It was the recall Hawthorn had to have.
The most-talked about selection dilemma of the AFL season is over: Hawthorn livewire Cyril Rioli will play in Saturday's grand final.
Rioli has been nursing a serious hamstring injury since round 15 and only returned via the VFL last Sunday.
The 25-year-old was recalled alongside Ben McEvoy for the season decider against Sydney, with Jonathan Simpkin and Jonathon Ceglar the unlucky pair to be dropped.
The Swans name an unchanged side, with coach John Longmire happy to rely on the same 22 players that delivered victory in week one and three of the finals.
Hawthorn football manager Chris Fagan lamented that Saturday's emergencies Simpkin, Ceglar and Brad Sewell were "sad stories and very unlucky blokes".
Ceglar had been selected ahead of McEvoy in the Hawks' past four games.
Simpkin had played nine straight in Rioli's absence.
But Fagan suggested the club had to make the heartbreaking changes, labelling it the best side Hawthorn has trotted out in 2014.
"We will have no excuses," Fagan said.
"It would be fair to say I think that we're going to put our best team for the year out on the oval for the grand final.
"We just feel Cyril and Benny McEvoy, against that opposition, they give us the best chance of victory."
Longmire told Fox Footy he "half-expected all week that he (Rioli) might be named in the team after he played last week" in the VFL grand final.
"He's an absolute champion of the game, so he was always a massive chance to come in once he'd played," Longmire said.
Fagan added that Rioli was raring to go despite his lack of match fitness.
"We were really happy with his performance last week," Fagan told the Hawks' website.
"Particularly his third quarter, we felt like he got back to some of his old form and he got a lot of confidence out of that.
"He played for 60 or 70 minutes and his hamstring pulled up really well."
Three-time premiership winner Cameron Mooney lauded the two changes as a "great call from Hawthorn.
"They've made the right decision in my opinion," Mooney told Fox Footy.
Four-time premiership coach David Parkin, speaking alongside Mooney, suggested McEvoy could help the Hawks deal with the Swans' star-studded forward line.
"He can go back, it might help them with the size," Parkin said.
Jordan Lewis, who suffered a badly corked leg in last Saturday's thrilling preliminary final against Port Adelaide, was named as expected.
Sam Reid, who jarred his knee in Sydney's big win over North Melbourne last Friday night, was also selected after getting through Thursday's training session.
"Reid did everything that he had to do and did the whole session and our medical staff were happy with the way he moved," Longmire said.
"He looked good out there, so he's ready to go."
Craig Bird has been the substitute in the Swans' two finals and is expected to be given the green vest again on the weekend.
If Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson elects to start Rioli, Taylor Duryea looms as their likely substitute.
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