Earning back respect might be Brisbane coach Michael Voss’ priority ahead of Thursday night’s AFL clash with Carlton at the Gabba.

But the revitalised Lions appear to have already won over an unlikely new fan – Blues’ mentor Brett Ratten.

Voss urged his once mighty side to make the most of the rare spotlight provided by the stand-alone game for the Lions and make a statement.

“We’re a bit of an unknown. People don’t know what we’re about yet,” Voss said on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to go about showing people what we do stand for and what type of footy we want to play.

“I keep using the word opportunity, but we’re playing against a side that’s been up and about for a couple of years now, particularly last season.

“And we’re in front of a national audience, so I can think of no better stage to try to change people’s views of us.”

However, Ratten was more than aware of what the Lions were capable of after watching their 41-point first-round thrashing of Melbourne.

Ratten also did not have to be reminded that the Lions downed the Blues by 64 points in the pre-season after keeping Carlton scoreless in the second half.

“We haven’t undersold them one bit,” Ratten said.

“We really respect what they are doing. Their younger players are really coming on and playing fantastic footy.

“(James) Polkinghorne and (Jack) Redden have taken another step in their football and we all knew what (Tom) Rockliff could do as a small forward in the TAC competition.”

After enduring two lean years which garnered a total of just 11 wins, Voss finally has something to smile about.

Apart from their encouraging season start, captain Jonathan Brown was officially cleared to return next week from a broken cheekbone.

Josh Drummond (hip) is also expected back in the round three clash with Fremantle.

“He (Brown) is in a good space,” Voss said.

“Apart from those three or four days (after it happened) he couldn’t do anything.

“He’s been doing everything, so he’s more of a caged lion at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Ratten said the Lions could expect a very different Carlton to the one they belted in the pre-season.

“It was a good view at what they did but we were in a preparation phase to get ready for round one,” he said.

“We did have a few hiccups with some individuals along the journey, but it was about getting our list right for round one.”

Still buzzing from their first-round 44-point win over Richmond, Ratten said Carlton wanted to prove they were a top-four side this season.

“We finished fifth last year. It would be very complacent to say ‘let’s go and finish fifth again’ – we want to lift the standard,” he said.

“Top four is our aim but we know there is a lot of hard work to get there.”