In the last of a five-part series, ASHLEY BROWNE revisits some of the great Grand Final week fitness tests.
ALL EYES were on Nigel Lappin as the Brisbane Lions gathered at the Albert Ground in Melbourne for their final training session the day before the 2003 Grand Final against Collingwood.
His broken ribs were no longer the best-kept secret in football. Teammate Jason Akermanis and his motor mouth had taken care of that in a radio interview earlier the week.
Lappin suffered the injury during the preliminary final against the Sydney Swans the previous week. There were several Lions players hanging on for dear life in the lead-up to the Grand Final, but the biggest question mark was hanging over Lappin.
In an interview with the AFL Record earlier this year, then-Lions coach Leigh Matthews said the issue with Lappin was whether he could take physical contact.
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"I was very much guided by our medical people. They said we can get him ready for a fitness test and the game, but then it becomes a painkilling issue," he said.
Lappin moved well enough during the general skills part of the session, but it was teammate Aaron Shattock who was instructed to body him and work him over physically.
Again, Lappin did enough to get through, at least until the following morning, when he was assessed again to see how he had recovered.
"We wouldn’t have even considered it for any other game," Matthews said, underlining the importance of Lappin to the Lions side.
The morning of the game Lappin made a detour on his way to the MCG, stopping to visit the doctor. He was fitted with special padding to protect his ribs, and received a last dose of painkillers.
The final decision was left to Lappin. And it was only after the final warm-up – about 30 minutes before the start of the game – that he nodded to Matthews, indicating he was ready to play. Until then, Chris Scott had been the 23rd man, kitted up, strapped and warmed-up to play, just in case he was needed.
