Joel Patfull and Andrew Raines have recovered from their respective hamstring and quad injuries which kept them sidelined last week while Matt Maguire returns after serving his one week suspension.
The trio will bolster the team’s backline which is still without regular full-back Daniel Merrett who failed to pass a fitness test at training on Wednesday night.
Amon Buchanan has also received a senior call-up and will provide another strong body against the experienced Geelong line-up.
Josh Drummond (knee) and Jared Brennan (ankle) are the obvious exclusions after both suffered injuries last week against Fremantle, while Pearce Hanley and Travis Johnstone have been omitted.
Mitch Clark is also set to spend another week on the sidelines after failing to shake a groin complaint.
Lions full-forward Brendan Fevola will be hoping to reach a significant milestone this week when he lines up against the Cats. The 29 year-old is one goal shy of becoming just the 27th player in AFL history to boot 600 career goals.
If Fevola kicks his 600th AFL goal during the game, a Lions guernsey and match ball signed with ‘600 GOALS’ by Brendan will be available via online auction after the match. Visit www.lions.com.au/shop then click the AUCTION button to bid for a piece of sporting history.
The full Lions Round 8 team is as follows:
B: Jed Adcock (7), Matt Maguire (36), Andrew Raines (29)
HB: James Hawksley (12), Brent Staker (14), Ashley McGrath (9)
C: Michael Rischitelli (35), Daniel Rich (10), Justin Sherman (11)
HF: Luke Power (6), Jonathan Brown (16), Cheynee Stiller (32)
F: Todd Banfield (18), Brendan Fevola (5), James Polkinghorne (31)
Foll: Matthew Leuenberger (23), Joel Patfull (24), Simon Black (20)
Int: Jack Redden (30), Tom Rockliff (38), Amon Buchanan (33), Matt Austin (8)
Emerg: Travis Johnstone (4), Pearce Hanley (42), Tom Collier (22)
IN: Andrew Raines, Matt Maguire, Joel Patfull, Amon Buchanan
OUT: Josh Drummond (knee), Jared Brennan (ankle), Pearce Hanley, Travis Johnstone (Omitted)
