Ally Anderson kicks the ball during the round two AFLW match between Melbourne and Brisbane at Casey Fields on September 7, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

BRISBANE coach Craig Starcevich says his team has been looking forward to facing Melbourne "for a long time" ahead of their heavyweight battle at Brighton Homes Arena on Saturday night.

Following a rocky start to the season, the Lions have won their past five matches to move into the top four and again look like challengers for the premiership.

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With Courtney Hodder (quad) back into the 21 after sitting out last Sunday's win over Essendon, Brisbane is only missing skipper Bre Koenen (hamstring) from its best team.

Starcevich said the Lions have had half an eye on this match since they dropped to 2-3 following a loss to North Melbourne six weeks ago.

"The games we have against North and Adelaide and Melbourne, and those types are the games we circle, and this has been on the calendar and on the watch list for a while," he said.

"We're excited. We've been looking forward to this game for a long time. Can't wait."

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Brisbane is expecting a bumper crowd at its Springfield home as it hosts the Diwali Festival for the first time, integrating an evening of food, live performances, cultural activities and fireworks with an AFLW match.

Melbourne has won six of the 10 match-ups between the clubs, although the Lions have won the past two since losing the 2022 Grand Final at the same venue.

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Starcevich said the Lions enter the match at a good time, having bedded down a change in gamestyle that has been further ingrained during the winning streak.

"We've just had a chance to hone in on some of the things we were trying to bring into our game," he said.

"Knowing when to change our speed of ball movement when we need to. That stuff has been really good to practice over the last five weeks and get some success from it."

Craig Starcevich addresses his players during the AFLW Round 10 match between Essendon and Brisbane at Windy Hill on October 19, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

A win for Brisbane would almost lock in a double chance come finals time and keep the door ajar for finishing second and the possibility of two home finals.

"To qualify as high as you can is important. Double chance in finals, it's home finals, it's all those sorts of things that come into play," he said.

"There's a fair chance you might play each other again … but we've just got to look after what's in front of us tomorrow first."