Ratten plots to stop the rot

If the Blues are to get up against Brisbane at the Dome on Saturday night, they'll need to buck two significant trends.

The major battle will be to stop the Lions' winning streak in premiership matches which has ballooned out to seven games head-to-head, and the battle within the battle will be to subdue key forward Jonathan Brown who has earned the three Brownlow votes in each of his past three outings against Carlton.

It was Brown's 10-goal haul, a club record in a club-record 117-point thumping of the Blues at the Gabba last year, that precipitated Denis Pagan's sacking, paving the way for Brett Ratten to take the reins at Carlton.

Despite his three goals for the Big V last Saturday night, Brown is yet to really hit his straps this season, though Ratten appreciates the danger he presents, especially considering the Blues are a tall defender (Bret Thornton/knee) down.

"That was a rude awakening for our team when a bloke kicks 10 and did it with that ease," Ratten said of last year's Round 16 clash.

"Brown played well but I thought it was the ball supply that day up in Brisbane."

"(Jarrad) Waite played on him last time ... and 'Browny' kicked 10 and Waite did not such a bad job so I don't know what you read into that."

"Whether we put one player on him or two players on him or maybe three players on him, we'll just wait and see."

Ratten nominated Cain Ackland or Shaun Hampson as potential replacements for Cameron Cloke who will miss at least two weeks with a fractured wrist, and rated Richard Hadley a good chance to take on his former team-mates after two matches on the sidelines with a groin strain.

He said the Blues expect Simon Black, who withdrew from the Dream Team squad for last week's Hall of Fame Tribute match with early signs of osteitis pubis, to take his place in the Lions' line-up on Saturday.

"Our (Brisbane) scout is up there and he's watched them train Monday and he will watch them this afternoon at three o'clock and he'll give us a full report, but I would say he'll play," Ratten said.

"That's our challenge, to stop the Blacks and the Powers and if Lappin comes back and if Johnson comes back, to stop the supply down to Brown."

"The way they play is head-over-the-footy, uncompromising type of football and they get the ball into Bradshaw and Brown pretty quick and long - they'll be hard to stop."