FORMER Melbourne captain Jack Grimes (illness) and playmaker Christian Salem (concussion) are likely to return for Casey’s VFL Grand Final clash against Footscray at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Speaking at the VFL Grand Final media conference at Ikon Park on Wednesday, Scorpions coach Justin Plapp said the duo, plus forwards Dean Terlich and Liam Hulett were in the frame to play against the Dogs. 

“He’s (Salem) tracking in the right way and he’ll go through the correct procedure that they do. Even though it (the concussion) looked pretty bad on TV, they think it was quite minor. We’re quite confident that he’ll be available to play,” he said.

“Grimes, just the last minute, had a bit of illness and we didn’t want to take any risks and it was quite an emotional call for him to make – he made it himself.

“He’s back training and we expect him to be fit and Hulett is the same. He came off last week with illness and played development football last week, so they’ve been two quality performers throughout the year, so they’ll come into contention this week.

“Dean Terlich has come off a week’s suspension, so he’ll come under consideration as well.”

Plapp said Casey’s depth and experience was strong across its AFL and VFL-listed players and would go a long way to helping Casey win its first flag since 1999, back when it was Springvale.

“We actually believe our VFL list is chocked full of quality players as well like Tim Smith, Declan Keilty, Jack Hutchins and Jim Munro,” he said.

“While we have a lot of experience, we have a lot of people and players from the Melbourne list who are very invested in doing well and having success.

“We know every player from the VFL and AFL – they’re representing the club and they’re demanding high standards.”

Plapp said coaching an aligned side was a tough, but rewarding job. 

“The biggest challenge we have is trying to spend so much time together and we’ve been able to do that in the last three weeks,” he said.

“The first week of the finals is nearly the first time we actually got to train together. That’s probably one thing a lot of people on the outside wouldn’t realise about our group. It’s been a massive positive.”

Casey captain Jack Hutchins added the players were ready to go this weekend.

“We’re just super excited for the weekend and can’t wait to get out there,” he said.