Bradley Hill handballs whilst being tackled by Oliver Hollands during the match between Carlton and St Kilda at Marvel Stadium in round six, 2023. Picture: Getty Images

ST KILDA will miss the eight and Port Adelaide will secure a home qualifying final, according to our reporters, who are predicting Geelong will grab the eighth finals spot in the last round of the home and away season.

AFL.com.au's team of reporters have used our ladder predictor to tip the final make-up of the top eight, and it's not good news for Saints fans.

WHO MAKES FINALS? Play the Ladder Predictor NOW

St Kilda currently sits in fifth place with games to come against Carlton, Richmond, Geelong and Brisbane, but our reporters - on average - are predicting Ross Lyon's side will finish 11th.

>> SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL PREDICTED LADDER

Our nine reporters were unanimous that Carlton will play their first finals series in a decade, while eight of nine also had Greater Western Sydney finishing in the top eight.

The Power have been backed to finish second, with Melbourne third and Brisbane fourth. None of our nine reporters are expecting the Lions to finish in the top two.

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But the real talking point is who will finish in seventh and eighth, with the wild swings in predictions underlining just how close the final months of the season will be.

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Sarah Olle has the Western Bulldogs finishing as high as fifth, while Nat Edwards, Josh Gabelich and Gemma Bastiani have them missing the top eight altogether. The same trio also have Geelong missing finals, while the other six are tipping the reigning premiers to finish in the eight.

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Richmond also proved divisive, with Edwards, Gabelich and Bastiani again going against the grain by tipping the Tigers to finish seventh. The six others see them missing the eight altogether and even finishing as low as 13th.

WHO MAKES FINALS? Play the Ladder Predictor NOW

Five of nine are tipping the Cats to finish eighth just ahead of the Crows, who got support from four of nine.

Sydney is expected to finish (on average) in 12th spot, although Riley Beveridge is tipping them to squeeze into eighth.

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Positions 15 to 18 are not predicted to change over the last month of the season.

AFL.com.au's predicted final ladder*

1. Collingwood
2. Port Adelaide
3. Melbourne
4. Brisbane
5. Carlton
6. Greater Western Sydney
7. Western Bulldogs
8. Geelong

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

*Our nine 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