Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss says his young players need to step up now

BRISBANE Lions coach Michael Voss calls on his group of young guns to step up and become "generation now".

Tom Rockliff

BRISBANE coach Michael Voss has applied the blowtorch to his young midfield ahead of tonight's clash with Melbourne in Darwin declaring it is time for 'generation next' to become 'generation now'.

The "Three Rs" of Tom Rockliff, Jack Redden and Daniel Rich starred alongside Pearce Hanley and Sam Mayes in the 12-point win over North Melbourne last Saturday with both Simon Black (groin) and Brent Moloney (calf) missing through injury.

The veteran on-ballers are sidelined again leaving the core of the club's future to carry the hopes of the Lions.

Voss said backing up the heroics from the comeback victory over the Kangaroos will be a challenge for his young troops in the middle of the ground.

"We need them to deliver for us again," Voss said.

"They showed last week they can do it and that they don't need to be reliant on players like Blacky and Brent.

"We were impressed with the way they went about it but it's all about consistency. It's about duplicating that effort, week-in, week-out.

"I've been talking and talking and talking about expanding our depth and having that consistency in our performances and here is their chance to do just that.

"Seeing those guys come through along with a guy like Matthew Leuenberger is a reason for Brisbane Lions fans to get excited but at the same time that is tempered by the fact that there is a real contest in front us this weekend and we need a four-quarter effort from everyone to get the job done."

The heavy dew from the heat and humidity that engulfs TIO Stadium at night turns contests into virtual wet weather slogs ensuring the midfield battle will be even more pivotal than normal. It will be a grind with first use of the footy a top priority.

The Demons do not possess the strongest on-ball division in the competition by any means but Melbourne have improved their contested ball numbers under interim senior coach Neil Craig.

Brisbane have won three of their last four matches to be two wins out of the top eight and are heavy favourites to beat the Demons.

But Voss said all bets were off in the Top End.

"People say it is a danger game for us. They are right, it is a big game for our footy club. We are guaranteed nothing," he said.

Voss said Brisbane could not rely on the warm weather helping the Lions. The mercury should hit the mid-20s during the match.

Melbourne arrived in Darwin on Tuesday to acclimatise to the stifling conditions. The Demons also held a 10-day pre-season training camp in the Northern Territory in December.