Defender Luke Beecken set to make AFL debut for Lions against Dockers
Selected by Brisbane in last year's mid-season draft from SANFL club Woodville West Torrens, Beecken has been rewarded for his good form in the Lions' VFL team.
The 24-year-old rebounding defender joins fit-again pair Ryan Lester and Brandon Starcevich, and recalled forward Sam Day as inclusions in a Brisbane side still needing a win to guarantee itself a finals berth.
The quartet replace defender Tom Doedee, who has knee soreness, and omitted trio Henry Smith, Will McLachlan and Dev Robertson.
Lester's return from concussion for the clash at Optus Stadium was expected, while fellow defender Starcevich did enough at training this week to prove he had recovered from hamstring injury that led to him being a late withdrawal from the Lions side that lost by two points to the Swans at the Gabba.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale (quad) and forward Kai Lohmann (calf) remain on sidelined.
Neale's ongoing absence will give teenager Levi Ashcroft another opportunity to spend more time in the heart of the Lions midfield alongside his older brother Will.
'Before the game (against Sydney) I knew I'd be playing a little bit of midfield so I went up to him and had a little chat about that,' the younger Ashcroft said.
'We thought that was pretty cool. It was a bit of a dream of ours to be able to start in the middle together at some stoppages and centre-bounces.
'It's a really cool feeling and I can't wait to do it (on Friday night) again.
'I've been on the wing and playing half-forward, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing in the midfield with some of the more experienced guys, and showing what I can do in there.'
Ashcroft said the reigning premiers were 'looking forward to bouncing back' against the Dockers.
'We're feeling really good,' he said.
'We had a bit of a tough week last week. I thought we did really well in the contest and a few other things, so we were a bit unlucky there.
'We didn't play poorly. We just had a few bad moments or bad quarters, but we've just got to stay connected, play together and continue to play our way because we know our best can beat the best and beat any team in this competition.'
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