Geelong's Darcy Lang has been named to play his first senior game in more than two and a half months, while Steve Johnson is also set to feature on semi-final weekend after being handed a September lifeline by Greater Western Sydney.
With their season on the line, the Cats have made two changes to their side for Friday night's MCG date with hot favourites Sydney.
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As flagged by coach Chris Scott on Wednesday, forward Daniel Menzel is back after being controversially left out of the team that lost to Richmond in last weekend's qualifying final. Menzel is joined by versatile forward Lang, who hasn't played at AFL level since round 14, having missed much of the back half of the season with a cracked fibula. However despite needing to boost their firepower after kicking just five goals against the Tigers, the Cats opted against bringing in big-bodied forward Wylie Buzza.
Speedster Jordan Murdoch has been dropped, while midfielder Cameron Guthrie misses with a calf strain. Murdoch, Rhys Stanley and Jackson Thurlow are Geelong's emergencies.
Meanwhile a day after coach Leon Cameron put his players on notice, the Giants resisted the temptation to swing the axe, making just the two enforced changes for injured duo Jeremy Cameron and Shane Mumford.
Johnson is back to face West Coast at Spotless Stadium on Saturday night after a week on the outer while youngster Tim Taranto will make his finals debut in a big show of faith by the Giants match committee.
In a minor surprise, forward Devon Smith was left out despite training well during the week due to question marks over his conditioning. The Giants opted against recalling ruckman Dawson Simpson to fill the big hole left by Mumford, instead backing Rory Lobb to step up and take the No.1 role.
There were fears Johnson had played his last game after being dumped for the start of the finals but his stocks rose dramatically after the Giants' poor showing in Adelaide. The Giants believe Johnson, with his nous around goal, can add bite to an attack that has reached triple figures just once in the past 10 games. "Steve's had a good couple of weeks on the training track and had a good hit-out last week so we look forward to him coming back into our team," Cameron said.
"There's no doubt his experience does help but whether you're Tim Taranto, playing in your first year, or Steve Johnson playing in your 16th year, it becomes irrelevant when the ball bounces.
"We've picked him because we feel as though he can make an impact to our footy team. Yes, he has experience but we picked him because we think he can have an impact."
Taranto has not played a senior match in nearly 12 weeks but had been a regular before being sidelined by a serious mid season ankle injury. "Tim's now had three or four weeks of training and two games back and performed really well over in the Adelaide practice match," Cameron said.
West Coast decided against bringing back star Nic Naitanui for his first game of the season, making just one change to the team that edged Port Adelaide, with veteran Sharrod Wellingham recalled at the expense of Luke Partington. Naitanui was not named in the Eagles' emergencies either.
The Swans are unchanged for their clash with the Cats, with superstar forward Lance Franklin proving his fitness after a corked thigh. Defender Lewis Melican was named as an emergency after missing last weekend's elimination final win over Essendon with quadriceps tightness. Aliir Aliir and Daniel Robinson are the Swans' other emergencies.
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