Jack Riewoldt has declared fellow Richmond star Dion Prestia a certainty to return from his long injury lay-off in the AFL qualifying final against Brisbane.
Reigning best-and-fairest winner Prestia has not played since round five because of an ankle syndesmosis injury that required surgery.
Confirmation of his availability comes after Tom Lynch took a significant step in his bid to recover from a hamstring injury in time to play at the Gabba on Friday night.
"Dion's right to go," Riewoldt said on Sunday.
"We had a bit of a hit-out out here (next to Metricon Stadium) two days ago and he looked good to go.
"It's a testament to Dion's professionalism that he's got himself up to play.
"He's had a bit of a rough trot with the syndesmosis and a few complications with that, but he's put himself in a great position to play footy."
Key forward Lynch has missed just one game with a hamstring injury that initially threatened to keep him out of the Tigers' bid for back-to-back premierships in the coming weeks.
He still needs to tick some boxes before being cleared to play against Brisbane.
"He's looking great. He trained strongly on Saturday and did some more high-speed running," Riewoldt said.
"He's given himself every chance to play.
"He'll train with the group (on Monday) and then build his case from there."
The Tigers will make at least two changes to the team that beat Adelaide in round 18, with Shai Bolton (calf) also available to return.
It means they will have almost their entire first-choice team in finals action, with Ivan Soldo (knee) and Sydney Stack (suspended) unavailable.
"One of the injuries that we don't speak about is the headache that Dimma (coach Damien Hardwick) is going to have at selection," Riewoldt said.
"It's a tough one for the players that may have to make way for those three if they're right to go."
Australian Associated Press
