Port Adelaide key defender Trent McKenzie has been recalled from injury as the Power drop former skipper Travis Boak from their starting team to meet Brisbane in a qualifying final.
McKenzie hasn't played since suffering a knee injury on August 5 but he joins Scott Lycett and Todd Marshall as inclusions for Saturday night's clash at the Gabba.
Boak has been axed from the starting 22 and is expected to be Port's substitute while Francis Evans and Sam Hayes have been omitted.
Captain Tom Jonas is also out, listed as injured, while the Lions have recalled Lincoln McCarthy and omitted Jarryd Lyons, with Kai Lohmann set to be substitute.
Port's McKenzie, who has been favoured over Jonas as first-choice full-back by coach Ken Hinkley, proved his recovery from a knee injury at training.
"(McKenzie) was moving well, I think he's back at 100 per cent," Port utility Dan Houston said after training on Thursday.
"He has ticked off almost every box ... it's hard coming back into the team from a stint on the sidelines and coming into a final is probably a little bit harder.
"But Trent is a senior player, he has played a lot of games, so I think he'll be fine stepping up to the level."
The Power ruled out spearhead Charlie Dixon (knee) but ruckman Lycett (knee) and forward Marshall (hip) return after missing the last home-and-away round.
Port and Brisbane both won 17 games with a greater percentage gifting the Lions home-ground advantage at the Gabba, where they're unbeaten in a dozen games this year.
The Lions were the highest-scoring team during the season, and the Power third-highest, but Houston said Port were preparing for a scrap.
"We looked at a few stats compared to (home-and-away) seasons and finals," he said.
"And the contested footy and the intercepts, the ground balls, all that sort of stuff, is a lot higher (in finals) which does indicate that it is a little bit scrappier, which is obviously due to the intensity going up.
"So we're prepared to play that. We know there will be stages where it will open up ... but we are prepared for scrap as well.
"We think we've got some areas that we can pick them apart in but they're a strong side and it will be a four-quarter effort that we will need to get it done."
