Why Darcy Fort is the “perfect backup” to quell the impact of superstar Brodie Grundy

Brisbane's Darcy Fort is primed to take on Sydney's Brodie Grundy in Saturday's AFL Grand Final.

Fort has been called into the Lions side after Oscar McInerney dislocated his shoulder in Brisbane’s 10-point Preliminary Final victory over Geelong.

Lions ruck coach Ben Hudson is confident the 31-year-old will give a good account of himself in the season decider.

“Darcy has been in terrific form in the VFL, he’s got the opportunity now, and making a contest is his bread and butter,” Hudson said on SENQ Breakfast.

“All we ask of him is to compete and follow up, he’s a smart cookie and he’ll do his homework on Grundy, I think he will hold himself in good stead.”

Hudson also touched on how McInerney has dealt with the shattering injury after being such a key cog for the Lions throughout the season.

“It’s the unfortunate side of professional sport, these things happen, but he has travelled down with the team and is putting on a brave face and cracking a few gags and smiling,” he added.

“What he does for our football club isn’t just measured by what he does on the field, unfortunately for Oscar, he misses out, but I can assure you the team and the organisation understand the sacrifices he has done for the club to get us here.”

Former Swans ruckman Tom Hickey has also provided his thoughts on the impending ruck battle.

“It’s really hard to replicate someone like the 'Big O', he’s a man mountain and he’s really crafty with the way he can grab it out of the ruck and hit it really long,” Hickey said on SENQ Breakfast.

“I’ve played against Darcy Fort a few times, and he is more than capable, he is a perfect backup, he is a real scrapper and he is going to make it real hard for Brodie to do what he wants, he’s mobile and he can move around the ground.

“It’s going to be a real intriguing battle, but I think Fort is a real intriguing matchup for Brodie.”

Fort will line up for only his third game for the Lions this season against one of the league's premier ruckman.

This decisive battle will have a large bearing on the outcome of the Grand Final, as Fort will aim to limit the impact of Grundy, who ranks third in the league in total hit-outs this season.