The AFL Finals might be beyond the Brisbane Lions in 2014, but the Club can still have a genuine say in who else might be there come September.

Last Saturday the Lions put a severe dent in the Finals hopes of cross-town rivals Gold Coast, and have the opportunity to do some further damage in final five weeks of the season.

As the AFL ladder currently stands, Adelaide, Collingwood and the Suns all boast a 9-8 record and seem to vying for that elusive eighth spot.

The Crows currently reside in eighth position with a healthy percentage of 109, narrowly ahead of the ninth-placed Pies who have a percentage of 105.

The Lions did both sides a favour by handing the Suns a heavy defeat, which not only saw them slip to 10th place on the ladder, but also drop more than three percentage points to 96.1%.

The Lions are set to meet both Adelaide and Collingwood in successive weeks in Round 20 and 21, and will be hoping to inflict similar damage to those clubs’ finals aspirations.

Furthermore, the team’s final two matches – against Fremantle (Gabba) and Geelong (Simonds Stadium) – could also help define the make-up of the top four.

Such is tightness at the top of table, that just one win separates fifth position from first, with both the Dockers (fourth) and Cats (third) right in the mix for the minor premiership.

So forget where the Lions currently sit on the ladder (15th), because the Club could still prove to be big players in the run home to September.