BRISBANE LIONS midfielder Daniel Rich is set to play in his side's final NAB Challenge match against Hawthorn at Southport on Friday despite suffering a nasty head clash at training.

The 2009 NAB Rising Star winner is believed to be sporting 22 stitches above his eye after colliding with full-back Daniel Merrett.

Midfielder Simon Black said the Lions' players heard the collision around the ground.

“They’re both a couple of big coconut heads, those two,” Black said of Rich and Merrett.

“Richie’s got a fair head on him as well, so it was a nice echo around Coorparoo, that’s for sure.”

Black said Rich could make a remarkable recovery and take to the field against the Hawks.

“He’s alright; he’s a pretty resilient fella and he’s pretty tough, so I think he’ll probably even play tomorrow.

“His eye is shut over at the moment, so (in) another 24 hours, it might open up a bit.”

The Hawks clash will be Black’s first game for the year, and while he may be a bit underdone, he’s expecting to reap the rewards of a slow build-up later in the season.

“I’m confident of being fit and ready to go for round one,” Black said.

“Last year, I had the benefits in the back-end of the season for not having much of a pre-season and being fresh and building into the year, and it helped.”

Luke Power will also make his first appearance for the season after overcoming a groin injury, and admitted to being a little anxious on his return to the field.

“I’m a little bit nervous; a few of the boys were shaking my hand before to say 'welcome to the side',” Power said.

“I’ve been doing plenty of training (and) I’ve been doing plenty of running even though I haven’t been able to join in most of the skills.

"We’ll get a good run in tomorrow and might have a game next week probably amongst ourselves, and I’ll get two good runs in (which) will be great.”

The Lions are expecting to stage an intra-club match on Thursday week to make up for their clash with Geelong last Saturday in Melbourne, which was cancelled after a severe thunderstorm struck the Victorian capital.

Power will carry the additional responsibility of being on the AFL Laws of the Game Committee this year after being nominated by the AFL Players Association.

While he doesn’t have any rules he wants to change yet, Power said it’s a role he’ll be taking very seriously.

“I’ll definitely be listening to the views of the players and hopefully contributing from their viewpoint,” Power said.

“It’s just nice to be nominated; it’s a good honour.”