HE MAY have starred there against Carlton on Saturday, but don't expect Daniel Merrett to be a regular fixture in the Brisbane Lions forward line.

Merrett kicked three goals against the Blues at Maroochydore, and even more importantly was a commanding physical presence, but neither he nor coach Michael Voss expects it to be a long term option.

Following the fractured cheekbone suffered by captain Jonathan Brown, Voss has been searching for key targets to fill the void until the skipper's expected return in round three.

With young key forwards Jordan Lisle, Aaron Cornelius and Bryce Retzlaff failing to impress in the early rounds of the NAB Cup, Voss swung regular full-back Merrett forward for his first game of the pre-season.

He wanted experience - and a contest - in the front half, and the 27-year-old delivered.

But when asked if it was a stopgap measure until Brown returned, Voss was quite clear.

"If he kicks 20 goals in two weeks I'll consider leaving him there," Voss said.

"We've got to be able to find what will work for us and how that forward dynamic works when we come into the early part of the season.

"We think Goose (Matt) Maguire has been in terrific form with Joel Patfull down there as keys, so it enables us to potentially do something different with Rog (Merrett).

"Obviously he kicked his goals but his presence up there being able to crash some packs is what you need sometimes and he was able to do that for us."

Merrett said that if he had a say, he'd be going straight back to defence when Brown returned against Fremantle on April 14.

After some tightness in his hamstring prevented Merrett from participating in the first fortnight of the NAB Cup, he was just glad to be back on the park.

"I'm just filling in the gaps before the big fella gets back," he said.

"I really enjoy my backline. I love playing in the backline with all the blokes down there. I think in a couple of weeks I should be back there."

He said he was glad to ease himself back into games by playing forward.

"It was good fun. It is still a pre-season competition but we are getting close to round one so I want that intensity, but it was my first game back so I was still blowing out the cobwebs a little bit. I really enjoyed myself out there."

Cornelius and Retzlaff pressed their claims for a return to the top team with four goals each in a Lions reserves practise match on Sunday.

The Lions finish their pre-season campaign with a trip to Visy Park to play Essendon on Saturday.

Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting