Nick Duigan was in the middle of hoeing into a salad sandwich when he received the late call up to run out in Carlton's elimination final on Sunday.

Resigned to the fact he was not going to be playing against Richmond, Duigan – who was named as an emergency – was about to head for the stands.

Then he received word that Brock McLean had felt some discomfort in the warm-up and told to start getting prepared in case a late change was made.

"We were under the impression that if someone was going to pull out it was going to happen much earlier than it did," Duigan said on Monday.

"They told [fellow emergency] Davey [Ellard] and I to get ready and start preparing.

"So we quickly grabbed our bags and went into the strapping room and while we were doing that the coaches and medical staff were making the call on Brock.

"Half-way through having that done, Mick [Malthouse] came in and let me know that I was the one that was going to be playing."

The Blues forward became the unlikely hero, booting four goals to become an integral factor in his club's memorable 20-point win over the highly-fancied Tigers.

It was a definitive high point in what has been a down season for Duigan.

Talked up as a possible captain at the start of the year, he found himself flailing in the VFL and with no real clear path back in to the senior team.

"It hasn't gone exactly the way that I wanted it to have but I've just been working hard and trying to make sure I gave myself the best opportunity to play if I was called upon," he said.

"It was great to get some reward, at AFL level, for the hard work that's been going on all year."

Malthouse told him he needed to be more flexible in the roles he plays before he was considered for selection.

To his credit, he worked on that side of his game in the VFL and changed his approach at training – working on refining his leading patterns and brushing up on his forward play.

Blues skipper Marc Murphy said Duigan's leadership during a tough time spoke volumes about his teammate's character.

"To see Nick come in and play the way he played, he's a great leader around the club," Murphy said.

"He's just worked so hard over the whole year and [hadn't] been getting a game, but he still kept his head up… to see him get the rewards he got yesterday was great."