A fortnight is a long time to be stewing on a one-point defeat to the bottom side at the business end of the AFL season.

So it is little wonder Brisbane Lions co-captain Jonathan Brown and his teammates are itching for the chance to redeem themselves, against Essendon at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

When players at most clubs relished having last weekend off, Brown said he would have liked to have been playing, given the Lions lost by one point to Melbourne on the first weekend of the split round 14.

"I would have liked to have got straight back into it," said the powerhouse forward.

"No doubt the weekend off is good to freshen the body up, but it was hard to sit on that one for two weeks."

Now that the chance for redemption had nearly arrived, Brown said the seventh-placed Lions had to lift their intensity if they were to beat the in-form Dons and keep alive their hopes of earning the double chance.

"Melbourne were a bit disappointing for us and we could have been knocking on the door of the top four but that was not to be," he said.

"It was a big lesson for us because it showed us that we have to turn up every week.

"We've got to try to rectify that this week because Melbourne beat us at our own game.

"It's a hard pill to swallow for the last two weeks especially over the weekend off, so hopefully that will galvanise the boys going into tomorrow night."

Where the Lions lacked intensity last start, Essendon are keen to build on their new-found defensive resolve.

The Bombers conceded 18 goals or more in all of the seven games from rounds two to eight, but a focus on tackling and defensive pressure has reeled in opposition scoring and earned the Dons three successive wins.

Midfielder Brent Stanton said Essendon (12th) had to again keep the pressure on.

"We've got to go out there tomorrow night and pick up our intensity and our tackles and hopefully pressure on the (Brisbane) midfield, so the ball doesn't go down too quickly to Jonathan and Daniel Bradshaw," he said.

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