Brisbane coach Michael Voss has vowed to put pre-season form before reputations when he picks a side to tackle West Coast on Saturday night at the Gabba.
The club traded aggressively to secure a handful of ready-made recruits headlined by Brendan Fevola and the Lions have a near-full list to choose from.
Jamie Charman (ankle) and Xavier Clarke (knee) are the only major players unavailable.
Voss said on Monday he faced headaches trimming the squad for Round 1.
"A lot of our players have stepped up across the pre-season and it's been good to see that...hopefully we've got a bit more depth this season," Voss said.
"Certainly we've got a healthy list at the moment and there are going to be some unlucky boys this week that are going to miss out."
"They (some players) have had a full pre-season, they've had some exposure last year and may miss out - but it's a good position to be in, last year we were still trying to find players."
"(Todd) Banfield has popped his head up and Tom Rockliff has done the same - and that starts to put pressure on other players in terms of winning their spot for round one."
Banfield, a standout performer for the Lions across the pre-season, could be in line for an AFL debut, with Voss firmly of the opinion that form over the past few weeks would count more than anything else.
"I'll definitely go on what I've seen," he said.
"What they've done over the pre-season and how their form has been will be a major factor in deciding who plays."
"It was some good match practice they had on Thursday last week... (and that) will largely determine whether players play or not."
Banfield excelled with the 'probables' in that intra-club clash. He kicked two goals and showed pace.
Voss fielded a barrage of questions about Fevola and fellow new faces Amon Buchanan, Andrew Raines, Brent Staker, Matt Maguire and Clarke, and it proved too much at times.
"I don't know how many times you want me to regurgitate (lines) on new players, we get a chance to see them this weekend and that's what I want to see, just like you guys."
"They've all got different attributes that we thought would be useful for our football team and hopefully that can add to our current strengths that we had and push us further."
"It's exciting, I'm waiting like everyone else."
Voss downplayed the immense hype that has been building around Fevola's move to Brisbane, and the prospect of him lining up alongside Jonathan Brown in the forward line.
"That might be of interest (to the public)...but it holds no greater precedence than anything else...we're more concerned about our forward line functioning (on the whole)."
"I know it's easy to look at one particular person and say that'll be the difference, but in my experience that has never been the case."
Fevola faces a tough test this weekend when he will be minded by West Coast captain Darren Glass while Staker will almost certainly be selected to take on his old club.
Voss said his side would not underestimate the Eagles, especially promising young ruckman Nic Naitanui - who he likened to a 'cat' due to his pace and tackling ability.
"Some of the most brilliant stuff Naitanui does is at ground level...he lands, and off he goes - that's a particular strength of his and probably what excites Eagles fans...but I'm quite confident that Mitch (Clark) and Louie (Matt Leuenberger) will be able to hold their own."
"I think West Coast are a very dangerous side and there's been a lot of talk about our team, and the danger would be for them to fly under the radar."
"But the fact of the matter is they've got a very good record against us, traditionally they are very good starters, they gave us trouble here last year, they've got some premiership players...and an exciting young list."
"You put all that together and it's going to make it tough for us."