North has not posted successive victories since rounds 19 and 20 last year – the tail-end of a six-game winning streak – with injuries having a significant impact on its inconsistent start to this season.
But those fortunes could turn with the availability of Daniel Pratt (knee), Matt Campbell (hamstring) and Lachlan Hansen (hamstring) across the next fortnight.
Wary of the Lions’ efforts in their 16-point loss to undefeated St Kilda on Sunday, defender Josh Gibson said his side had a number of things to consider if it was to square up its win-loss ratio at five and stay in touch with the top eight.
“They were really good last week,” he said of the Lions from Arden Street on Tuesday morning. “Their tackling was a key feature of their game.
“It’s a big game for us. Obviously we haven’t won two in a row this year and it’s going to be a real focus.”
The dual threat of Lions forwards Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw is also at the forefront of Gibson’s mind, despite his important midfield role on Matthew Pavlich in the weekend’s 13-point win over Fremantle.
Brown and Bradshaw have enjoyed a recent dominance of the Roos’ defence, combining for 22 goals in their last two games. They kicked 10 in an eight-point loss to at the Gabba in round 18.
“They've had a few days out so they're definitely a big challenge,” Gibson said. “It's an exciting challenge because you always want to play the best.
“I’ve been lining up there (in defence) and I’m a veteran of 52 games at the minute. It’s really exciting for some of the young guys coming on: (Nathan) Grima, (Scott) Thompson and the smaller guys in Scotty McMahon, Gavin Urquhart.”
Acting captain Drew Petrie said he expected a tough contest from the Lions, even though they had to make a second trip to Melbourne.
And he added that the win over Fremantle had not meant North’s finals plans were back on track.
“After good wins we’ve had bad losses,” he said. “The test this week is to be able to string multiple wins together.”
With this clash North’s third home game in four weeks, both players have pleaded for members and supporters to turn up.
Just 15,436 attended the Fremantle clash, a marginally better result than the 14,342 for the win over Port Adelaide.
“We warm up about half-an-hour before the game and sometimes you run out and there’s only about three or four thousand there and you think, ‘Oh no, is anyone else going to rock up?’” Petrie said.
“It’s a bit worrying at times but by the time the game starts, there are a reasonable number of people there.”
“The more people we get through the door, the less money we have to pay to the stadium,” Gibson added. “If we can get a big crowd there and try to make it a hostile environment for Brisbane, then that would be great.”
