Brisbane captain Jonathan Brown is back and former Lion Mitch Clark will be an opponent in Saturday night’s AFL NAB Cup round-one matches.
Clark will debut for Melbourne against his old club and Gold Coast in the round-robin fixture at Metricon Stadium.
He was the main story of trade week last year when the Demons convinced him to join them, rather than go back to Western Australia.
Brown needed a season-ending operation after suffering a facial fracture in the round-17 match against Geelong, the second time last year that the Lions star was sidelined by surgery following an on-field collision.
The Lions skipper and centre half-forward, one of the game’s most respected players, was named in a squad of 34.
Former Western Bulldogs ruckman Ben Hudson and ex-Hawthorn key-position player Jordan Lisle were also named for their Brisbane debuts.
While Brisbane’s squad features Simon Black and Jed Adcock, they will be without Josh Drummond (hip), Daniel Merrett (hamstring tightness) and Andrew Raines (minor knee surgery).
A leg injury will sideline new Melbourne co-captain Jack Trengove, meaning Jack Grimes will lead the team for the first time.
The Melbourne squad also features former Adelaide player James Sellar, but Liam Jurrah and Jordie McKenzie will be among their absentees.
Gold Coast teenager Jaegar O’Meara was picked after the AFL gave the Suns special permission for him to play in the NAB Cup.
The 17-year-old remains too young to play in the regular season.
Former Melbourne defender Matthew Warnock, like Clark, will debut against his old club when he runs out for the Suns.
Gold Coast have named a strong squad that will feature captain Gary Ablett, Nathan Bock and Jared Brennan.
As expected, Carlton captain Chris Judd will miss Sunday’s NAB Cup round-one game in Adelaide against the Crows and Port Adelaide.
Judd will be among seven frontline Blues who will sit out this weekend.
Jarrad Waite, Michael Jamison, Mitch Robinson, Nick Duigan, Andrew Walker and Rob Warnock will not play.
But the Blues squad includes father-son draft selection Dylan Buckley and fellow draftees Josh Bootsma and Sam Rowe.
The Crows named a strong squad of 33, with seven new faces.
Lewis Johnston (Sydney), Josh Jenkins (Essendon) and Tom Lynch (St Kilda) joined in the off-season, while Sam Kerridge was a first-round draftee and Tim McIntyre came to the Crows through the rookie draft.
Jarryd Lyons and Sam Shaw are untried second-year players.
Jason Porplyzia (calf), Ben Rutten (foot), Chris Knights (hamstring) and Brodie Martin (hamstring) are the most notable absentees from the Adelaide squad.
Port Adelaide’s 34-man squad includes recruits Brad Ebert (West Coast), John McCarthy (Port Adelaide) and Chad Wingard, who was the No.6 pick in last year’s national draft.
Fellow newcomers Nathan Blee, Brendon Ah Chee and Darren Pfeiffer were also named.