Midfielder Daniel Rich out to repay Lions after two-match suspension

ONLY one Lion would be more excited than Daniel Rich about his return from suspension against Richmond - and that's Jonathan Brown.

ONLY one Lion would be more excited than Daniel Rich about his return from suspension against Richmond on Saturday night at the Gabba.

Captain Jonathan Brown, starved of quality possession against the Eagles, will benefit most from the midfielder's accurate delivery into Brisbane's forward line.

The Lions can hold their own when it comes to winning the ball but have suffered without Rich's contribution to their inside-50 tally.

In their last success against a quality opponent, West Coast in round 10, the Lions forwards enjoyed 51 entries inside the attacking arc. Their round 13 win against the Bulldogs contained 53 inside-50s.

Without the penetration of Rich and injured defender Josh Drummond last Sunday in Perth, Brown's best chance of finding the ball was on the wings as his side managed a dismal 35 inside-50s.

Rich's comeback, combined with the expected return of Drummond, and Pearce Hanley's run and carry, should give Brisbane enough penetration to bust through the Tigers' defensive lines.

Rich yesterday said it was painful having to watch as his teammates tackled the Q Clash against Gold Coast and made the trip west.

The Brisbane midfielder was charged with rough conduct for the round 16 shove that cannoned Saints' Clint Jones into the boundary fence at the Gabba, and an early guilty plea rubbed him out for a fortnight.

"I regret what happened and not being able to play my role for the team," Rich said.

"It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, obviously something I wasn't intentionally trying to do."

The 22-year-old said there was no need to apologise to teammates for his act of ill-discipline but he wants to make an impact against Richmond to make up for his absence. "I suppose I do owe them a little bit," he said.

The 2009 Rising Star Award winner said it had been tough sitting on the sidelines while his teammates notched a win against Gold Coast then suffered a thrashing at the hands of West Coast.

"It's hard doing all the training during the week and not being able to play on the weekend, but (I'm) really looking forward to getting back on the field and hopefully we can have a win," he said.

Rich said he had put the Jones incident behind him. "It's almost three weeks ago now, so that's the past. I'm just excited about getting back and doing what I can," he said

"I did regret what happened and do regret not being able to play my role for the team and be out there doing what I can to help get us wins."

Fullback Matt Maguire (ankle) was still hobbling yesterday and remains a longshot to face the Tigers.

Richmond

now have little to lose and feature an onball crew led by Shane Tuck and Trent Cotchin that is among the league's top three.

Rich has missed the past two matches after being suspended for rough conduct, a result of pushing St Kilda tagger Clint Jones into the Gabba fence.