Brisbane Lions must weigh up the risk of selecting both Lachie Neale and Jarrod Berry for grand final duty

Brisbane great Jason Akermanis has urged the Lions to roll the dice with both Lachie Neale and Jarrod Berry in Saturday’s AFL grand final against Geelong if both players survive thorough fitness tests on Thursday. However, Akermanis’ triple premiership-winning teammate Alastair Lynch suggested it would be too much of a risk to select Neale (calf) and Berry (shoulder) in the biggest game of the season. Lions co-captain Neale tore his calf in Brisbane’s qualifying final loss to the Cats on September 5 and was subsequently ruled out by the club for the remainder of the finals series. However, the dual Brownlow medallist has staged a remarkable recovery to seemingly be in line for grand final selection provided he gets through training on Thursday. “If the medical staff clear him, and if Lachie’s saying he’s right to play, I’m not sure how you don’t play him,” Lynch said. “A lot of trust has to be put in Lachie’s hands. He’s an experienced player and a great player, so if he believes he’s right, he’s right.” Berry’s hopes of playing this weekend seem slimmer after he dislocated his shoulder for the second time in five weeks in Brisbane’s preliminary final win over Collingwood last Saturday. “If Lachie comes in, then you’d be taking two risky players into the match, and that fact that his (Berry’s) shoulder has come out again … but he’d have go through quite a rigorous test,” Lynch said. “The biggest thing is laying tackles, and reaching for tackles, almost similar to how he hurt it against Collingwood.” However, Akermanis felt that both Neale and Berry deserved to play in the grand final if they proved themselves at training on Thursday. “What they’ve got in their brains and bodies you can’t replace.” Akermanis said. “As long as they have their speed and they can tackle and mark … they’re things they’re going to have to bring anyway. “This time of the year, Geelong have got just as many players they’re probably not talking about who are on the edge who have going to have to play. “It’s a bit more public with what Lachie’s got, and with ‘Bez’ (Berry), they got him back pretty quick after his dislocation last time (against Fremantle on August 15). “As much as the AFL won’t want me to mention it, as a player, anaesthetics are pretty good. “There are things they have in their tool kits, doctors, that are at their disposal, so they’ll be using that, and they should, because they’re great players who deserve their chance to play.” Lions coach Chris Fagan told Fox Footy that it would be a “big call” to select Berry. “It (Berry’s shoulder) has now popped out twice and the second time around there’s always a bit more damage done … but I’m going to give him the opportunity to show what he can do on Thursday, more for his own peace of mind I think,” Fagan said.