MELBOURNE co-captain Nathan Jones is confident he'll be fit to return from a quad injury for Saturday's massive clash with Greater Western Sydney in Canberra.
Jones sustained the injury in the round 13 win over the Western Bulldogs, and his leadership and hardness around the contest would be a huge boost for the seventh-placed Demons.
The veteran's likely return will offset the absence of key forward Jesse Hogan, who broke his collarbone in last weekend's loss to North Melbourne.
Speaking on RSN radio on Tuesday morning, Jones said he just needed get through training this week.
"I've got a couple of sessions to get through but I should be right to go," Jones said.
"I could have potentially played last week, but it would have been cramming too much (conditioning) into the week.
"We decided to reduce the risk by getting three solid training sessions in (this week).
"With this injury I was lucky enough where I could get out there quickly and back into training kicking on my left foot."
Another likely inclusion for the trip to the nation's capital is Bernie Vince, with the midfielder available for selection after completing a two-match ban for striking Adelaide's Eddie Betts.
With the Demons still in the hunt for a top-four spot, coach Simon Goodwin has several players pressing for senior selection in the VFL.
Pushed out of the side by the return of Max Gawn from injury in recent weeks, versatile big man Cameron Pedersen looms as a replacement for Hogan.
Rookie Corey Maynard continued his good recent run with a team-high 28 possessions in Casey's 43-point win in windy conditions.
Second-year key forward Sam Weideman presented well in attack for 20 touches and latched onto a screamer in the final quarter before converting the set shot – one of his three goals for the afternoon.
Midfielder Angus Brayshaw gathered 22 disposals in his second game back from repeated concussions, while defender Josh Wagner added 22 touches of his own.