Two years after being unceremoniously dumped as Fremantle coach, Mark Harvey could play a major role in helping his former club win their maiden AFL premiership.
The football world was left stunned when Harvey was given his marching orders at the end of 2011 despite having a year left on his contract.
The nature of his sacking to accommodate the arrival of Ross Lyon left Harvey so shattered that he never wants to take on a full-time head coaching role again.
Harvey has kept a relatively low profile since his axing from Fremantle.
But the former Bombers champion was thrust back into the spotlight a fortnight ago when he was appointed interim Brisbane coach following the departure of Michael Voss.
The Lions have since notched two straight wins under Harvey.
And in an ironic twist, a Brisbane victory over Geelong at Simonds Stadium on Saturday would be worth its weight in gold to Fremantle, who could then nab second spot and a home qualifying final with a win over St Kilda.
That would put the Dockers in the box seat to reach their first grand final.
However, even if Brisbane do their part of the equation, a Dockers win over St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday is no longer a formality after Fremantle selected a second-string side for the game.
The Dockers made 10 changes all up, with the club opting to rest key players Nat Fyfe, David Mundy, Hayden Ballantyne, Zac Dawson, Michael Johnson, Zac Clarke and Lee Spurr.
Nick Suban (hamstring), Stephen Hill (hamstring) and Michael Walters (knee) were all ruled out with injury.
And although ruckman Aaron Sandilands, Garrick Ibbotson and Clancee Pearce all make their returns, the rest of the inclusions are fringe players.
The mass changes are reminiscent to the tactic Harvey used late in 2010, when he sent a Dockers ‘B-team’ to face Hawthorn in Launceston.
Fremantle ended up losing that match by 116 points.
But the move paid big dividends, with a rested Fremantle beating Carlton a week later to secure sixth spot, before going on to defeat the Hawks in an elimination final.
St Kilda have won just four games this year.
But they’ll have plenty to play for on Saturday as veterans Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne and Jason Blake bow out of the game.
Koschitzke hasn’t played since round 14, but will notch his 200-game milestone after overcoming a serious calf injury.
The Dockers will play Geelong or Hawthorn in week one of the finals.
If Geelong end up hosting Fremantle, the AFL has flagged the prospect of playing it at Simonds Stadium.
The Dockers claim thousands of football fans would miss out on seeing the game live if that occurred, and want the match played at the MCG or Etihad Stadium, where they are on a five-game winning streak.
