There are a number of teams that are fighting for a finals berth this year as seemingly year-on-year the list grows of teams that can sneak into the eight.
Richmond, West Coast, Geelong, Brisbane and Port Adelaide loom as the most likely to dominate top four discussions, but who are the boomers coming from the cellar for a top eight slot?
The trend with most teams in this cluster is that consistency isn't their best friend, hence why they finish just about square at the ledger.
So, we have decided to take you through why each team in this group can, and maybe more importantly, can't make finals.
3. Fremantle
Why they can
The Dockers are young and exciting. Justin Longmuir has the purple haze humming along and they look like a rapid riser. Fremantle have an ever-growing midfield with Adam Cerra and Andrew Brayshaw supporting captain Nat Fyfe, while Matt Taberner took huge strides last year and made them a scoring threat.
Led by Luke Ryan, the Freo defence is a hard one to breach. Add in the returning Alex Pearce and the duo can form a serious partnership.
Oh, also the fact they play really well at home and will play half their games in Perth make them a very viable threat for finals football.
Why they can't
Experience, simply put. They are exciting and on the rise but they probably aren't ready for the September lights just yet. If the Dockers do miss the eight it is by no means a failure though.
Their forward line, while dangerous, maybe isn't as deep as it needs to be. Their form on the road is lacking and that is a key issue, especially for a young side.
The pieces are just about there though for Freo, but you get the feeling inexperience may cost them in some big games come the business end of the season.
