Geelong captain Tom Harley expects Paul Chapman to return for Saturday's AFL grand final against Hawthorn and says teammates are ready to rally around the unfortunate player he replaces.

One of Mathew Stokes, David Wojcinski, James Kelly or Tom Lonergan is expected to be in the firing line if, as the Cats expect, Chapman proves he is over a hamstring strain which kept him out of Friday night's preliminary final.

"He was very close last week, he's a proven performer, best and fairest winner, so if he's fit and available, I'm sure he'll play," Harley said.

The skipper conceded those players under threat faced an anxious few days.

"It's really something that's probably out of the control of the individuals now," he said.

"It's a bit of a shame that it's going to be a talking point for the first couple of days, but that's just the way it is.

"As a club we'll obviously be really supportive of everyone.

"It's not just the 22 guys that play on a weekend, you represent the club so it's a team game and a team decision."

Ruckman Mark Blake was the distraught player cut from the grand final team last year, a hurt that should be salved by his certain selection this week.

Harley said he and other players would be on hand to console whoever was placed in that position this week.

"I'd hope that I wouldn't need to be asked to do something like that and not just myself, I think we've got a culture at the footy club where we do share and care a lot," he said.

"If that comes to fruition then someone is obviously going to have to miss out, I'm sure they'll feel super supported by all the guys."

If Chapman convinces the Cats match committee of his fitness at the club's main training session on Wednesday, the selection decision is likely to be made that night.

But Harley said the club would not rush their call simply to cut the speculation short, if Chapman needed more time to prove himself.

"The priority is to have the team up and going by Saturday, so if the decision can't be made until Friday then that's the way it is," he said.

"I don't think you're dictated to by media circuses, etc, we obviously want to get our team right and if it takes until Friday, it's Friday, if it's Wednesday, it's Wednesday."

The next biggest question facing the Cats' brains trust is who to play on Hawks superstar Lance Franklin, but Harley was giving little away on that front.

"What we've done in the past is probably rolled over a fair bit with our backline," he said.

"(Matthew Scarlett's) spent a bit of time on him, Harry (Taylor), I've spent a bit of time there, Andrew Mackie has, so probably a combination of those five or six blokes."

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