Reports emerged on Sunday evening that Western Bulldogs midfielder Tom Liberatore played the Grand Final with an ankle injury.
Liberatore needed pain killers to play through the match after suffering the injury while celebrating the preliminary final win over Greater Western Sydney last Saturday night.
He twisted his ankle while involved a jubilant hug with three teammates after the final siren at Spotless Stadium.
The 24-year-old was unable to train early in the week, but recovered to collect 22 disposals, eight tackles and eight clearances during the game.
Stand-in skipper Easton Wood also required pain killing injections in his ankle to order to play in each of the Bulldogs' finals matches.