The Lions junior and former Collingwood star will play his first game in almost two years after serving an 18-month ban for a positive drug test against Wagga Tigers at Ganmain Sportsground on Saturday.

The 22-year-old played 13 games for Collingwood in 2018, racking up 20 or more disposals in eight, and will slot straight into the Lions midfield after completing his isolation period.

"He trained last night (Thursday) and he's really excited. It's just great to see him back playing footy, and to do it at Ganmain is a nice thing him," Lions coach Christin Macri said.

"The things he was saying at training last night (Thursday), that level of experience and what he's done, it's going to be fantastic for our club on and off the field.

"On the field he's going to have a big impact and to have that quality a player coming into our club, especially a junior who grew up in town, is fantastic."

Another newcomer, Charles Sturt University recruit Louis Miller, will be looking to build on a strong start with his new club against the Tigers.

The 22-year-old alternated between the forward line and midfield in last week's win over Turvey Park, booting four goals.

He said the move to Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong won't be a one-off if his placement for his radiography studies allows him to remain in Wagga.

"I played with (Lions teammate) Aaron Proctor at Bulldogs, he got onto me and I decided to have a change.

"If i'm in Wagga I'll definitely play there next year, it just depends on my placement.

"In the second half we took the game on pretty well from the back half, that was probably the best aspect of the last quarter-and-a-half."

Macri said Miller's versatility gives him options, especially with midfielder Scott Proctor back in the side this week.

"If I can get two goals out of him a week I'd be rapt, and he's started with four," Macri said.

"The four goals was the icing on the cake, but the work he did up the field in the midfield was really good too.

"He reads the play and knows how to hit a target. He's a good package we're really pleased with."

Tigers coach Troy Maiden said stopping the Lions' quick movement off halfback was key, and the team welcomes back Shaun Campbell, Jake Gaynor and Sam Lucas after they were late withdrawals for round one after failing the player transfer screening process.

"Shaun's an ex (Tigers) coach, Jake's been a very good midfielder in a strong competition in the Ovens and Murray and Sam's that real hard body around the football." Maiden said.

"The result last week wasn't the end of the world. A lot of things didn't go right for us.

"They (Lions) are going to be strong across the board. They've recruited fairly heavily and have a lot of talent, and we're going to have to be at the top of our game to get the result."

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