STAR midfielder Luke Parker has declared himself a certain starter in next week's Grand Final, as a number of injury concerns surround the Sydney Swans after Friday night's win over Geelong.
Parker and fellow All Australian onballer Josh Kennedy both had strapping applied to minor knee complaints during the match, as did key defender Aliir Aliir, who missed most of the game after landing awkwardly in a marking contest in the first term.
While Parker shrugged off his issue, with both he and Kennedy playing out the 37-point win over the Cats, Aliir's non-appearance after quarter-time raises serious doubts over his ability to prove his fitness in time for the season decider.
"He's been outstanding Aliir (Aliir), so hopefully he does get up," Parker said on arrival in Sydney.
"If not, the quality thing (about our club) is that we've got such depth, and whoever comes in we know will do the same job, play just as well, and play such a crucial role.
"It was a shame to see him go down but hopefully he can bounce back and be right."
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If Aliir was unable to get his knee right by next week, Parker said retiring veteran defender Ted Richards was a ready replacement if the coaches went down that path.
The 33-year-old has played just eight games this season due to calf problems, a broken cheekbone and concussion, and lost his place in the side to Aliir after the rookie starred in defence during the second half of 2016.
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"We have full faith in Ted if he was to come back in," Parker said.
"That's the hard thing for the coaches, having to make that call.
"I'm sure they'd have no problem playing him."
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The Swans carried similar injury worries into their preliminary final, with co-captain Jarrad McVeigh (calf) and NAB Rising Star winner Callum Mills (hamstring) both ruled out during the week.
But Kurt Tippett (jaw), Gary Rohan (knee) and Zak Jones (concussion) all took the field and played important roles for the winners.
McVeigh is expected to return for the Grand Final, while Mills, who ran laps at training last week, is an outside chance after straining his hamstring in the Swans' qualifying final loss to Greater Western Sydney.
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Parker said he isn't concerned about his side's run of three hard finals in a row.
"I think you can always find something extra for next week," he said.
"In the end, it's probably a blessing that we lost that first game.
"To go in with games in a row, you build that momentum, you know what stands up, and your body gets hardened for the football that it takes to win it.
"I think (last night) the boys still drew from the GWS loss, we were still pretty filthy about that, and we wanted to get another chance at them if they win."
