"Hulking" Brisbane Lions defender Jack Payne has worn a knee brace at training as he tries to prove his fitness for their AFL semi-final against GWS.
Teammate Oscar McInerney has backed Payne to come up for Saturday's away clash, confident the defender will be rewarded for his selfless attitude.
Payne was cleared of serious injury after he hurt his left knee in the first half of Saturday night's elimination final win over Carlton, putting him in a race against time to be ready for the Giants.
The Lions defender had a light run at training on Tuesday morning and Brisbane remain upbeat he will recover in time.
"He's a hulking man and I know he's going to give it absolutely everything," McInerney told journalists before training.
"You could tell on Saturday night, the incredible, selfless person he was.
"At halftime, things weren't going well for him, but he was still buzzing around, you wouldn't even know he was injured.
"He was getting the boys up, and I'm sure footy fate will reward him, and he'll train really well over the next couple of days."
McInerney is looking forward to his pivotal ruck duel on Saturday against Kieren Briggs - the first time they go head-to-head.
The Lions big man said Briggs clearly has learned well from ruck coach Shane Mumford, who was renowned for his physical style of play across 216 games at Geelong, Sydney and GWS.
"I love watching him ... the ruck craft, he's one of the best," McInerney said of Briggs.
"He uses his body so well, he protects that drop zone so well.
"He's so strong and he gets after it. He's old-school.
"You can tell big Shane Mumford is his ruck coach, because they're very similar in how they follow up and create a path for their midfielders. I'm really excited for that challenge."
The Giants had a fierce clash in their qualifying final loss to Sydney, with plenty of spot fires, and there could be more needle against the Lions.
McInerney, who is clearly more a lover than a fighter, sometimes does not enjoy watching replays of his on-field behaviour.
"Most blokes out there are wearing a mask on game day and it's good fun putting it on, that competitive outlet you get for two-and-a-half hours," he said.
"Sometimes it hard to look at the footage when you look back at the game and you wonder who that bloke is, but I love playing footy."
McInerney will play his 150th game on Saturday and he will be forever grateful to the Lions for sticking with him.
"I'm so lucky. I couldn't thank the coaches, the players enough for their patience, really ... some of what I dished up, they kept turning around and looking after me," he said.
