Luke Jackson during the 2022 AFL Round 1 match between Melbourne and Western Bulldogs (Photo by Cameron Grimes / Zero Digital Media)
Melbourne are confident young tall Luke Jackson will be fit to feature in the Demons' qualifying final after being subbed out of Friday night's win over Brisbane with a calf complaint.
The Demons booked a spot in the top four with the 58-point win, and will await the result of Sydney's clash with St Kilda on Sunday to see whether they've earned a home final.
That game won't come for a fortnight given the pre-finals bye, a break that played a part in Melbourne's decision to put Jackson on ice on Friday night.
The 20-year-old had his night end early due to a calf injury and was replaced by medical sub James Jordon in the final quarter.
Speaking on SEN, Demons football boss Alan Richardson disclosed that Jackson's setback won't see him sidelined come September, with the club deciding to take the precatory approach.
“He’ll be right,” Richardson said on Saturday.
"[His calf] was getting tighter and tighter and given the nature of the scoreboard, we were in a pretty good position so it just made a bit of sense.
"We know what the rule is there for, this was one where there was a chance he could do a pretty significant injury and then he does miss a potential final, so we didn’t want that to happen.”
The emphatic win sees the Dees' prospects of defending their 2021 premiership strengthen.
Durability has again been key for Simon Goodwin's side, with their Round 23 lineup seeing just two of last year's premiership side not feature.
A late change saw defender Chrisitan Salem miss, while swingman Tom McDonald is working his way back to action.
A Lisfranc injury has seen McDonald sidelined since Round 10, with the 29-year-old now set to return to the field through the Demons' VFL outfit on limited minutes.
"As we sit here now, based on the way he is tracking, he’ll play next week,” Richardson said of McDonald.
"We’re hopeful given the training he’s been doing, we’d be looking at him playing significant minutes next week.
"We’ll see how that one plays out."
The Demons are likely to face the Swans or Magpies to open their post-season, while the Casey Demons secured the VFL minor premiership despite having their 17-game winning run snapped on Saturday in a loss to Brisbane's reserves.