Ablett missed Geelong's last training session with a sore calf prompting speculation in the media on Friday that he would not play. Black and Brown have also been confirmed as omissions. Brown did not come up for the match while Black did not travel with the team to Geelong.
Max Rooke has taken Ablett's place in Geelong's run-on team, and Brisbane have brought in emergencies Lachie Henderson and Scott Harding.