Brett Ratten put his players through a brisk 90-minute session at Visy Park on Wednesday afternoon, which will give him plenty of food for thought as he mulls over the make-up of the team set to fly out for Brisbane on Thursday afternoon.
Banned trio Eddie Betts, Jeff Garlett and Cameron Cloke were among the first on the track having a warm-up kick, and they trained well in their attempt to force their way back into the side after serving one-match suspensions for showing up late to a recovery session.
Skipper Chris Judd set the tone for the hit-out, rag-dolling David Ellard then Bryce Gibbs in a spirited stoppage exercise.
In a sight that will delight Blues fans, all four ruckmen, Matthew Kreuzer, Shaun Hampson, Robbie Warnock and Sam Jacobs, completed the whole session and competed hard in the ruck drills.
Jacobs has not played since succumbing to plantar fasciitis after round four while Warnock is yet to make his club debut after struggling to overcome a stress fracture in his foot.
Both big men have played the last month in the VFL and impressed on Wednesday as they made last-ditch bids to convince the match committee they could have an impact at AFL level.
Richard Hadley did not take part in any of the contact drills after breaking his arm in round 21 against Melbourne. However, the rugged midfielder was not wearing a cast and did enough to suggest he will be part of the Blues' finals campaign if they are able to overcome the Lions.
Chris Yarran, Andrew Walker, Bret Thornton, Nick Stevens and Ellard also stood out of the tackling drills.
Brendan Fevola got up gingerly on his left ankle after a marking contest with Ben Rutten in the final round loss to Adelaide, but the big spearhead completed the whole session unhindered.
Mitch Robinson continues to wear a moon boot on his right foot after stress fractures brought an end to his season following the round 20 win over Port Adelaide.
He appeared in good spirits despite the early end to his debut year and contented himself by throwing balls at unsuspecting teammates, heckling the ruckmen as they went up for taps and generally making a nuisance of himself before joining the rehab group.
That group also included Mark Austin (groin), Luke Stanton (back) and Rhys O'Keeffe (osteitis pubis) and was restricted to handball drills.
A Band-Aid to Jordan Russell's heel and a ball to Brad Fisher's face that left him a bit teary were the extent of the injury concerns arising from the sharp hit-out.
