AFL great Dermott Brereton believes the ladder's current top seven will all play finals in 2023.
Currently, the top seven after Round 8 includes Collingwood, Melbourne, St Kilda, Brisbane, Port Adelaide, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs, and Brereton can’t see any of them missing out on playing in September.
With one spot remaining, Brereton believes there are five sides that will fight it out for eighth place.
“It occurs to me that the top seven are set,” Brereton said on SEN Whateley.
“They're going nowhere on the ladder.
“From Round 9 through to 23, five teams are playing for eighth position.
“I'll go through from the top of the ladder … Collingwood first, Melbourne, second, St Kilda third, the Brisbane Lions with a bullet are fourth, Port Adelaide fifth, Geelong sixth – they’ve climbed way back up there real quick - and the Doggies, as long as there's a fit Bont, are seventh and I reckon are locked.”
Currently in eighth is Carlton, but Brereton believes they’ll need to fend off the likes of Essendon, Adelaide, Sydney and even Fremantle if they’re to play finals footy for the first time since 2013.
“Then you have eighth position fighting for that spot,” Brereton said.
“Carlton, Essendon, Adelaide, Sydney and with a slimmer of hope, Fremantle.
“I think the rest below that (aren’t in the running).
“The Giants can have their moments, the Suns have not disappointed, and they can have their moments, but this head start they've given up is going to be a little bit too much.
“So, I think seven is set and five will go into one.”
While the Blues currently hold the spot, SEN’s Gerard Whateley likes the look of both Adelaide and Essendon at the moment to claim that place, even though they were both defeated in Round 8.
“I kind of like the losing form of Essendon and Adelaide at the moment,” Whateley said.
“As silly as that may sound.”