Essendon have ruled out Michael Hurley and are hopeful about Jobe Watson for Sunday's must-win AFL match against Fremantle.
A win at Etihad Stadium guarantees them an elimination final, while one of the upsets of the season would mean the destiny of the eighth-placed Bombers relies on the other two Sunday matches.
Hurley (calf) and Watson (rested) missed last week's win over Gold Coast.
"No good - he's ruled out," coach John Worsfold said of Hurley.
Asked if they are planning for Hurley to be ready for the finals, Worsfold said: "That's the plan, absolutely.
"We're really confident. We weren't prepared to take the risk to train him up, to even consider him for this week.
"That means in all likelihood, he'll be right for beyond (this week)."
Essendon are handing out 10,000 Watson masks on Sunday to mark the last home game for their retiring former captain.
But a conversation with Worsfold on Thursday morning will confirm whether he plays.
"I'm expecting that he'll be right to go this week, but if not, the plan is that he's fresh and in great nick for any games beyond that," he said.
Worsfold is a fence sitter in the debate over the round-23 bye, but acknowledged players such as Hurley and Orazio Fantasia (hamstring) would be big fans.
"Certainly I know those boys, Hurls and Orazio, are very appreciative," Worsfold said.
He is unsure whether Fantasia will be ready for the finals after he suffered a hamstring strain in the round-20 win over Carlton.
"He's more than an outside chance - not good, but not outside ... it's really hard to predict," Worsfold said.
"Everything he's doing at the moment is being ready for the first week of the finals."
Essendon are yet to hit their straps, winning five of their last eight games.
There is also the stark memory of the shock round-15 loss to Brisbane.
Worsfold was asked if there was any risk of complacency, given Fremantle are coming off successive 104-point losses.
"We don't talk about us being complacent, we talk about us ramping up the level of footy we want to play at," he said.
"We've seen some improvement in the last couple of weeks, but we're not where we want to be."
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