OLD Collegians will give defender Jodie Maybery until Saturday morning to prove her troublesome ankle will stand up to grand final pressure.
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Old Collegians take on Panmure in the Warrnambool and District league A grade decider on Saturday, a rematch of the 2013 showdown won by the Warriors.
Maybery, who returned to Davidson Oval this season, has been influential in the back half during their 18-0 home-and-away campaign.
But she has not played since injurying an ankle against Merrivale in the final round and is in a race against time to be fit to take on the Bulldogs.
Old Collegians coach Lisa Arundell was yesterday uncertain if Maybery would play, saying her availability would “boil down to the last minute”.
“She’s still not match fit at the moment. She’s still going through all the processes,” she said.
Arundell said Maybery rested the ankle during preliminary final week — the Warriors had already booked a grand final berth — but trained lightly on Tuesday.
She is confident the reigning premiers have the depth to cover Maybery, should she not play.
Jess Downing and Sarah Alderson were the defensive pairing during the 2013 grand final, holding firm against Charlotte McCutcheon and Josie Ellerton.
“If Jodie doesn’t come up to scratch, it’s a matter of putting Jess Downing in there,” Arundell said.
“It’d be nice (if she played) but if it doesn’t happen, we do have plan B. Or we may go with plan B to start with.”