It’s been seven long months since the Brisbane Lions’ 2010 AFL campaign came to a disappointing end and the off-season that followed wasn’t without its difficulties.

But hope springs eternal for Senior Coach Michael Voss and his team who are eager to kick the 2011 season off against Fremantle this Saturday night at the Gabba.

“We get to talk about footy now,” Voss said prior to the Lions’ final training session at the Gabba on Friday.

“All the other stuff [that happened in the off-season] is now incidental. It’s a part of our past and tomorrow night we get to fix our sights on an opposition side and play for four points.”

Voss said that every season opener is significant because it remains the primary goal that every player works towards over summer.

“First impressions count a lot,” Voss said.

“I think we’ve had a really successful pre-season program. You put everything you possibly can into Round 1 because you want some encouragement straight away.”

“But at the same time, the season is a marathon - not a sprint.”

Voss also mentioned that the Lions have to make the most of playing at home and urged all fans to turn out in force.

“We really need our members and fans to come along,” he said.

“They’re not going to get another game at the Gabba for another 3-4 weeks and having 30,000 people cheering for us can be quite intimidating for any opposition.”

Among the Lions’ final team for Round 1 are two new faces - Rohan Bewick and Ryan Lester - who the coach believes will help add a new dimension to the side.

“Hopefully they provide us with a bit of enthusiasm and a bit of spring. They’re both very good workers, so we know that workrate won’t be an issue with either of them,” Voss said.

“Ryan has impressed us a lot with how he works through a game and Rohan has been able to provide that extra bit of run.”

“They will help us change the overall dynamic of our group - not just for now, but also in the future.”

“Rohan is 21 years of age and has proven himself at the WAFL level. While he had his ups and downs over the pre-season, he hit his straps in the last couple of weeks and is playing good footy,” he said.

“He’s probably already played against a lot of the Fremantle players so that shouldn’t intimidate him.”

Voss was forced to leave key defender Matt Maguire out of the side after he hurt his quad at training earlier in the week.

“Matt had a little bit of a niggle in his quad and we thought it wasn’t worth taking the risk. You really need a healthy list,” Voss said.

“He’s an important player for us, but we also want to make sure we can get all our players through the game.”