The Dogs leader was hospitalised after crashing into a goal post in the second quarter of the Warrnambool and District league qualifying final against Kolora-Noorat last Saturday, with early fears that he had fractured ribs.

Scans cleared him of broken bones, but highlighted inflammation around his ribs and lungs.

But the news was not so good for assistant coach Angus Chirnside, who will miss after sustaining a hamstring injury in the same match.

“I’ll definitely play, but Angus will not at this stage,” Lewis said.

“If it was a last-chance (final), he’d roll the dice and play on, but because we have the second chance (we won’t risk him).”

Jordan Greene will return after missing the past two weeks with a quad complaint, while John Daly is also into the side.

Tom Fitzgerald has been named the substitute, while George Serra will return to the under 17.5 side for its second semi-final.

Old Collegians will bolster its stocks for the clash, recalling forwards Scott Day (hamstring) and Chris Chambers (general soreness), as well as defender Lachie Young (ribs).

Warriors coach Josh Reichman said former midfielder Young would be a valuable inclusion in defence as his side prepares for Dennington’s dangerous forwards.

“He’s been fantastic there … he’s just got that really good closing speed and just that run,” he said.

Kolora-Noorat and Nirranda will take unchanged line-ups into their knockout first semi-final clash on Sunday.

Power coach Danny Finn backed the group that went down to the Dogs to turn things around against the Blues.

“With the Dennington game, I think they played really well, number one, but number two, we let ourselves down in a few areas,” he said.

“I think we’ve been able to have a really good week on the track and we know what we need to improve in terms of our performance.”

Nirranda mentor Shane Threlfall said while there were players pushing for selection in the senior side, he was happy to go in with the same team that overcame experienced finals campaigner Merrivale in boggy conditions at Noorat last Sunday.

“Our endeavour and our attitude with the football (was pleasing),” he said.

“It’s the sort of footy you need to play in finals.”