IT'S GRAND Final week, so beyond Monday night's Brownlow Medal count, Saturday's Collingwood-Geelong premiership decider is all most are interested in.

As expected, the Monday editions of all newspapers were saturated with anything and everything you could possibility want to know about the 2011 Grand Final.

Here's a snapshot:

The race to overcome injury
Geelong forward Steve Johnson's race to overcome a left knee injury is sure to be a week-long saga. Geelong released a statement on Sunday that said scans had cleared Johnson of serious damage.  

On Monday, The Age reported Johnson could spend up to an hour a day over the next four days in a hyperbaric chamber as he strives to take the field against the Magpies. High-profile sports doctor Peter Larkins told the broadsheet Johnson was a "good chance" to play but would have to put up with some pain.

The Herald Sun reported it "understood" Johnson had strained his medial ligament against West Coast. Larkins was again sought for his opinion and he told the tabloid "plenty of guys do a medial and play with strapping". Larkins said Johnson would have to prove he could move laterally but should play, possibly after a pain-killing injection.

But if Johnson doesn't play, Cats fans need not worry. Just ask, Johnson's father, Terry. The Herald Sun did and he reckons the Cats will beat the Pies even if his son is ruled out.

Obviously, the Magpies have injury concerns of their own, namely the groins of Darren Jolly and Ben Reid.

Although Mick Malthouse was positive on Sunday about the prospects of Jolly and Reid playing against the Cats, former Collingwood full-back Simon Prestigiacomo told the Herald Sun only Jolly and Reid would know the true extent of their injuries, with each facing a "hard decision".

Last year, Prestigiacomo shocked many when he selflessly pulled out of the Grand Final against St Kilda with a groin niggle despite passing a fitness test.

"I'm sure they'll make the right [decision]," Prestigiacomo said of Reid and Jolly.

Possible MRP casualties
Both clubs will be a little nervous before the Match Review Panel releases its findings after reviewing the weekend's preliminary finals.

Jesse Hogan caused a stir with his report on the back page of The Age's sports section, which suggested Geelong full-forward James Podsiadly faced possible suspension for elbowing West Coast midfielder Adam Selwood in the head.

Underneath a two-frame photo sequence of the incident, Hogan wrote that Podsiadly was likely to be scrutinised by the MRP. Although the Cat attempted to bump Selwood, Hogan wrote that he had made contact to the Eagle's head.

Given Podsiadly has carryover points from a suspension that ruled him out of a final last season, Hogan concluded if he was cited for rough conduct there "no chance" of a suspension being downgraded into a reprimand. 

Grand Final week is always a tense one for the clubs involved and the Cats' reaction to Hogan's story suggests they are starting to feel the tension.

Geelong football manager Neil Balme told SEN this morning he couldn't believe The Age had run Hogan's story - the Herald Sun did not raise the Podsiadly-Selwood incident in its preview of likely MRP reports.

Later, the club's official Twitter account, @Catsinsider, tweeted: "Completely agree with Balmey on SEN this (morning). Of all the Grand Final stories to write why one about a fair hip & shoulder? Stick to writing cricket." (Hogan also covers cricket for The Age.)

Of the other players likely to be scrutinised by the MRP, Hogan wrote that Geelong midfielder James Kelly was likely to avoid sanction for a "seemingly accidental" incident in which he slid into West Coast's Daniel Kerr with his knees, while Collingwood's Leigh Brown was unlikely to be charged for his bump on Jordan Lewis because he made contact with the Hawthorn midfielder's chest.

The Herald Sun reported Kelly and Brown would "almost certainly" be scrutinised by the MVP. The tabloid said the fact Brown did not leave the ground when bumping Lewis and the video of the incident did not conclusively show head-high contact were in the Magpie's favour.

It also reported Dermott Brereton's comments on The Sunday Footy Show that Kelly's actions were "unsavoury" but unlikely to attract a sanction in Grand Final week. 

Collingwood's form slide
No doubt some Magpie supporters' stress levels have risen over the past month.

After losing just one match over the first 23 rounds, Collingwood has suffered a 96-point thumping by the Cats in round 24 and notched unconvincing finals wins against the Eagles and Hawks.

The Herald Sun's Mark Stevens looks at one of the symptoms of the Magpies' form slide. From rounds one-23, Stevens wrote that the Magpies managed to keep the ball in their forward half an average 14 minutes and 40 seconds longer a game than their opponents.

However, in their past three games, the Magpies' opponents have outpointed them in this area - the Cats keeping the ball in their forward half almost 20 minutes longer than the Magpies, the Eagles' for two minutes and 39 seconds and the Hawks for two minutes and 32 seconds.

What's caused this? Stevens offered more statistics that showed Collingwood's ability to create chains of disposals from defence has dropped, as has its kicking efficiency.

The Malthouse subplot
On Channel Seven's Game Day on Sunday, Mick Malthouse all but guaranteed this Grand Final will be his last game as an AFL coach.

So it was no surprise the Herald Sun's chief football writer Mike Sheahan looked at the legacy Malthouse will leave - and how Saturday's result will shape that legacy.

As Sheahan sees it, Malthouse has a lot riding on Saturday's game. He described the situation the 28-season coach finds himself in succinctly: "One win short of immortality."

That win would mean Malthouse joins Ron Barassi (Carlton and North Melbourne) as the only coaches to win two premierships at two clubs. It would also mean he drew level on four premierships with coaching greats Kevin Sheedy, Leigh Matthews, Allan Jeans, Ron Barassi, Tom Hafey, David Parkin and Dick Reynolds.

Only Jock McHale (eight), Norm Smith (six) and Frank 'Checker' Hughes (five) have won more premierships as coaches, Sheahan wrote. Sheahan neglected to include Jack Worrall (five: Carlton 1906-08 and Essendon 1911-12) on that list.

Sheahan's colleague Jon Ralph suggested Malthouse's legacy would be tarnished by a loss, given it would leave him with a 1-3 (and a draw) record in Grand Finals in his 12 seasons at Collingwood.

So who's going to win?
The Age's Rohan Connolly admitted he was having "real difficulty" picking a winner. Connolly did not think Geelong's two home and away wins over Collingwood necessarily pointed towards a Cats' win this Saturday.

Although the Cats dominated the clearances, tackle count, and inside 50s, and had eight more scoring shots in their three-point round eight win, Connolly noted Collingwood would have won but for a 'goal' by Scott Pendlebury being disallowed under a controversial umpiring interpretation of the advantage rule.

And the Cats' 96-point round 24 drubbing of Collingwood could be attributed to the reigning premier's desire for "self-preservation" in the lead-up to the finals, Connolly wrote.   

Connolly is also expecting the Magpies to improve on their unconvincing effort against the Hawks on Friday night, arguing underdone players like Heath Shaw, Dale Thomas and Nick Maxwell will all be better for the run.  

What's at stake?
More than the 2011 premiership cup it seems.

Connolly turned boxing promoter suggesting Collingwood and Geelong were the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier of 2007-11. Their clash this Saturday would not be a mere "fight" but an "epic gladiatorial contest", Connolly spruiked. It's enough to have the hair on Don King's head standing up.

Connolly wrote that after three preliminary final clashes over the past four seasons, the Cats-Magpies rivalry would finally get the Grand stage it deserved.

A third flag for the Cats would be "suitable reward for five years of sustained greatness" and ease the pain of the Cats' "botched" 2008 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn, Connolly wrote.

And, although Connolly did not say it, a Magpies' win would ensure they match the Cats' two flags for the era - a result that would surely stick in the craw of Cats fans given Geelong has won 83.9 per cent of its games since 2007 compared to the Magpies' 69.4 per cent return (second best in the AFL).    

The Herald Sun's Jon Ralph reckons a dynasty is up for grabs. A third premiership in five years would take the Cats past dual flag teams such as Adelaide of 1997-98 and North Melbourne of 1996 and 1999.

"While plenty of sides win multiple premierships in quick succession, three flags in five years would take Chris Scott's veterans into rarefied air," Ralph wrote.

On the other hand, Ralph argued the Magpies faced the reality that their two-year dominance of the competition might, like the Essendon outfit of 2000-1, deliver just the one flag. 

The Brownlow Medal: Grant's fear
Western Bulldogs great Chris Grant told the Herald Sun he hoped history did not repeat at this year's Brownlow Medal count.

Grant polled the most votes in the 1997 Brownlow count but was ineligible to win after being suspended for striking Hawthorn's Nick Holland in round seven that season.

Grant said he hoped Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell, who is widely tipped to poll well after an outstanding 2011 season but is ineligible to win after accepting a reprimand for making head-high contact to Geelong's Steve Johnson in round five, did not suffer the same fate.

"Looking back it probably would have been better had I not won," Grant said.

"It would be better to lose by one vote as I did in 1996 [when third to joint winners James Hird and Michael Voss]."

In short
West Coast midfielder Daniel Kerr carried two fractured vertebrae through the Eagles' finals campaign, Sports News First reports.

West Coast coach John Worsfold is "almost certain" to be rewarded with a two-year contract extension by the end of this week after leading the Eagles from last in 2010 to fourth this season, The West Australian reports.

New Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson says the Crows cannot afford to exclusively draft home-grown players for fear interstate players will ultimately leave because of homesickness, The Advertiser reports. "We have to make the football club somewhere that when you arrive, you never want to leave," Sanderson said.

Former Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade has confirmed St Kilda has approached him about its senior coaching vacancy, Sports News First reports. 

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.