VENUE & TIME: SCG, Saturday 29 August, 7.10pm (AEST)
HEAD TO HEAD:Played 39, Sydney Swans 18, Brisbane Lions 20, Draws 1
LAST TIME: Brisbane Lions 15.10 (100) def Sydney Swans 9.13 (67), Round 3, 2009 at the Gabba

WALKING WOUNDED: The Lions' injury focus is fixed on bookends Daniel Merrett (hamstring) and Daniel Bradshaw (quad) who will both miss this week but who're expected to be available for Finals Week 1. For Sydney, Jarrad McVeigh (hamstring) and Luke Ablett (ankle) face fitness tests. The remaining players on the club's official injury list including Jarred Moore and Ted Richards, both recovering from punctured lungs, are out of selection contention.

FORM: The seventh-placed Lions (12-1-8) are in the box seat to qualify for a home final. Their epic come-from-behind win over Port Adelaide last Saturday was their first in a month following losses to the Bulldogs and Collingwood and a draw with Essendon. Holding down 11th place on the ladder with an 8-13 record, Sydney's loss to Collingwood last Sunday knocked it out of finals contention for the first time since 2002.

WHO'S HOT: Veteran Brisbane midfielder Luke Power picked up 31 possessions, seven marks and laid six tackles to help lead the way to a famous victory over Port Adelaide last Saturday night. Adam Goodes was no less effective with 24 disposals and three goals to be Sydney's best, and in the Brownlow mix, against the Pies.

WE THINK: Brisbane's 33-point victory at the Gabba in Round 3 this season broke a long period of domination by Sydney stretching back to 2004. Of the previous nine meetings between these teams, the Swans won eight and the best the Lions could manage was a draw in Round 20, 2007. The Swans have won the past four times they've hosted Brisbane at the SCG. Out of finals reckoning, Sydney will be playing for pride and the opportunity to give veterans Michael O'Loughlin, Leo Barry and Jared Crouch a winning send-off. The Lions have a more tangible incentive knowing that victory will almost certainly present them with home ground advantage in the first week of the finals, though the loss of Bradshaw and Merrett is a big setback. If the Swans can replicate the intensity they showed in their most recent home games against St Kilda and Geelong, Brisbane will have a real fight on its hands. But the visitors have the form, the game and the motivation to win. Brisbane Lions by 6 points.