Nick Riewoldt has ranked who he believes are the five best teams in the AFL heading into September.
While the top four all make it, he has left Collingwood out in favour of the white-hot Western Bulldogs.
The Dogs have won seven of the last 10 and have smashed Essendon and GWS, two teams above them on the ladder, in successive weeks.
Collingwood meanwhile picked up a huge win over the Crows, but Riewoldt still has them behind the Bulldogs because of their lack of personnel.
“We’ve got the big four. I think Richmond and West Coast are the one and two seeds, despite being three and four on the ladder,” Riewoldt told SEN Breakfast.
“Call Brisbane and Geelong the three and four seeds. Are the Bulldogs the fifth best team?
“At the moment (I have Collingwood behind the Bulldogs). It depends who (Collingwood) gets back.”
Garry Lyon has been very impressed with the Bulldogs, saying they could do some serious damage in September if they make it.
“The Western Bulldogs have stormed into the eight. If they win this weekend against Adelaide, and just say Essendon loses to Collingwood, they’re going to finish seventh,” he said.
“They’re going to play the Giants in the first week of finals (if they finish seventh) and they just made a mess of the Giants.”
For the Bulldogs, it’s as simple as this. If they beat Adelaide in Ballarat on Sunday, they play finals. If they lose, they will have to hope other results go their way.