Brisbane Lions deputy Jed Adcock is adamant shaky premiers Geelong have lost none of their aura and remain the AFL’s benchmark team.

The Lions face the Cats on Saturday night with both teams sharing 2-2 records but Adcock is under no illusions it will be their toughest home game of the season.

Battling for credibility after an ugly 2011, the vice-captain said a Gabba upset over the reigning premiers was the best way of gaining it.

“Geelong is still Geelong,” Adcock said on Thursday. “Joel Selwood said they’re not playing as well as they’d like to, but that probably goes with most clubs at the moment.

“I think they’re still very much the side to beat and I think everyone tries to lift when they play Geelong.

“You talk about the premier teams in the comp and Geelong is obviously one of them.

“To come up against Geelong here, if we can get a win, will obviously go a long way (towards gaining credibility).”

Cats coach Chris Scott is expecting the Lions to copy North Melbourne’s successful ploy of rapid-fire handballs after Richmond also used the tactics effectively in their 10-point loss at Geelong.

But Adcock insisted Brisbane were more inclined to focus on executing their own game plan, particularly winning the contested possession.

“We can’t worry about what other teams did or didn’t do against them, we’ve got to play how we play and what we know,” he said. “We know if we get the contested footy and pressure right that will go a long way.

“When we do that well we play well and when we’re getting beaten in that we struggle, so that’s going to be massive for us, getting in-and-under and hitting hard.”

With Simon Black to celebrate his 300-game milestone, Adcock also said it was important for both the Lions and their fans to honour a club great.

“You’re not going to get a bigger game in this state for quite a long time.”

“He’s been one of the greatest players for this footy club, all three footy clubs (including Fitzroy and Bears) put together, so for people to come out and support him is massive.”