HAWTHORN
The biggest talking point will be whether Cyril Rioli is picked in the Hawks' squad for Saturday's preliminary final against Port Adelaide – my tip is that he will be. Cyril has ticked all the boxes in his rehabilitation and has got no pain in his hamstring. His recovery has taken so much time because the injury involved the muscle-tendon unit, but he has now had enough time for it to fully heal. However, he has injured this same hamstring twice this season, which means he's at risk of re-injuring it if he plays against Port. The difficulty for Hawthorn will be designing a fitness test that really puts him under match-like stress. That's pretty difficult to do without risking him breaking down, but the bigger concern for me is Cyril's lack of match practice and the fact preliminary finals are obviously high-intensity games. It will come down to a match committee decision, with the Hawks probably wanting to be sure that he is ready to play an entire game. It would be a big risk to pick him as the substitute if he isn't fully fit given he could be forced to come onto the ground early.
In the mix: preliminary finals
Matt Suckling has now nearly had four weeks off since aggravating his left knee patella problem in round 22 against Geelong. He has completed all of his rehabilitation, he looks pain free and is training without strapping, so he will be available for selection.
As expected, Brian Lake was a bit sore after playing in the Hawks' qualifying final win against Geelong, having carried a hip flexor injury into the game. But after having last week off, he will be ready to go this Saturday.
NORTH MELBOURNE
North has the biggest injury list of the remaining four finalists. Jamie Macmillan has a low-grade left hamstring injury similar to Sydney Swan defender Nick Malceski's. The Roos are hopeful that he will be able to train late this week, but they would have considerable concern about his ability to get through a full game without re-injuring his hamstring. There is some doubt he will be risked against the Swans this Friday night, especially when North has to travel to Sydney.
Leigh Adams should be available after missing two weeks with the after-effects of the concussion he suffered in round 23. Lachie Hansen is carrying chronic hip and groin concerns, and was subbed out in round 23 at half-time, so he would be a big risk to take into a pressure game. North is aware of this and is unlikely to pick him.
Luke McDonald had some issues with his left knee in the second half of the Roos' win over Geelong last Friday night and required some icing and physiotherapy. But the youngster is not expected to be restricted this week
Tom Jonas is the only significant injury concern for the Power ahead of their clash with Hawthorn
PORT ADELAIDE
Tom Jonas is Port's only real concern ahead of its clash with the Hawks. Jonas suffered an injury last Saturday against Fremantle not unlike Brian Lake's, when he collided with teammate Matt White in the third quarter and copped a cork at the front of his right hip. Jonas was subbed out with hip flexor pain and bruising, but Port controlled the pain and bleeding straight away. Reports suggest he has made reasonable progress in his recovery, but he certainly would be suspect if he got another knock on his hip. Port may look at putting some protective padding over the area, but he has to be in doubt because of Port's six-day turnaround and the fact it is travelling to Melbourne. I still think he is likely to play.
Matt White still has a healing crack in his jaw (mandible), but played so well last week despite that, so should not be in any doubt this week. More relevantly, he still has to manage his workload because of chronic groin stress, which has restricted him since round 16 this year. But last Saturday he was able to complete the match after Jonas was subbed out, which was probably the most game time he had played in some weeks.
SYDNEY SWANS
Nick Malceski is the main injury concern for the Swans with his left hamstring injury that saw him subbed out in the early part of their qualifying final win over Fremantle. The Swans did all the right things to ensure they didn't aggravate Malceski's condition and the scans showed he has a small low-grade hamstring injury. He is still vulnerable this week, given he's really only had 13 rehabilitation days and trained very, very lightly last week. This week, he'll do more regular training and I expect him to be picked to play. The Swans are aware there is still a high risk that he could break down and ideally he'd have another week off. But I don't think they'll rest him this week.
The Swans will benefit significantly from having last weekend off, with the chief beneficiaries including Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin, who are both managing chronic knee conditions, and Josh Kennedy, who played in the qualifying final after missing rounds 22 and 23 with a minor hamstring injury. Heath Grundy has also managed his training loads after suffering a minor calf problem against Freo.
