ROSS Lyon says the decision on whether or not to play Ryan Crowley in the preliminary final against Hawthorn could be bigger than his decision to play Steven Baker in the 2010 Grand Final.
The comparison has been made endlessly, but Lyon said they were different circumstances.
"Different teams, different year, different decision, different players, different position," Lyon said on Monday.
"I don't look backwards.
"(Is it a) a bigger one (decision)? Yeah, maybe you could say that."
However it is apples and oranges. Baker had played the first 13 games of St Kilda's 2010 season before he copped a nine-match suspension and then was selected by Lyon's match committee to play in the Grand Final.
Baker's story is far more comparable to Luke McPharlin missing eight weeks with a calf injury in the lead up to the 2013 finals series only to come straight back in, or Hayden Ballantyne missing seven weeks with a torn pec this season before coming straight back in for the qualifying final.
Because of his drugs ban, Crowley has not played a game of football at any level for 12 months.
He trained on and off from the start of the pre-season until he was officially suspended for breaching the AFL's anti-doping code on June 11.
Between June 11 and July 25 Crowley was not allowed to train at Fremantle Oval.
He could not train with the Dockers, participate in team meetings or even use the gym facilities.
His first full training session back was on July 28, but he was not available for selection until now.
Lyon has said it was unlikely Crowley would play but he has not been definitively ruled out.
Crowley's fitness is not an issue, as he is in outstanding shape.
Lyon said his touch would be the only query, but for a specific tagging job he doesn't need to find the ball.
Crowley averaged fewer than 15 disposals when he won the Dockers' best and fairest in a tagging role in 2012, and he had just 15 touches when he held Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell to 12 disposals in the 2013 Grand Final.
Mitchell's previous lowest tally for the season was 24.
Crowley could also roll through multiple opponents. He stood Isaac Smith and Bradley Hill in the Dockers' only win against Hawthorn under Lyon, in round 21 last season.
But a major reason why Crowley is unlikely to play has nothing to do with Crowley – the Dockers have not tagged since round one.
Their first choice centre square quartet of Aaron Sandilands, Nat Fyfe, David Mundy and Lachie Neale is now one of the best in the league and their midfield rotation is more offensively minded than it has been when Crowley was playing.
They are number one for total clearances per game this season after ranking eighth in 2014.
The Dockers have worked hard on their spread and ball movement all season and continue to try and recapture the electric form of the first nine rounds.
Recalling Crowley – a tagger, a lockdown midfielder – would defy a game-plan that has been in place all season.
