Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has flagged his side's gameplan will "be a little bit different" for the Grand Final than their last contest with Geelong, while the Lions boss has provided an answer on whether co-captain Lachie Neale could be the tactical sub.
The Lions will have Neale back for the first time since the club's 38-point qualifying final loss to the Cats, with a calf injury placing him in a race against the clock for the season decider.
The two-time Brownlow Medal winner has since been medically cleared to play on Saturday, having passed a week of rigorous training to remain in selection contention.
Brisbane named Neale in place of fellow midfielder Jarrod Berry, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, in their sole change for the Grand Final.
As integral as Neale may be to the Fagan's hopes of securing a second consecutive premiership, there could be some weight to the thought of naming the veteran ball winner as the sub, given he has played just one game since early August.
Quizzed on the idea of using Neale off the interchange, Fagan opted to keep his cards close to his chest.
"I'm not going to talk lineups," the Lions coach said at Friday's press conference.
"They come out an hour before the game tomorrow, and we'll leave it until then."
Adding to their forced change, the Lions are readying a number of tactical changes from their recent loss to Chris Scott's side, with the Cats deploying two lockdown roles that proved to be difference makers in a blockbuster final.
Irishmen Oisin Mullin and Mark O'Connor managed to clamp Lions livewires Hugh McCluggage and Cameron Rayner, respectively, in that game, helping shut down Brisbane's transition and structure.
Fagan said his side "learned a fair bit" from their disappointing defeat to Geelong, hinting that a few changes to their planning will be unveiled come the first bounce.
"From our perspective, you learn more from your losses than you do from your wins," he said.
"We learned a fair bit and got a few reminders a few weeks ago.
"We think we'll be a little bit different tomorrow with a few things that we do.
"More importantly, we need to play with more intensity than what we did last time, there's been a focus on that."
Neale can expect extra attention from Geelong players given the concerns surrounding his calf, with Cats captain Patrick Dangerfield not shying away from the concept of targeting the Lions gun.
Dangerfield paid credit to Neale, who could still be the best player on the field while potentially playing underdone.
"Yeah definitely (we'll target him). But he's a pretty good player," Dangerfield said.
"He's won two Brownlows, multiple All-Australians and best and fairests, the guy has done it all. We're really respectful of how bloody good he is.
"He didn't complete the whole game last time and he still finished with mid-30s (disposals). He's an absolute star. We're mindful of how good he can be, but it's not just Lachie, it's others as well.
"Our guys are going to have to be at their best, both inside the contest and out of it."
Final teams for Saturday's Grand Final will be named at 1:30pm (AEST).
