CRAIG Starcevich says he’s excited to further expose some lightly used Lions in Sunday’s “Brisbane reunion” against Adelaide at Brighton Homes Areana.

Grand Finalists in the past three seasons, Starcevich’s team is in a tricky position after five rounds with just two wins and injuries to key players.

Courtney Hodder (personal reasons) has not played a game in 2026. Lily Postlethwaite (hamstring) hurt herself last week, while Jade Ellenger (wrist) and Charlotte Mullins (concussion) were casualties from Saturday’s loss against West Coast.

But Starcevich is excited about the opportunity that awaits against the Crows.

“I feel we can regather this week and get a team that’s going to be super competitive,” he said.

“We’ve been pretty happy with the people that have come in with not many games of experience under their belts to this point.

“The long game here is we’re going to have a list that’s got a little more experience we can call on when we get to the position of contending again, which we’re super confident that’s still going to be this year.

“I’m not happy to lose good players (to injury), but by the same token I’m excited about the opportunity it presents.

“We’ll find out in the next month or two the depth of our list and the ability of our players.”

Among the younger faces to get exposure in 2026 are draftees Marlo Graham (four games) and Asher Fearn-Wannan (two).

Throw in second season defender Claudia Wright, who has played two games this season among a total of seven in her career, third year forward Rania Crozier (three in 2026 among six in her career) and third year utility Sophie Peters (all five games this year and 12 in total), and the Lions are playing more youth than they have in a long time.

Adelaide is in a similar position, not just with its 2-3 record, but its list turnover under new coach Ryan Davis, who was an assistant to Starcevich the previous two years.

“I just looked at the team they rolled out against us in round four last year compared to now. They’ve had a lot of changes,” Starcevich said.

“Part of that is a bit of the unknown, which you’re a little on edge about … but they’re coming to our home ground, we’re on the rebound after letting ourselves down last weekend. We’re looking forward to it.”

Davis isn’t the only familiar face returning to Brisbane, with Adelaide’s head of AFLW Bree Brock back to the club she worked 10 seasons at.

“It’s a bit of a Lions reunion in some ways,” Starcevich laughed.

“They’ll definitely know a lot about us. That adds another layer to the game, for sure.”