Former AFL great Paul Roos has revealed which teams he believes will finish inside the top eight at the end of the season.
The Swans premiership coach thinks that the current top five teams are set in stone to feature in September.
"Richmond, Collingwood, West Coast, Sydney, Port. They're the top five teams, you'd think they're going to make the eight," Roos told Triple M radio.
Roos has all but put a line through Essendon's season, saying it is hard to see them coming back from their current position.
"There's no margin of error for the Bombers, their percentage is quite low.
"I think Essendon are just too far back," he said.
He says that the Crows will also struggle to climb into the eight, in large due to their poor percentage, while North Melbourne and Hawthorn are still every change.
"As much as I think (Adelaide is) a top eight team, their percentage is only 101, compared to Melbourne who's on 124, who are eighth.
"As hard as it is for me to say, I can't see Adelaide making it either.
"Hawthorn have a pretty good run, so if anyone's going to jump in (the eight) I think it's out of Hawthorn and North Melbourne.
Roos ultimately believes there is one spot up for grabs, while conceding that the dynamics could swiftly change.
"My gut feeling out of Geelong, GWS and Melbourne is only only of those teams will miss out.
"GWS have got the hardest draw, Patton's been injured. Again, this could change pretty quickly. If I had to pick someone to jump in, I will go North Melbourne over the Giants.
"Giants out, North Melbourne in."
The ex-Demons coach identifies GWS and Adelaide as finals-quality teams, but suggests that things simply have not gone their way in 2018.
"I think the Giants and Adelaide are top eight teams, this is going to be amazing if they both miss out."
"If Adelaide and the Giants miss out, that's a big story. If you had of said at the start of the year that they'll miss the eight, you would have been crazy."
