Eighth placed Fremantle face 18th placed Brisbane at the Gabba.

Here are some of the key stats and stories heading into Saturday’s game.

The winning streak
Fremantle head to Brisbane looking to keep a long winning streak alive, defeating the Lions in their past nine meetings. Brisbane’s last win came in round 16, 2009 while Freo’s most recent win was by 83 points at the Gabba in round 12 of the 2016 season.

The losing streak
After a two-point win over Gold Coast in round one, Brisbane has endured a nine game losing streak while Fremantle has lost their past two games.
Both Freo and Brisbane have played their past two games against Adelaide and Collingwood, with Brisbane losing these clashes by 80 and 45 points respectively, while Freo went down by 100 and 20 points respectively.

Long vs short break
Brisbane will be well rested after a bye in round 11 whereas Fremantle face a six-day break while navigating the longest road trip in football.

The hitouts
Fremantle leads the league in hitouts, averaging 48.5 per game with 14.5 to advantage. But without star ruckman Aaron Sandilands in rounds 11 and 12, Freo’s hitout average has dropped to 31 with 6.5 to advantage.
Brisbane has fared well in the ruck led by Stefan Martin, averaging 42.9 hitouts per game with 13.6 to advantage.

The debutant
Brennan Cox’s first AFL game is set in stone, but where will the 193cm swingman play? Cox was selected as a versatile forward/defender with pick no.41 in the 2016 National Draft and has featured in both positions for Peel Thunder in the WAFL.
His best performance came in defence in round nine against the Perth Demons, raking in 17 marks alongside his 29 disposals.

Low disposals
Both Fremantle and Brisbane have been low possession sides in 2017, with Fremantle 14th in the AFL, averaging 373 per game, and Brisbane 18th, averaging 350.6 disposals per game.
Despite being low on the possession count, Brisbane leads one unfavourable possession category in clanger kicks, averaging 24.8 per game compared to Freo’s 20.5 (11th in AFL).

Rockliffe returns
Brisbane will be buoyed by the return of Tom Rockliffe, who has missed the past two rounds with a shoulder injury.
Rockliffe has averaged 30.1 disposals, 15.1 contested possessions and 10 clearances over eight games. The midfielder’s numbers better that of any Fremantle player, with Lachie Neale leading Freo for possessions (27.1) and clearances (6.1) while Nat Fyfe leads Freo for contested possessions (14.5).

Star keeps rising
Fresh off earning a rising star nomination for Fremantle in round 11 of the 2016 season, Connor Blakely led Freo the following week with 29 touches and seven clearances in a three Brownlow vote performance against Brisbane.
One year on, Connor Blakely continues to impress. From rounds 7-11, Blakely has led Freo for disposals, averaging 28.4 per game, and clearances, averaging 5.8 per game.