Where and when: Gabba, Saturday, July 25, 7.10pm AEST
Head to head: Brisbane Lions 16 wins, North Melbnourne 21 wins, one draw
Last time: Brisbane Lions 15.9 (99) d North Melbourne 12.9 (81), round 10, 2009 at Docklands

MISSING IN ACTION
Brisbane Lions:
Jared Brennan (ankle) – test
Troy Selwood (shoulder) – 2 weeks
Daniel Bradshaw (hamstring) – 2-3 weeks
Matthew Leuenberger (knee) – 5 weeks
Jed Adcock (knee) – 10-12 weeks
Bart McCulloch (quad) – season
Jamie Charman (ankle) – season
Pat Garner (knee) – season

North Melbourne:
David Hale (leg) – test
Michael Firrito (hip) – test
Andrew Swallow (leg) – test
Gavin Urquhart (groin) – test
Marcus White (hamstring) – 1 week
Daniel Wells (groin/leg laceration) – 2-3 weeks
Jesse Smith (hamstring) – 3 weeks
Jack Ziebell (broken leg/hip) – season
Ben Warren (leg) – season
Robbie Tarrant (shoulder) – season
Luke Delaney (shoulder) – season

FORM
Brisbane Lions: WWLWW
North Melbourne: LLLLD

SUMMARY
The Lions keep on keeping on in Michael Voss' rookie season in charge. Despite a lowly ladder position Fremantle is always unpredictable and for the Lions to come away from a drenched Subiaco with the four points was more meritorious than some might think. The Kangaroos fell 42 points behind Richmond before mounting a late charge that secured a wholly unsatisfying two premiership points.

Daniel Rich is in fine form for the Lions, who also continue to get sterling service from quality veterans such as Simon Black, who had 13 tackles last week, and Jonathan Brown, who booted four goals.

Brent Harvey is leading North from the front and had 31 disposals against the Tigers last week, but Sam Power also stepped up with 30.   

PLAYER TO WATCH
Daniel Rich (Brisbane Lions)
The precocious young onballer was supposed to tire toward the back end of his debut season, but he's speeding up not slowing down. Rich followed a career-high 32 possessions against the Cats with a 31-disposal game against Fremantle last week. He even registered his first ever hitout which is not bad for a kid who was supposed to have arm-reach issues.

David Hale (North Melbourne)
The Kangaroo giant pulled down five marks against the Tigers and many in blue-and-white would contend it should have been six. His disallowed grab inside 50 as the clock wound down would surely have resulted in a score that would have ensured a North victory. Hale was aggrieved at the decision after the siren and will be interesting to see if that spurs him on this week. 

QUESTION MARKS
How many more injury hits can the Lions take? They've battled bravely against a heavy toll all year and lost Daniel Bradshaw to a hamstring strain and possibly Jared Brennan to an ankle last week.

Have the Kangas got anything left in the tank after a demoralising draw? They came close, but the simple fact is they haven't won since round nine.

WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
This is an important game for the Lions, who face back to back trips to Melbourne to take on Collingwood and Essendon in the fortnight after. They'll want to go into that bracket of fixtures with a win to keep their top-four dreams alive, but it won't be easy. You can always count on North for a fair-dinkum effort and the Lions are coming off a Perth road trip played in energy-sapping torrential conditions.

Bradshaw is a big loss, but the Roos are struggling to find reliable avenues to goal themselves. Harvey is a gun, but the Lions look to have too many midfield weapons of their own on their home patch. 

PREDICTION
Brisbane Lions by 25 points

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.