Important Geelong defender Lachie Henderson removed any lingering doubts over his fitness when he took part in a searching 90-minute training session on Saturday.
Having earned a weekend off with a last-gasp qualifying final win over Hawthorn, Chris Scott put his team through an intense workout at an open session at Deakin University's Waurn Ponds campus near Geelong.
Henderson hasn't played since undergoing knee surgery after round 22, but he trained strongly in the willing hitout.
"He worked really hard to get back for the Hawks game and he just missed out by one or two days I reckon," teammate Scott Selwood told reporters of Henderson.
"But he's looking really strong and now it's up to the match committee to sort all of that out."
By the time the Cats take the field at the MCG for their preliminary final against Sydney or Adelaide, they will have played just one game in 26 days.
The relatively warm conditions tested the players who didn't hold back in the physical workout, which Selwood said was an important part of their preparation.
"We wanted to make sure it wasn't a week off for us ... and we didn't want to step off the training," he said.
"It was a pretty solid hitout ... there might be a few sore bodies after that.
"We had the week off at the end of the year to reassess what we were doing, but this week we haven't taken the foot off the pedal. We've trained really hard and the attitude has been really strong.
"We've tried to maintain it as a normal playing week and we simulated that at training."
While Henderson is assured of a return, Jimmy Bartel's spot in the side continues to be a source conjecture.
"That's pretty surprising to me," Selwood said.
"I think Jimmy's come out each week, played strongly and played his role.
"That's not being said within our four walls."
