Chris Fagan won't pick a hobbled Jack Payne should the Brisbane Lions reach the AFL grand final.
The coach justified his decision to promote Darcy Gardiner ahead of the key defender for Saturday's preliminary final at the Gabba, saying he has always been averse to picking injured players in finals.
Payne hurt his ankle in Brisbane's qualifying-final victory over Port Adelaide two weeks ago and was unable to convince the coach he was ready for a Gabba assignment on Coleman Medal-winner Charlie Curnow.
"He got better as the week went on, was a fair bit closer yesterday but not close enough for me," Fagan said.
"I'm not a believer in playing injured guys in finals; I haven't ever really seen that work.
"And I don't think it helps the player ... on the big stage it's asking a lot."
The hulking 23-year-old has been a revelation at the back for Fagan this year but the coach said another week of rest would not guarantee him a grand-final berth should they qualify.
"Will have to wait and see. If we're good enough to get through he'll have to jump through hoops to play, because I'm just not going to play injured players in finals," Fagan said.
Gardiner has played 156 games since debuting for Brisbane in 2014 but only twice this year after injury allowed fellow veteran Ryan Lester to jump him.
He is four centimetres shorter and 10kg lighter than Payne, but Fagan is confident variance won't sway that contest in the Blues' favour.
"He's played a lot of footy, his season's been mucked up by injury but his last six weeks been really consistent, was our best player in his last final he played," Fagan said.
"As unfortunate as it is for Jack and us cause he's been in the team all year, Darcy's a fantastic replacement."
Carlton have won 11 of 12 games to surge into the second-last week of the season while the Lions were rock solid to finish second and reach a third preliminary final in four years.
"I'm excited," Fagan said.
"I've been waking up early this week; the body seems to know when a big game is coming.
"We've been through these experiences, we're a little bit older.
"You grow through your regrets and no doubt our players have regrets of making preliminary finals and not being able to get to the next step."
Former Brisbane premiership captain Michael Voss, sacked as coach of Brisbane 10 years ago, will return to the city as Blues coach in a neat storyline Fagan says doesn't resonate with his team.
"That's something that might excite people's imaginations but we're playing Carlton, not Michael Voss," he said.
"He's done a great job with that team, particularly in the situation they were in.
"He was under the pump and I hate it when coaches are under the pump.
"But it's not a topic of conversation in our hallways."
