BROWNLOW Medallist Simon Black will line up for the Brisbane Lions when they host West Coast at the Gabba on Saturday night.
And despite being named as an emergency in Thursday's squad, ruckman Jamie Charman could still play.
Midfielder Black, 30 next month, has had to overcome groin, ankle and back injuries, a broken wrist and a bout of gastroenteritis to push for round one selection.
Coach Michael Voss said Black would be given as much time as he needed to be right for the game.
"He’s made himself available so there’s no reason why he wouldn’t play," Voss said from training at the Gabba on Friday afternoon.
After missing the Lions' four pre-season games, Black isn't expected to see out a full match.
"I’d like him to," Voss said. "Obviously he adds a fair bit of polish to your team but realistically you can’t expect him to come out and dominate.
"He has an influence on the game in a different way."
Charman played for AFLQ side Aspley last weekend and Voss said he would normally be considered in the Lions' best 22, but has had limited preparation because of a knee injury.
"With round one we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got everyone fit," he said. "The guys that we make sure that we put out there tomorrow we know are all going to be fit."
Voss has put extra pre-season work into Charman's understudy Matthew Leuenberger, who will shoulder a big workload against West Coast's All-Australian ruckman Dean Cox.
Mitch Clark will also be rotated between the forward line and ruck, but the Lions will miss the spring-footed Jared Brennan as another spare tall to fill in at the contests.
Brennan will sit out the next week or two with a quad strain, but the Lions' list is otherwise close to full strength.
Even premiership player Tim Notting was unable to break into this week's 22.
Of the players in the side, Voss hopes roving forwards Scott Harding, Rhan Hooper and Ash McGrath can offer options at the feet of targets Jonathan Brown and Daniel Bradshaw.
But with all three likely to spend time through the midfield as well, they need to preserve their energy.
"We need to be able to have a presence at ground level," Voss said.
"We’ve got the personnel that can do it so now we need them to chime in and kick a few goals.
"It’s a continual education. We’ve got to make sure that we get it right and we’ve got to get it right by tomorrow, so D-Day has arrived."
Anticipation is building ahead of the season opener, not least within Voss himself.
The 33-year-old goes from champion player to rookie coach, and he’s just as excited as his charges.
"Something’s coming tomorrow and there’s only one sleep to go," Voss said.
"The guys have been building up to this for quite a period of time so you obviously can’t wait.
"Whether you’ve played one game or you’ve coached 200, I think you just have a normal edge to you for round one.
"Realistically, it’s all about the first 10 minutes because after that you’re not too sure what’s going to happen," he added of his likely pre-match address.
