Otten performed well in 17 games this season until sustaining an ankle injury, and after recovering and excellent form in the SANFL was brought back into the Adelaide Crows' side to replace McGovern in last Friday's night preliminary final against Geelong when he had a slight twitch in a hamstring.

If McGovern, as expected, demonstrates beyond doubt at training the next few days that he is available, coach Don Pyke will have the unenviable task of telling one of them he is not going to play in the Grand Final.

It is a tough call; Otten, 28, the ever-reliable defender who was convinced to re-invent himself as a forward to save his career, which after two knee reconstructions consists of just 97 games in 10 seasons, or McGovern, 22, who has the "X-factor" as displayed in round 19 when he took a sensational mark against Collingwood and goaled after the siren to draw the game.

The Geelong mauling was about every player executing a specific role, and Otten did it well in the forward lines without starring. He deserves to remain in the side, but some may suggest McGovern is a better match-up.

"I cannot control whether I play next week," Otten said. "It will be what it is. All I can focus on and worry about is myself right now. Just do the recovery, and if Pikey says I'm in then I'll be ready to play and I'll be focused and I will perform."

The thing about Otten is that he each time he has been knocked down he has picked himself up off the floor with help from what he calls his strong support network, led by his delightful fiancee Emmalyn (they will marry in a few weeks), his parents, and a host of great mates in Melbourne where he grew up and played for Whitefriars. "They all pump up my tyres," Otten declares.

There is also a highly-respected member of the South Australian football fraternity - Alan Stewart, who coached Central District and became known nationally as a Teal Cup coach and later heading Adelaide's recruiting and list management.

It was 10 years ago that Stewart spotted Otten and his Crows teammate David Mackay playing in a TAC premiership side for Oakleigh U18s at the MCG, and here they are again hoping to return together to the scene.

"Alan has been my mentor all the way through," Otten said. "He's honest as well. He's told me sometimes to pull my head out of my bum and get working. That's what you need; someone keep pushing you, driving you to the next limit.

"I was always a backman but Alan also told me I could also play forward; he told the coach I could too, and that has allowed me to offer more flexibility to the side.

"Through this I learned to never lose belief in myself. I've had a very up-and-down career to say the least, but there have always been ups. I've worked my butt off to be in a physical position to be able to perform and I have never lost sight of what I could achieve and perform at an elite level.

"That has what has kept me going through those hard times; through the pain, and Alan has been there all along."

For almost two years now Stewart has struggled with a serious, life-threatening heart condition, yet he still regularly calls into the club and has never failed to keep Otten on that positive trail, offering the guidance or assessment of his performances.

Otten may or may not play in this Grand Final. It would be also cruel for a good young bloke like McGovern, who has remained loyal to the Crows, to be denied his opportunity. That's football. But behind these stories there is the reminder that so many people in the background also feel the pain when the coach calls a name from the sidelines for a chat.

Collingwood's Anthony Rocca was the last player to miss a grand final because of suspension, and dare we forget "Fabulous" Phil Carman, who missed both the 1977 drawn grand final against North Melbourne, and the replay grand final a week later having received a two-match suspension for striking Hawthorn's Michael Tuck in the Pies' successful second semi-final.

But with all of the players suspended in finals, it has been their wrong-doing, and so many others have missed grand finals because of injury. Now imagine if McGovern is fit to play and Pyke has to call him or Otten over to the sidelines during training "for a chat".

It's why there is always a cruel story in a grand final, and we talk of the opportunity that is hard to come by. Including Saturday's teams, there are 530 AFL players who ran around this year besides McGovern and Otten who haven't played in a grand final either. Of course, that won't make either Crow feel any better.