On the Six Points AFL podcast, Mark Stevens and Daniel Harford reveal their ladder predictions, with Collingwood tipped to miss the 10.

It will be a huge fall from grace for the Pies after falling short in last year's preliminary final to eventual flag winners Brisbane.

Their arch rival, Carlton, are miraculously expected to make the finals under caretaker Josh Fraser.

The Blues sacked Michael Voss after 1-8, but have turned their season around to push for a surprise Wildcard Round appearance.

Fellow Wildcard fancies Gold Coast and North Melbourne aren't favoured by the Six Points podcast hosts, with the pair set for an extended holiday.

As the last week of the bye rounds concludes, all teams have now played an equal number of games, with the ladder returning to a level playing field.

Fremantle currently sit at the top of the table with two game gap, followed by Sydney and Hawthorn, who have both almost locked up a top-four spot, being 12 and six points above the Cats in fourth.

The Lions, Crows, Demons and Bulldogs are all set to finish in the top 10, all on nine wins, and should cement their spots in the coming weeks.

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The final two wildcard spots are between six teams, with North Melbourne and Collingwood sitting in ninth and tenth currently, with the Suns, Carlton, St Kilda and the Giants battling it out for the final two wildcard spots.

Current Ladder 

      TEAM P W L D B PTS % STREAK NEXT
🔽︎ 1 - FREMANTLE 15 14 1 0 2 56 148.2
14
🔽︎ 2 - SYDNEY 15 12 3 0 2 48 135.7
1
🔽︎ 3 - HAWTHORN 15 10 4 1 2 42 113.7
2
🔽︎ 4 - GEELONG 15 9 6 0 2 36 120.6
1
🔽︎ 5 ▲︎ BRISBANE 15 9 6 0 2 36 111
3
🔽︎ 6 ▼︎ ADELAIDE 15 9 6 0 2 36 110
1
 
🔽︎ 7 ▼︎ MELBOURNE 15 9 6 0 2 36 104.2
1
🔽︎ 8 ▼︎ BULLDOGS 15 9 6 0 2 36 92.8
1
🔽︎ 9 ▲︎ NORTH MELBOURNE 15 8 7 0 2 32 92.2
3
🔽︎ 10 ▲︎ COLLINGWOOD 15 7 7 1 2 30 104.2
2
 
🔽︎ 11 ▼︎ GOLD COAST 15 7 8 0 2 28 101.2
5
🔽︎ 12 ▲︎ CARLTON 15 7 8 0 2 28 95.6
6

 

Mark Stevens' Top 10

  1. Fremantle
  2. Sydney
  3. Hawthorn
  4. Geelong
  5. Brisbane
  6. Adelaide
  7. Melbourne
  8. Bulldogs
  9. St Kilda
  10. Carlton

“Freo obviously first, Sydney Swans in second place, three games behind, I've got Freo to finish on top by three games, slightly behind Sydney, Hawthorn in third, Geelong in fourth, I've actually got the top four two games clear," Stevens said.

“After that, Brisbane in fifth on 60 (points), Adelaide in sixth with 15 wins.

“Then the wildcard, Melbourne, Bulldogs, well ahead of the last two wildcards.

“This is where it gets a bit interesting. I've got the Saints, coming up to ninth with only 11 wins, so under my calculations, 11 wins will get you in with a decent percentage.

“Then the man in the hoodie is in 10th place, Josh Fraser at Carlton on 44 points as well, so Carlton and St Kilda to play in the wildcard with only 11 wins and sneak in.”

“That means I've got North Melbourne and Collingwood coming out of the wildcard.”

Daniel Harford's Top 10

  1. Fremantle
  2. Sydney
  3. Hawthorn
  4. Brisbane
  5. Geelong
  6. Adelaide
  7. Melbourne
  8. Bulldogs
  9. St Kilda
  10. Carlton

“I'm pretty similar to you, Stevo. I've got Freo, Sydney, Hawthorn, I've got Brisbane, they sneak into the top four, they come back in the back third of the season with real momentum, and they will lock up a top four spot, according to me," Harford said.

“Geelong and Adelaide round out the six; they are the ones that can win the premiership, those six teams.

“Then you've got your wildcard teams as we've discussed before that can't win the premiership, Melbourne, Bulldogs, Saints and Carlton, same as you.

“Which means the Pies are out, the Giants, who've had a disaster with their injuries this year, don't make the finals.

"Gold Coast don't make the finals after their visit last year in Perth, and the Kangaroos, from what I saw yesterday, wouldn't be worthy of a wildcard spot anyway.”

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