Even without his powerful presence in the goalsquare this Sunday, Brendan Fevola has been a welcome addition to Brisbane's squad for their AFL trip to China.

Fevola was added to the Lions' touring party soon after Queensland police cleared him of wrongdoing, following an alleged incident with a woman at a family day.

He remains under AFL investigation.

While Fevola's recovery from a groin injury means he will miss Sunday's match against Melbourne in Shanghai, team-mate Cheynee Stiller said it was good to have the key forward on the tour.

"It's great to get Fev back into the group," Stiller said.

"It's good timing in that regard, that we were able to get Fev on the trip and I think it's really good for him to be around all the boys, it's been a tough off-season for him.

"All the boys love having him around as well."

Sunday's exhibition match will be the first AFL game in China and coincides with the World Expo in Shanghai.

The trip is also a good chance for the Lions to wind down from a tough season, where they won the first four matches before plummeting to 13th.

That prompted a widespread review, which has led to an overhaul of their football operations.

"There hasn't really been too much about next year as yet, we had our meeting before we went away and it was `draw a line in the sand'," Stiller said.

"It's just really good to get all the boys together and head away.

"It's a pretty unique opportunity we have to come over here and play a game of footy."

The absence of key players such as Fevola and captain Jonathan Brown means the Lions will only field a team of 20 against Melbourne.

The Demons also had to leave out Kyle Cheney after he was traded to Hawthorn on Monday.

Hawthorn contacted Cheney while he was in transit at Hong Hong.

The defender spent a couple of days with Melbourne earlier this week on their China tour, but as of Friday he was trying to arrange his return to Australia.

Stiller, who has played 76 games, will be one of the most experienced players in Brisbane's team this Sunday.

"I'm not sure what to expect, actually - it's in your (post-season) break, all that sort of stuff," he said.

"But once the boys get out there it will be reasonably full-on.

"I'm looking forward to it, it should be good to have that extra bit of leadership."

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