Mick Malthouse dislocated his shoulder in the second semi-final in 1982. Malthouse declared himself fit for Richmond's grand final bout with Carlton, despite failing to train for 12 days.

On the Thursday before the game, Tigers coach Francis Bourke summoned Malthouse to a dark corner of Punt Road and pummelled his injured shoulder for half an hour. On the final hit of the night, the joint popped out and Malthouse missed the grand final.

On the surface, Bourke's approach might appear merciless. However 29 years later, Malthouse is facing a similar quandary on the eve of his tilt at a fourth (and final) premiership as an AFL coach.

Darren Jolly and Ben Reid hobbled through last Friday's gutsy preliminary final victory over Hawthorn. Naturally the club has closed ranks in the days since the game. Privately, they will be pondering the merits of playing one of, or both of, Reid and Jolly.

In the past 15 years there have been a handful of celebrated grand final performances from injured players.

Who could forget Anthony Stevens hobbling through the 1999 decider with a broken ankle? Or Nigel Lappin playing in the 2003 grand final with a punctured lung?

Lappin and Stevens are remembered as heroes for braving their afflictions to take their place in their respective teams. However sometimes there can be a fine line between heroism and selfishness.

Former Lions and Bulldogs player Jason Akermanis is a man who is acquainted with football's biggest stage. Since retiring, Akermanis has admitted that players openly lie to coaches to fulfil their football aspirations.

"When it is every player's dream to win a premiership, the stakes go up, and a player will say and do anything to be out there," he said.

In 2003 the Lions' doctors administered 18 painkilling injections prior to the grant final. Current Cats' coach Chris Scott was the first emergency that day.  And 45 minutes before the game he was ready to play, as Nigel Lappin was struggling to breathe in the change rooms.

Akermanis has since described his former teammate's predicament.

"I can vividly remember seeing lines drawn in black marker pen on Nigel's ribcage so the doctors could see where to inject the needles," he said.

The Lions won the 2003 grand final by 50 points, which, on the surface, seemed to justify the 18 needles.

They employed a similar approach to injured players in the lead-up to the 2004 grand final. This time it caught up with them.

Alastair Lynch, Craig McRae and Jonathan Brown all carried serious injuries into the match. All three played up forward for the Lions, which meant that effectively half of their forward line was playing under considerable duress.

The Lions lost to the Power by 40 points after leading at half time, ending one of football's most successful eras.

Malthouse must learn from Brisbane's mistake in 2004.

Geelong is primed for the 2011 grand final. They have beaten the Magpies twice throughout the home and away season. Aside from Steve Johnson, they appear to have very few injury concerns. Like the Pies last season, their youngsters have an air of fearlessness about them.

It seems strange to advise a side who has only lost two games all season to change their approach. Yet it wouldn't necessarily be a concession. Sometimes these situations call for brave measures. The Cats are likely to exploit any weak links in the Magpies' armour.

Collingwood has played two unconvincing finals to date. Add this to their 96-point defeat in round 24 and their form looks shakier than a Mohammad Ali uppercut.

The grand final is played at a frenetic pace; a pace which exceeds any other game of the season. It is umpired differently and allowed to take its own course. Anyone with an injury, given the nature of rotations, will be exposed, regardless of their prowess.

Reid and Jolly are great footballers to watch. Yet both are nowhere near full fitness. By the last quarter on Friday night Jolly could hardly break into a trot.

Leading sports medico Peter Larkins was quite blunt when assessing Jolly's injury.

"He's got an adductor tear, let's go straight to the point. It's a two or three-week injury in the best of circumstances," he said.

Jolly may well rely on an injection to numb his aggravated adductor, but he will inevitably lose a great deal of power in his leg. The issue for Collingwood's match committee is whether a hobbling Darren Jolly is a better fit than Cameron Wood.

The Pies faced a similar call in the lead-up to last year's grand final with club stalwart Simon Prestigiacomo. Prestigiacomo ruled himself out on the morning of the game, allowing Nathan Brown to take his place. Brown played brilliantly against Nick Riewoldt and, over the course of seven days, helped his side to break its 20-year premiership drought.

Kangaroos' legend Wayne Carey today told BackPageLead that he lauded Prestigiacomo's selfless decision.

"He (Prestigiacomo) gave up a premiership for the betterment of the side," Carey said. "And that's very selfless and very rare."

Jolly and Reid are unlikely to follow Prestigiacomo's lead. The call will inevitably fall to Collingwood's match committee.

The changes mightn't end with Jolly and Reid. One suspects that both Dayne Beams and Alan Didak will be looking over their shoulders at training this week. How do you compare Beams' two disposals in three quarters with Didak's four-possession game as a substitute?

Three changes need to be made.

Cameron Wood should come in for Darren Jolly. The youthful Alex Fasolo should also come in for Beams. The Pies look as though they need an injection of youth. And Tyson Goldsack should take Ben Reid's place in defence if Reid's condition hasn't improved significantly by Saturday.

The only problem with such an approach is that Goldsack and Fasolo haven't been exposed to match conditions in the past fortnight. Wood hasn't played since round 24.

It was interesting watching Dale Thomas last week. He had several rushed kicks early and took a long time to adjust to the pace of the game. This is the risk that the Magpies run, but sometimes fortune favours the brave.

It is time for Collingwood's ageing, tearful coach to be bold; to go for the jugular; to refuse to allow his star players to determine their own fates; to sit back and think, what would Francis Bourke do?