BRISBANE Assistant Coach Mark Harvey is confident the Lions have what it takes to challenge a Hawthorn side unbeaten in 11 games on Sunday at Aurora Stadium.

The Lions have had an indifferent season, battling form, injuries and suspensions that have interrupted consistency in personnel and team performance.

Touted as this season’s big improvers likely to challenge for a spot in the top eight, Brisbane have so far been disappointing after winning the NAB Cup.

The Lions lost three of their first four matches, including being thumped by Western Bulldogs in Round 1.

Michael Voss’ side finally reached its potential in Round 8, when he defeated Essendon who, at the time had lost just one match for the season.

It was their best performance for the season by far when it knocked off the Bombers at Etihad Stadium, a game many believed would kick-start its season.

But injuries to key players like Daniel Rich and Matthew Luenberger combined with the suspensions of Daniel Merrett and co-captain Jonathan Brown meant it was convincingly defeated by Collingwood in Round 10.

It was one of their most disappointing performances for the year, the 49-point loss to the Pies and one that saw the side come under scrutiny from the media.

Last Sunday, however, the Lions fielded one of their strongest sides for the year and came roaring home in the final quarter to eclipse Geelong’s 52-point lead in the third quarter to win by 5-points with a kick after the siren.

The win has left the Lions with an air of confidence heading into this weekend’s match against Hawthorn, believing it has what it takes to challenge the ladder-leaders.

“We can challenge these top sides, we’ve now completed Essendon and Geelong on the weekend – there’s no reason why we can’t take it up to Hawthorn,” Assistant Coach Harvey told the club’s website.

The Lions know though, there are areas for improvement despite the win over the Cats, especially given it allowed itself to fall behind by such a big margin.

Harvey acknowledges though, the stability the Lions are experiencing now with their key players back in the team gives it confidence.

“We’re looking forward to seeing exactly whether we can be more consistent with that nature of our game to change the mindset of our opposition,” he said.

“We know there are still areas of our game we need to improve on.

“This is the first time we’ve had some stability in our playing group, with no injuries and no suspensions so we won’t make too many changes.”