Brown set for return in Pre-Season Cup

Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown will make his long-awaited return to action in Saturday night’s round-robin Pre-Season Cup matches against Gold Coast and Melbourne at Metricon Stadium.

It will be the Lions skipper’s first appearance since Round 17 last year when injury cut short his season.

Lions coach Michael Voss named Brown in an unplaced squad of 34, alongside fellow senior players Simon Black, Jed Adcock and Matt Maguire.

Off-season recruits Ben Hudson and Jordan Lisle will play their first games for the Club since arriving via trade week at the end of last season, while first-round draft pick, Billy Longer, and Elliot Yeo will also don the Lions Guernsey for the first time.

2011 regulars Daniel Merrett, Josh Drummond, Niall McKeever and Andrew Raines were not considered for selection for this weekend.

In a precautionary move, Merrett, 27, was ruled out of the Lions’ round-robin matches against Gold Coast and Melbourne with hamstring soreness.

With the injury minor, Merrett is expected to have at least one pre-season hit-out before the Lions’ opening round encounter against Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday, March 31.

Raines, who played 16 senior matches in 2011, had a minor procedure over the weekend to address a knee irritation that flared following routine treatment last week.

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