MELBOURNE is hopeful co-captain Jack Viney and key forward Jesse Hogan will be available to play finals, should results on Sunday fall their way.
The Demons had a golden opportunity on Saturday against Collingwood to shore up their place in September for the first time in 11 years.
But they faltered at the final hurdle, suffering a 16-point loss to the Pies and will now sweat Adelaide beating West Coast, or the Eagles winning by about three goals or less, in order for the Demons to keep their spot in the top eight.
To make matters worse, Melbourne lost Hogan in the second term to hamstring tightness, in just his second game back from a broken collarbone.
"Jesse had some tightness in his hamstring," coach Simon Goodwin said after the 16-point loss to Collingwood.
"We're not 100 per cent sure how that's going to look. He went out there after half-time to warm up and see how it was feeling but he just has some awareness so it was too big a risk to throw him back out there."
WATCH: Simon Goodwin's full post-match media conference
Hogan, who will have scans on his left hamstring on Monday, has had a horror year.
Just weeks after the death of his father in April, Hogan was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He missed eight weeks, and made his return in round 16 against Carlton, only to break his collarbone three games later.
Co-captain Nathan Jones told AFL.com.au Hogan's latest setback was shattering, but was confident his teammate would emerge stronger than ever.
"It's almost hard to put into words, really, the year he's had," Jones said.
"I think in the end it will be the making of him, and in a year or two, he'll probably look back on this year in particular.
"With the character and the resilience he's shown, it's incredible for a kid who's still quite young, to be exposed to all the difficulties he's faced this year, both individually, personally, with his family and with injuries.
"You wouldn't wish that on anyone, but he's got through it and come out bigger and better and stronger on the other side.
"Hopefully this isn't too significant and he can get back for us if we get the chance to play."
Hogan isn't the only injury concern for the Demons with Viney struggling to overcome a foot injury.
The hard-nosed midfielder has been confined to a moon boot for the past two weeks but is set to resume training this week.
"We're really hopeful [he'll be available for finals]," Goodwin said.
"He's due to come out of his moon boot on Monday and start some running. He'll certainly be pushing for a [return], so hopefully we get that opportunity to really push him ahead and see how he comes up."
Melbourne's season now hinges on the results of several games on Sunday.
If West Coast can defeat the ladder-leading Crows at Domain Stadium by four or more goals, and Essendon beats Fremantle at Etihad Stadium, then the Dees will be left out of the top eight for the 12th straight year.
The actual margin required to knock the Demons out will depend on the teams' combined score at Domain Stadium. The more the Eagles and Crows score, the greater the Eagles' winning margin needs to be.
The final twist: What winning margin do the Eagles need?
Goodwin admitted he was disappointed with the performance at the MCG on Saturday, given there was so much at stake.
"There certainly wasn't any sense of nerves," Goodwin said.
"The players knew what they were playing for. It was pretty clear and obvious, you could feel it in the crowd today. The MCC was filled with Melbourne supporters, who were pretty excited about the day ahead so there was a lot of anticipation.
"I think the players will sit there tonight very disappointed because they would have liked to have played better, especially earlier in the game.
"Unfortunately today we couldn't take our opportunity, we had our destiny in our own hands and with the result comes an agonising wait for our players and our supporters."
