Geelong's decision to welcome back Gryan Miers to the senior side despite a damaged ACL was vindicated.
The Cats and Miers had been weighing up the best course of action when scans revealed last month the issue in his knee.
But managed minutes in the VFL last week, in slippery conditions, proved to Chris Scott that the goalsneak was ready.
"I don't mean to be flippant about it, but he was declared (ready) really early on in the piece," Scott said following the 41-point win over Brisbane.
"If anything, watching him and his preparation, and the feedback, as is always our process, our high-performance team and medical staff, even though they think he's okay to play earlier than he did, they wanted to be a bit conservative.
"There's a discussion there. They devise a plan and we support it. Sometimes you see those guys coming back and they just look a little bit off in his training. But he hasn't looked like that at all. He played at VFL level last week in slippery conditions, and looked really solid.
"It was just a no brainer. He hasn't missed to much footy so coming back, no matter what your injury, if you've got a sore knee, it feels a bit stiff, feels a bit different, wasn't sure exactly on the performance front.
"We thought he played fantastic tonight. Clean bill of health and played well. It's a win."
Miers recorded 16 possessions and six score involvements in the victory, and got through unscathed despite the incredibly quick turnaround.
Leading sports medico Dr Peter Larkins told Zero Hanger earlier in the week that "playing with an incomplete ACL tear is high risk".
"It is a decision made in combination with the player, medical staff and coaching staff ... the risk being accepted by the player," Dr Larkins said.
Miers, who admitted he had instability in his knee, miraculously missed only two weeks of football, fast-tracking a return to the VFL last week.
Scott quickly moved to assuage any other injury fears as onlookers witnessed star defender Tom Stewart come from the ground.
Stewart was dominant as the Cats came away with the four points, but drew fears in the club's camp as he finished the game with a limp.
"I spoke to him on the ground and he said he's got a little corkie in his calf," Scott said.
"He assures me he's fine, but I'm often the last to know. We don't have any injury issues."
Jack Martin was also rested for the final term due to a tight calf, but Geelong said it was precautionary.
