ESSENDON'S dramatic form reversal over the past two months has the Bombers on the verge of falling out of finals contention, according to AFL.com.au's expert team of reporters.

The Dons have lost five of their past seven games, including surprise losses to Melbourne and Adelaide in the past fortnight, to fall from second after round 12 to eighth following Friday night's defeat against the Crows.

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On the other side of the form coin, Hawthorn looms as one of the teams most likely to replace arch rival Essendon in the top eight.

The Hawks have rocketed from 13th to ninth on our reporters' consensus ladder predictor in the space of two weeks, riding an irresistible wave of form that has delivered 10 wins from their past 13 games.

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The Western Bulldogs have been the other big mover following their successful raid on Geelong's home ground at GMHBA Stadium last weekend. The Dogs are now tipped to finish sixth at the end of the home and away season, up from a predicted ninth last week.

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Melbourne and Collingwood are both on the slide after heavy losses in round 19, tipped to finish 12th and 13th, respectively, while Gold Coast and Port Adelaide are the other two finals contenders expected to miss September action.

And the top four is largely unchanged, except for Brisbane (third) and Geelong (fourth) swapping places after their weekend results.

Despite a run of three losses in four matches, the ladder-leading Swans are still tipped to claim the minor premiership ahead of the finals.

AFL.com.au's predicted final ladder*

1. Sydney
2. Carlton
3. Brisbane
4. Geelong
5. Fremantle
6. Western Bulldogs
7. Greater Western Sydney
8. Essendon

9. Hawthorn
10. Port Adelaide
11. Gold Coast
12. Melbourne
13. Collingwood
14. St Kilda
15. Adelaide
16. North Melbourne
17. West Coast
18. Richmond

* Seven of our 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