have also been left out of the side that lost to the Blues by 13 points last week.

The Lions and Geelong are both winless so far this pre-season and will be hoping to notch up their first wins of 2010.

Lions members will still receive FREE ENTRY into the match against the reigning premiers on presentation of their 2010 membership card.

The full unplaced initial squad of 29 players includes:

1 MITCH CLARK
2 ALBERT PROUD
4 TRAVIS JOHNSTONE
5 BRENDAN FEVOLA
7 JED ADCOCK
8 MATT AUSTIN
10 DANIEL RICH
11 JUSTIN SHERMAN
12 JAMES HAWKSLEY
14 BRENT STAKER
16 JONATHAN BROWN
17 JARED BRENNAN
18 TODD BANFIELD
20 SIMON BLACK
21 DANIEL MERRETT
22 TOM COLLIER
23 MATTHEW LEUENBERGER
24 JOEL PATFULL
26 RYAN HARWOOD
29 ANDREW RAINES
31 JAMES POLKINGHORNE
32 CHEYNEE STILLER
33 AMON BUCHANAN
34 JESSE O’BRIEN
35 MICHAEL RISCHITELLI
36 MATT MAGUIRE
38 TOM ROCKLIFF
39 JOSH DRUMMOND
44 AARON CORNELIUS