East Point's elimination final triumph was made all the more impressive as the sixth-placed side did it without their likely best-and-fairest winner.
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Jordan Johnston was a late out on Saturday, going under the knife on Friday night to fix a broken thumb suffered against North Ballarat.
The Henderson Medal chance was expected to play through the injury before a last-minute decision to opt for surgery.
Steven Tung came into the Roos' elimination final side and contributed with a goal.
"Jordan was playing until six o'clock Friday night when he had surgery which wasn't ideal," East Point playing coach Jackson Merrett said.
"It forced a late change but Steven (Tung) stepped up and kicked a goal and applied really good pressure as well."
Despite the surgery, Merrett said Johnston had not ruled himself out for next week's semi final date with Melton.
"It'll be a conversation with the surgeon and we'll see how he gets on," Merrett said.
Johnston averaged 27 touches and seven marks per game throughout the home-and-away season.
He kicked 22 goals for the season with a season-high seven-goal outing against Lake Wendouree in round 17.
The Roos recorded a stunning 18-point win against third-placed Sebastopol on Saturday.
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