Brisbane Lions vs Collingwood Magpies AFL LIVE: No fear as Magpies, Lions resume rivalry at the Gabba

He added the blockbuster would tell them plenty about how they are shaping early in the season.

“You play against good opposition, you want to bring your A-game,” McRae said after Tuesday training.

“(It’s) a massive test and it’s a great time to get it. Everyone wants to find out where they are.”

There is no obvious replacement for Moore and McRae said Will Parker is a strong candidate to come into the side. Veteran Scott Pendlebury also will not make the trip.

Star onballer Nick Daicos looked proppy at training, but McRae was adamant he would be ready for the Lions.

“We’ve had a bit of experience (with) Darcy being out,” McRae noted.

“We’ll go back to a model that we know has worked … our team defence has been quite strong.

“Anyone who’s watched us or played against us in recent times realises our defensive system looks strong and we’re going to need it against the Lions, who are the best at moving the ball.

“We don’t have like-for like, we don’t have 200cm key backs in reserve unfortunately.”

While Moore is a major casualty, fellow defender Jeremy Howe is back and McRae said their backline has the ability to cope with whatever the Lions throw at them.

“You have to work around with what you have,” McRae said.

“We played against Adelaide with some pretty big monsters down there and we only had (one) key defender, in fact, with Billy Frampton and now we have (Jeremy) Howe back. So we’ll be balanced.”

AAP