BRISBANE Lions coach Michael Voss is hopeful his team’s midfield – helped by the inclusion of Brownlow Medallist Simon Black – can give his forwards enough opportunities to kick a winning score against Carlton at Docklands on Saturday night.

Acknowledging the quick ball movement at the indoor stadium and the potency of both sides' forward structures, Voss said the centre-square battle would be crucial in determining the result.

Black, whose Brownlow votes come largely from his superb work around the clearances, is set to resume after a summer interrupted by injuries including a broken hand.

And Voss, who spent nine seasons as Black's teammate at the Lions, knows his injection may be pivotal.

"He obviously just adds that little bit of class in your ball movement and your decision-making going forward," Voss said.

"A player of that ilk, if he can contribute in his 60 or 70 minutes of football then … that would be very, very handy for us."

Winning the ball from the middle at Docklands goes a long way towards victory – especially when teams possess match-winning forwards such as Brendan Fevola (Carlton) and Jonathan Brown (Brisbane Lions).

Entering just his second official match as coach, Voss sounded like last season's commentator when he pondered the midfield duel awaiting fans.

"I think it’s going to be a wonderful clash and there’s some great players in those areas of the ground," he said.

"Obviously Carlton have been able to establish a pretty good midfield and we’ve obviously got to play on top of our game, but I think they’re going to have to play on top of their game to do our midfield.

"It’s going to be a pretty important battle that we need [to win]. The respective forward lines have some pretty good cattle there, so if we can get it there a bit more than them hopefully we can kick a winning score."

Voss also highlighted the Lions’ need to get off to a better start against the Blues.

Last week, the Lions trailed West Coast by more than six goals before surging to a nine-point win.

"When you’re at home and you have the crowd behind you, sometimes they’re able to get you up a little bit, too, and keep you in the game for longer," he said.

"We’ll have our small legion of fans down here who’ll give us a bit of noise … when you’re away from home you certainly don’t want to be that far behind to try to get the lead back."