THE RACE to finish third on the ladder and avoid Fremantle in a qualifying final in Perth has suddenly taken on even more importance.

The club-imposed suspensions to five key Sydney players - Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon - has rocked the entire AFL competition. And as the fallout continues, the on-field ramifications - while far less important than the ongoing police investigation - are significant.

Before this week's scandal, Sydney had locked in second place on the ladder, regardless of the result against North Melbourne on Sunday.

Even if the Swans were at full strength, finishing third and playing them at the SCG loomed as a much more appealing qualifying final option than finishing fourth and having to make a trip to Perth to face the high-flying Fremantle, which is unbeaten at Optus Stadium this season.

But with the Swans, in the words of their chairman Andrew Pridham, "torpedoing" their season by banning their five players, finishing third looms as an even bigger advantage.

Heading into round 24, there are still five teams alive in the race for third spot, with Brisbane, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Geelong and Adelaide all able to finish in that spot.

The Lions are best placed, as they currently sit third and have a greater percentage than the other teams alongside them on 60 points: Hawthorn (2.2 per cent difference) and Melbourne (8.3).

ROUND 24 Get your seats to Magpies v Lions

If Brisbane beats Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night, the Lions will go a long way towards sealing third place and a match-up with the Swans. But the Hawks will maintain some hope, although they would need to thrash West Coast in the final game of the home and away season in order to go ahead of the Lions on percentage.

Given its inferior percentage, Melbourne needs both the Lions and Hawks to lose this weekend and to beat the Western Bulldogs themselves to be any chance of grabbing third spot.

Geelong and Adelaide are coming from a long way back, given they are both a win behind the Lions, Hawks and Demons, despite relatively easy match-ups this weekend against Richmond and Greater Western Sydney respectively.

While teams would likely have preferred to avoid a trip to Perth anyway to face a Dockers side that is 19-3 this season, meeting a Swans team without Heeney, Warner, Blakey, Bice and Jordon shapes as a major advantage.

Regardless of their opponent, the Swans are likely to go into their qualifying final as underdogs, and a defeat there would see them host a semi-final against the winner of the elimination final between sixth and the highest ranked wildcard winner.

Geelong sits sixth heading into the final round and while it would have hopes of climbing to as high as third, they are likely to remain in sixth spot if results go as expected this weekend.

Similar to the race for third, finishing sixth and - if results go as expected - facing the below-strength Swans in a semi-final, albeit away from home, would likely appeal compared to playing the qualifying final loser in the other half of the draw.

However, a semi-final win over the Swans would potentially be followed by a trip to Perth for a preliminary final, assuming the Dockers win their qualifying final

The top 10 may be locked in, but the jostling for spots within it still has plenty on the line heading into the final round of the season.