EMERGING Brisbane Lions tagger Cheynee Stiller says he is ready to tackle Brent Harvey if given the job in Saturday night's match against North Melbourne.

While 23-year-old Stiller has not been given the word by coach Michael Voss yet, chances are he will get the assignment against the Kangaroos' champion after a string of impressive run-with roles so far this season.

Harvey missed seven weeks through an elbow injury earlier in the season, but bounced back to his best in Sunday's draw against Richmond, gathering 31 touches and kicking two final-quarter goals to spark his team.

Stiller already has star Saint Nick Dal Santo and Geelong Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel as scalps this season, and kept Paul Hasleby relatively quiet last Saturday night, despite the Fremantle midfielder's 26 possessions.

''If I get the job this week that'd be another great challenge," Stiller said.

''He's a very good player and since he's come back from injury it's coincided with them playing good footy, and that's no coincidence.

''A lot of midfielders kick goals (like Harvey), so my approach for him won't change too much. He's a very quick player and that's something I have to watch.''

Stiller has played 15 of the Lions' 16 games this season and in the absence of injured Troy Selwood has become the club's number one run-with player.

He said significant gains in strength over the off-season had given him the confidence to mix it with the game's best midfielders around the stoppages.

But Stiller said playing on the likes of Carlton skipper Chris Judd had taught him plenty.

''It's a big challenge,'' he said.

''It's just about concentrating 100 per cent of the time; you can't relax for a second. When you play on blokes like Judd, if you get in the wrong position at stoppages, they get the footy or they get it to someone else and hurt you, so just concentrating has been the biggest thing.''

Stiller has 60 games under his belt, but as part of his education he said he regularly picked the brains of midfield coach Wayne Brittain and veteran midfielders Simon Black and Luke Power to add to improve his knowledge.

He said it was all part of preparing for an opponent.

''You have a look at tapes of their last couple of weeks and see how they win the footy, and if someone has played on them and done well, just see what they've done,'' Stiller said.

''Judd got the better of me which was disappointing, but I hope I've learned from that and can do a better job next time.''

But on Saturday night's match against North Melbourne, Stiller said the 10-6 Lions realised they were in for a stiff battle after travelling back from Perth.

''Whenever you play them, it's going to be physical and they'll come at you hard. They've been playing good footy, and the thing you know about North is they'll always be up and challenge you.''

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