TEN TEAMS don't fit into eight finals places, and this is the sharp reality for Essendon, Narrm and Geelong heading into the last round of the 2024 NAB AFLW season.
AFL.com.au's eight journalists used our ladder predictor tool to speculate on which club will slide into that eighth place, and which will end their seasons this weekend.
In the race for that last spot in the eight, there are also potential implications on the top four, and it all starts on Friday evening.
The Cats must jag a win over Kuwarna on Friday to remain in contention, and should that happen, the Crows could very well drop out of the top four. Walyalup could earn the double chance itself in this case, with a win over the Western Bulldogs in the final match of the round.
Unfortunately for the Cats – and the Dockers – just one of our reporters expects them to continue recent form and win a third consecutive game to keep their season alive.
To kick off Saturday's games, Narrm could keep its own season alive with a win over Collingwood – which would end Geelong's hopes – and this is something all our reporters expect will be the case.
This will then put all the pressure on Essendon come Saturday evening.
With Narrm's win, the Bombers are expected to beat traditional rival Carlton to maintain their current finals position, breaking the Demons and Cats' hearts in the process.
Yartapuulti has been tipped to reach its first finals series, with a sixth consecutive win in the last round of the season, while an expected Richmond loss to the Hawks has it giving up the home ground advantage come finals.
Meanwhile, Sunday's games will have implications even if Waylalup's top-four chances have been eliminated. The McClelland Trophy, and the $1 million prize on offer, will be decided in the afternoon.
Our reporters expect that Brisbane will win over St Kilda – despite a shock loss to the same side last year – keeping it in line to potentially win the McClelland Trophy. But an anticipated Hawthorn victory over Richmond in the next fixture will secure the million-dollar prize pack.
The bottom end of the ladder isn't expected to shift dramatically, with the 13th-placed Western Bulldogs onward remaining the same, based on our combined ladder.
Two of our journalists have, however, tipped Waalitj Marawar to finish in 10th place with a win over Sydney, knocking Geelong and Euro-Yroke down a spot in the process.
AFL.com.au's predicted final ladder*
1. North Melbourne
2. Hawthorn
3. Brisbane
4. Kuwarna
5. Walyalup
6. Yartapuulti
7. Richmond
8. Essendon
9. Narrm
10. Geelong
11. Euro-Yroke
12. Waalitj Marawar
13. Western Bulldogs
14. Carlton
15. Sydney
16. Greater Western Sydney
17. Gold Coast
18. Collingwood
*Our eight reporters completed our ladder predictor and picked their expected top eight. Their responses were then tallied and averaged out to get a combined predicted ladder.
