It was the second biggest hit at the Gabba on Sunday, pipped only by Brisbane captain Jonathan Brown's sickening head knock.

Lions' coach Michael Voss didn't miss when he called out Brisbane defender Matt Maguire after Geelong's James Podsiadly kicked eight goals on him in the Cats' 29-point AFL win.

While Brown's collision resulted in facial surgery, Maguire's public mauling led to an honesty session in the dressing sheds.

And Lions' young gun Tom Rockliff believes it had ensured Maguire would bounce back against North Melbourne on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

It must have been some heart-to-heart chat.

Maguire - dubbed "Goose" - lived up to his nickname in Voss' eyes, prompting an unprovoked attack at the post-match media conference.

Asked how much the team were missing injured fullback Daniel Merrett, Voss surprised everyone when he said: "Goose (Maguire) played an absolutely horror game - he had a shocker."

On and on he went.

"That's going to be one he'll read in the papers and be talked about all week - fact is he had a shocker, but we need him," Voss said.

"You're more admired the way you bounce back."

And Rockliff said Maguire intends to do just that after a long, hard look in the mirror on Sunday.

"He will come out fired up," said Rockliff, a member of the Lions' leadership group.

"You have to expect that (criticism) at times. He dealt with it pretty well.

"We sat in there after the game and had a quick chat.

"He and everyone got off their chest what they had to and he moved on pretty quickly which is important.

"There's no point dwelling on it.

"If you haven't moved on from the week before, it's not good for the team - he got it off his chest and it was good for him."

Rockliff said the Lions need Maguire more than ever with Merrett out indefinitely with a back complaint.

"He (Maguire) is our key fullback so he is vital for us and, without Merrett, someone has to step up," he said.

"It's a shame Podsiadly got off the chain last week, but he (Maguire) didn't get a lot of help - we couldn't get defenders back to help out."

At least Rockliff could find some positives as the club deals with the fallout from Sunday's other major hit.

While Brown has been ruled out for the rest of the season, the Lions have been boosted by the re-signing of five players including young guns Daniel Rich and Matthew Leuenberger.

"It gives us a bit of faith moving into the future. We know the direction we are taking," Rockliff said of the third-last Lions.

"It sends a really good message. We are moving forward and everyone is buying into that."

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