Lions line up for Collingwood clash

Rather than Jonathan Brown's troublesome abs, Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss
reckons his players' heads should be the focus heading into their crunch AFL clash
with Collingwood at the Gabba on Saturday night.
While debate may rage over the Lions captain's fitness, Voss believes the key to
turning around their ailing fortunes lies in their mind-set.
He said early, yet telling, lapses in concentration had led to their stunning slide
of five straight defeats - their worst losing run since 2006.
"It's just these 20-minute patches where we are letting ourselves down a little bit
and we have to claw ourselves back," Voss said.
"You are one moment away from turning your form around.
"So I don't subscribe to the method of what else we should be thinking about because
all that really concerns me is the first 10 minutes of the game."
On paper, the Lions look set to equal their streak of six straight losses from four
years ago against the Magpies.
Sitting in second place, Collingwood (7-2) will be keen to make up for surrendering
top spot with their last round mauling at the hands of premiers Geelong - just their
second loss of the season.
"You don't have to overstate the fact that it is an important game for us," Voss said.
"(But) I think it will be a pretty good contest.
"They lost against Geelong last week but before that they were in very, very good
form so they should come up very fresh and confident and it's up to us to match
that."
Easier said than done without vice-captain and rugged defender Jed Adcock, who is
expected to be out for eight weeks after undergoing surgery this week on a broken
foot.
He adds to a horror injury list featuring the likes of Daniel Merrett, Jared Brennan
and Josh Drummond - but not yet Brown, despite struggling with an abdominal tear.
While Voss has backed Brown's resilience to get him through despite the Lions
captain only training for the first time in a month on Thursday, a timely test
awaits on Saturday night.
Collingwood veteran defender Simon Prestigiacomo was recalled for his first match
since round four and may yet line up against Brown considering his past success
against the Lions man mountain.
However, the Magpies have lost small forward Leon Davis (calf).
In a much-needed boost for the Lions, vice-captain Luke Power will become just the
12th player in club history - including Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears - to reach
250 games when he lines up against Collingwood.
What the Lions won't want to hear though is their ordinary form in milestone games.
The club's three current 200 gamers - Power, Simon Black and the recalled Travis
Johnstone - all tasted defeat in their landmark matches.
And in Black's 250th game, the Lions were thrashed by 40 points by the Pies in round
18, 2009 - the last time the two sides met.