St Kilda offloaded some height and Melbourne welcomed back three key players for Friday night's AFL elimination final.

The Saints experimented with plenty of tall players last weekend in the win over Brisbane, but on Thursday they left out ruckmen Cain Ackland, Jason Blake and Barry Brooks for the MCG game.

They recalled key defender Max Hudghton for his expected duel with Demons captain David Neitz.

Justin Peckett and Stephen Powell will also return from injury, while Ackland and Blake were named as emergencies.

Melbourne regained Byron Pickett, Matthew Whelan and Ben Holland from injury.

Pickett's return from a hamstring problem is particularly important for the Demons, given his reputation as a proven finals player.

West Coast was also expected to make several changes for Saturday's home qualifying final against Sydney.

But the only addition was David Wirrpanda, who came in for Brett Jones.

Ashley Hansen, who was tipped to also return, was named as an emergency.

Key onballers Daniel Kerr and Andrew Embley will wait another week as they return from injury.

The Swans made no changes for the repeat of last year's qualifying final, also at Subiaco, which they lost by four points.

As they did last year, Sydney will head into the finals with a short injury list.

That was a key factor in the Swans eventually winning last year's premiership.

"Every coach wants his best team out on the field, it does make it a little bit easier to win," Sydney coach Paul Roos said on Thursday.

"I think also not having to make too many changes means players get used to playing with each other and they get used to each other's habits.

"While Bevo (Paul Bevan) is unlucky, it does mean we're bringing the same team which played well last week and they come in with a fair bit of confidence.

"People talk about luck - luck plays a bit of a part in it in collision injuries and things like that, but when you have a team that can stay together so long they've done an outstanding job, our medical crew, and it's helped us achieve what we've been able to achieve."

Adelaide and Fremantle also made no changes for Saturday's AAMI Stadium qualifying final.

The Crows named Ken McGregor as an emergency as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Collingwood small forward Dale Thomas was named in the squad for Sunday's MCG elimination final against the Western Bulldogs.

Thomas suffered a fractured collarbone in round 18.

The Bulldogs are set to regain Nathan Eagleton, who has missed the last three matches with a hamstring injury.

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