Cody Curtin - the younger brother of Adelaide player Daniel - will make his AFL debut on Saturday when the Lions travel to Marvel Stadium for a Round 8 clash against the Bombers.
With prized recruit Oscar Allen set to miss three months due to a stress fracture in his foot, Curtin will get his first taste of footy at the elite level.
"Cody Curtin will make his debut for the team," Lions coach Chris Fagan said.
"He would have debuted in Round Zero, had he not got injured in the last practice match against the Gold Coast Suns.
"He performed really well over the pre-season in the practice games.
"We're really bullish about him. He's been back playing in the reserves over the last couple of weeks. He's a 200cm competitor, a big body, halves contests, puts pressure on, so we think that he'll help our forward line.
"We don't expect the world from him, but as long as he makes a contest and plays to his strengths, he'll help our team."
Selected by Brisbane with Pick 43 in last year's National Draft, the Claremont product was effective at both ends of the ground during his draft year.
The back-to-back premiers will also welcome back veteran and former captain Dayne Zorko, who has missed the past fortnight due to a calf issue.
"According to him, he's good to go. He thought he was good to go last week, but he's been training and started training fully towards the end of last week. He's available for selection this week," Fagan said.
Fagan said Eric Hipwood, who suffered a partial tear of his right ACL late in the 2025 home and away season before undergoing surgery in September, "look's pretty good" and "like he could play now".
The tall forward is on track for a return in six or seven weeks' time.
