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“No risk, [we] wouldn’t play him if there was a risk,” Fagan said.
“He trained heavily on the weekend, and he’s done both training sessions this week. You’d be mad not to pick him. Medical people have ticked him off so that’s what we’re doing.”
But Fagan would not confirm if Neale would start the game.
“I’m not going to talk about the line-ups,” Fagan said.
“They come out an hour before the game and we’ll leave it until then.”
Neale was also unclear of how much game time he would see but said he is extremely confident he can play a major role in the push for back-to-back flags.
“I think I hit my top speed for the year yesterday. I put myself through the wringer last weekend and then again yesterday because mentally you want to be really sure you can get through,” Neale said on SEN.
“I’m very confident in my body. I feel like I know it pretty well, I’ve been playing for 14 years and I feel like I can contribute, otherwise I would have done the same as Jarrod Berry and selflessly step aside like he has.
Neale (right) and rival captain Patrick Dangerfield got their hands on the premiership cup on Friday.Credit: Eddie Jim
“I’m fully confident I can impact.”
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Geelong have their own hard-luck story in Tom Stewart, who will miss the grand final after being concussed in a Mabior Chol tackle before quarter-time of last week’s win over Hawthorn.
Stewart’s misfortune opened a spot for Stanley (hamstring) to return after sitting out both the Cats’ finals wins.
Stanley will regain No.1 ruck duties from Blicavs, though both Blicavs and coach Chris Scott agreed it was “impossible” to replace Stewart.
“I’ve never subscribed to the theory [that] when one of your best players goes out that it’s just the next man up,” Scott said.
“They’re impossible to replace, like for like, so we’ll think about it a little bit differently. It’s not to say that we don’t think we have other options – we do – but that’s a challenge.
“We’ve probably built our team over the years, at least the last four or five years, with a view to having some flexibility and different levers to pull, so Tom’s a net negative in that respect.
“But Rhys is the positive that goes some way to evening up that ledger.”
The Cats will have 11 changes from their 2022 premiership win, including 10 who have never played in a grand final. Bailey Smith was part of Western Bulldogs’ 2021 defeat to Melbourne.
It will be an extra special occasion for Max Holmes, who Geelong did not select three years ago after he sustained a minor hamstring injury in their preliminary final win over the Lions.
“If he hasn’t been our best player over those three years [since], he’d have to be very close,” Scott said of Holmes.
“In fact, I’ll make the statement – I think he has been our most important player in the last three years, and to each their own when it comes to what motivates you. I tend not to look back. I don’t really think about ’22 at all, and especially when it comes to Max.
“I suspect that once you get to this stage that if you’re searching for extra motivation, you’re in trouble. If he chooses to, that’s his prerogative. But my suggestion would be that he just keeps doing what he has been doing because he’s been so important to us.”
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