BRISBANE Lions captain Tom Rockliff says he has reminded midfield enforcer Mitch Robinson to "get the balance right" following his report against Geelong on Sunday.

Although Robinson escaped sanction from the Match Review Panel for his fourth-quarter hit on Cats skipper Joel Selwood, it was the second time he had been reported in two games this season.

Rockliff said he spoke to Robinson at the Lions' team meeting on Tuesday.

"I think you like him to play on the edge but not get suspended," Rockliff told Melbourne radio RSN927.

"Free kicks against cost us, but also if we don't have our best team out there, particularly at the moment when we've got a couple of injuries to Dayne Beams, myself and Daniel Rich, we need all the experience we can get out there.

"He's got to get the balance right.

"The best way for Mitch to do that is to attack the footy.

"It was a brain snap, I would say, from Mitch, and he put his hand up and he was the first to admit that yesterday."

Robinson told Melbourne radio station SEN he let his emotions get the better of him.

"In the last quarter we were down by 60 points and I had enough," he said.

"He might have said a few things that got under my skin and his trash talk was probably a bit better than mine, so I probably got sucked in a bit there."

Robinson will likely get the negating role on Gold Coast skipper Gary Ablett when the teams square off in Saturday's QClash at the Gabba.

The Lions have already signalled their intentions to make Ablett work for his kicks, with ruckman Stefan Martin saying on Tuesday they needed to be physical with the dual Brownlow medallist.

Rockliff won't take his place in the Lions' outfit though, ruling himself out for a second straight week with a calf problem.

"I haven't run yet," he said.

"Hopefully I'll run tomorrow and build from there. I probably won't play this week, but set myself for the Bulldogs in round five."

Fellow midfielder Daniel Rich is likely to play though.

Rockliff said the Lions remained confident despite three losses to start the season, although they were disappointed with the final-quarter fade-out against Geelong.

"It hasn't been an ideal start, but I think the boys have enough confidence and enough good signs from the first two games … that we are doing so much right, it's just about doing it for extended periods of time."