Jordan Roughhead cleared to play
Western Bulldogs ruckman Jordan Roughead will play in Saturday's AFL Grand Final after being given the all clear on Friday morning by an eye specialist.
Roughead had been in some doubt to take part in the 2016 premiership decider due to bleeding in his eye as a result of being hit in the face by the ball during the Dogs' stirring six-point victory over Greater Western Sydney in last weekend's preliminary final.
The 25-year-old took no further part in the match after leaving the ground in the second quarter.
However, he has recovered well from the unique injury and performed strongly at the Bulldogs' main training session on Thursday in front of some 10,000 diehard fans at Whitten Oval.
The green light for Roughead all but ends big man Tom Campbell's slim hopes of facing Sydney in the grand final.
Campbell's fellow emergencies are Lin Jong and Matthew Suckling. At this stage, the Dogs will take their first unchanged line-up into the weekend for the first time since Round 2.
Having already broken their 55-year grand final drought, the Bulldogs are now aiming to win their first premiership since 1954 and end the league's longest active premiership drought.
This will be just the third grand final the Dogs will feature in since their entry into the competition in 1925.
Heartbreak for Western Bulldogs' Matthew Suckling
Matthew Suckling has emerged as the heartbreak story of grand final week as the Western Bulldogs quest for their first flag since 1954.
Suckling, a dual premiership player with the Hawks before crossing to the Whitten Oval during last year's trade period, has battled an Achilles injury and was overlooked for Saturday's clash against the Sydney Swans.
He did not train with the main group before thousands of fans at Whitten Oval on Thursday but has been named as first emergency in an unchanged side for the Dogs' first grand final since 1961, indicating he is fit to play.
Suckling was a shock omission from the preliminary-final side against Greater Western Sydney, with the initial reason being an Achilles injury. But Bulldogs' director of football Chris Grant said this week the former Hawk had been left out also because of team balance.
Suckling trained on Tuesday in a bid to prove his fitness but appeared to experience trouble when he reached for his Achilles while chatting with club medical staff.
Midfielder Lin Jong – who had been best on ground in last week's VFL grand final – and back-up ruckman Tom Campbell were also named as emergencies.
Sydney Swans name Callum Mills, Jarrad McVeigh to play Western Bulldogs
Sydney coach John Longmire is about to take the biggest gamble of his coaching career after rubber stamping the selection of Jarrad McVeigh and Callum Mills for Saturday's grand final.
After a week of intense speculation, the pair were named on Thursday night in the Swans' 22 with Longmire scotching suggestions they still needed to prove their fitness in a final session Friday morning.
Mills has been given the green light despite not playing a full game in six weeks. He missed round 23 with a calf niggle then strained his hamstring in the first half of the loss to Greater Western Sydney after the pre-finals bye.
The Rising Star winner, however, proved his fitness with two high intensity sessions this week while McVeigh did everything that was asked of him on Wednesday.
"They're all picked and they'll be playing," Longmire said on Fox Footy's AFL 360 program on Thursday night.
Assistant coach Henry Playfair had earlier said the pair still needed to jump through a few hoops but Longmire is not a believer in playing ducks and drakes with the announcement of teams.
Harry Marsh joined Aliir Aliir as the Swans' hard luck story after being left out of the team. He was named as an emergency alongside ruckman Toby Nankervis and utility Harry Cunningham. As expected, there will be no fairytale farewell for club stalwart Ted Richards despite Aliir's injury.
The selection of McVeigh and Mills is a high stakes play by a coach who is generally conservative with picking injured players. McVeigh is one of the Swans' best ball users while Mills has been a revelation with his courageous marking and poise across half-back in his first season. If either breaks down it would leave the Swans severely stretched.
"He's an experienced player, he knows what it's about, he's smart and plays a really strong brand of football so it's great to have him back in the side," Longmire said of McVeigh.
"[Callum] has given himself every possible chance from the moment he got injured. He's done absolutely everything right. He's trained absolutely flat out this week.
"In the end it was really hard to keep him out of the team."
Marsh was pipped for the final berth in the Sydney defence by seasoned defender Jeremy Laidler, who is one of nine Swans playing in his first grand final.
"He's played some good footy for us. It's always a tough decision, whether it be injury or non-selection," Longmire said of Marsh.
"I'm sure the Bulldogs have had their challenges as well, everyone does this time of year, but it's really about the 22 playing now and those who'll give us the best possible chance."