St Kilda's Jason Gram admits he's only 90 per cent fit because of groin soreness but the defender insists he'll be right to go for Saturday's AFL grand final.

The possible withdrawal of Gram, who had mid-season groin surgery, would be a massive blow for the Saints as the rebounding defender was St Kilda's best player in last year's grand final loss to Geelong.

"I'm about 90 per cent. I think most footy players are 90 per cent when they're running out there," Gram said on Monday.

"I'm still a little bit sore but I'll be right to go this weekend, absolutely.

"I've had it before, just hadn't had it for a few weeks.

"Normally after surgery there's a lot of scar tissue there so it just stretches out a little bit.

"I hadn't done it for a few weeks and it was a pretty good one on the weekend."

Nick Dal Santo failed to complete St Kilda's light 45-minute session at Moorabbin on Monday, doing a few handballs on the boundary line before leaving the track after only half an hour.

But the midfielder denied the back tightness which forced him off the ground during Saturday night's preliminary final win over Western Bulldogs was causing any hamstring concerns.

"I had a bit of back tightness throughout the game," Dal Santo said.

"I reported it (to club medical staff). I could have kept on playing.

"I had scans yesterday. It was a really positive result.

"I'm 100 per cent ready, I've got no doubt. I feel fine."

Collingwood's Luke Ball, who was part of St Kilda's grand final side in 2009 against Geelong, came off with during last Friday night's win over the Cats.

There were fears he had damaged his left hamstring but the club insisted he was only suffering from cramp.

Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly says the tough midfielder is in no danger of missing the chance to take on his former team-mates for AFL premiership glory.

"I didn't really know to be honest until halftime when they said he had pretty bad cramps," Jolly said.

"But I spoke to him after the game and he was confident, he was fine and on Sunday at recovery he was up and about.

"He'll be ready to go by Wednesday.

"He just had a light session today inside and did some running and he was fine - back to normal for him."

Both sides are seeking to break long droughts, with St Kilda's only flag coming in 1966 and the Magpies not holding the cup aloft since 1990.

Sean Dempster and Adam Schneider are the only premiership players in the Saints lineup while Collingwood's only grand final winner is Jolly, who played alongside Dempster and Schneider in Sydney's 2005 side.

However Dempster faces a nervous wait this week as the Saints give more thought to recalling hard man Steven Baker, who was suspended for nine weeks after the round-13 clash with Geelong.

Dempster said it felt "awkward" to be replacing a player as highly regarded within the club as Baker.

"It's probably something I tend not to think about too much otherwise it'd probably do my head in a little bit," Dempster said.

St Kilda's 2010 All-Australian half-back Brendon Goddard says if anyone's capable of coping with the intensity of a grand final after missing half a season, it's Baker.

"Bakes has been an integral part of our team for 10 years now," Goddard said on Monday.

"The first one you'd go to war with would be Bakes.

"It's going to be a tough decision for the match committee."

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