ST KILDA has made the surprise decision to drop midfielder Luke Ball in naming its final side to host Adelaide at Docklands on Sunday afternoon.
Ball, 25, had played in all 15 of the Saints' victories this season but had nine possessions and eight tackles in last week's win over West Coast.
Coach Ross Lyon said during the week that he would not be encouraged to rest any of his key players ahead of the finals, despite the Saints sitting two games clear on top of the AFL ladder.
That means Ball has lost his spot to small forward Adam Schneider, who returns from a weekend off for the birth of his child.
Ruckman Steven King is the Saints' other inclusion for his first game since round 11, having served a four-game suspension for rough conduct against Kangaroo Sam Power.
Understudy Ben McEvoy joins David Armitage and Jarryn Geary as emergencies.
Adelaide has made its own high-profile inclusion, naming veteran forward Brett Burton for his first game since round 15 last season.
Burton, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in that loss to Collingwood, makes his AFL return just over 12 months to the day following two successful outings with Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL. He has been named on the interchange.
Durable midfielder Tyson Edwards (hamstring) will miss his first game since round nine, 2006 and is the only casualty from the Crows' record-breaking win over Fremantle at AAMI Stadium last Saturday night.
Port Adelaide will take on the Eagles at AAMI without Josh Carr, Peter Burgoyne and Michael Pettigrew.
Mark Williams' four additions include talented wingman Travis Boak who has not played since round 11 because of a knee injury.
He is joined by utilities Nick Lower and Nick Salter and draftee Matthew Broadbent, who will finally make his debut after pushing for his opportunity for a number of weeks.
The 18-year-old was recruited from Woodville-West Torrens with the 38th pick in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft.
Tom Logan has been ruled out with the 'flu.
West Coast, looking to snap an 18-game losing streak on the road, has replaced injured ruckman Dean Cox (groin) with premiership sidekick Mark Seaby.
The clash will be Seaby's fourth of 2009, while eight-game midfielder Tim Houlihan runs out for his first of the season after a solid build-up in the WAFL.
Mark Nicoski (back) also leaves the side but has been listed as an emergency.
Richmond has stuck to one change for Sunday's Eureka game against North Melbourne, replacing key defender Kelvin Moore (calf) with Jarrod Silvester, who was elevated from the rookie list to make his debut in round 13.
North Melbourne regains deputy vice-captain Daniel Pratt from suspension as well as back-up ruckman Todd Goldstein, with Gavin Urquhart (groin) and Daniel Harris to miss.
