GEELONG coach Chris Scott has locked skipper Joel Selwood in as a certain starter for Friday night's qualifying final against Collingwood.
Selwood passed Friday's Captain's run with no concerns around the finger that required surgery seven days ago in order to "stabilise" a dislocation sustained in the qualifying final loss to Port Adelaide.
MEGA-PREVIEW Stats that matter, who wins and why
"It's confirmed, he's playing," Scott said.
"To my observation and to everyone else's he looked really good (at training), but the most important part was that he feels as if he's ready and he can do it (play).
"We were always confident that was going to be the case. But we're more than happy and confident to back him in.
"There was never really any doubt in our mind to be honest, that was always the prognosis we were given. He held back maybe a little bit on Wednesday at training but still looked to handle the ball pretty well for me.
"We've done all our planning around him playing so for us it's just play on."
When reflecting on the loss to the Power, Scott said the overriding area for improvement was the need to "execute" in key moments.
He was also asked whether Jake Kolodjashnij would again receive the Jordan De Goey match-up after the Pies forward bagged five goals against the Cats in round eight.
THE FULL INJURY LIST Who is racing the clock?
"No one is completely comfortable on De Goey but we feel we've got options that could do the job if they execute within their capabilities," Scott said.
"I think Jake's a good match-up on those types of players. (We've) got a healthy respect for Jordan De Goey, we're not going to say that any of our guys are going to be OK on him because it's a big task."
With champion Gary Ablett potentially preparing for his final AFL match in the do-or-die clash, Scott said a call was yet to be made on veteran defender Harry Taylor for 2021.
"We've just got an open mind with that one," he said.
"We don't want to back ourselves into any sort of pre-meditated position and Harry's view's the same. We've resolved to talk about it at the appropriate time. We think we've got time."
Scott added that he expected the Cats' line-up announced at 6.20pm AEDT on Friday would be the team that tackles the Pies, barring any late mishaps.
