Brownlow medallist Jason Akermanis says Greater Western Sydney will make the top eight and he's cheekily put his hand up to get Gold Coast back on track after a winless start.
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Having helped build premiership success at both Collingwood and Brisbane, Giants football operations general manager Graeme Allan says all the pieces are in place at GWS.
The Giants thrashed Gold Coast by 66 points at Manuka Oval on Saturday, prompting experts to say they've gone past the Suns despite having spent a year less in the AFL.
They are second on the ladder with three wins, while the Suns are second last.
Akermanis said GWS's list management and coaching were "far better" than their Queensland counterparts.
The three-time premiership player said some of the Giants' trades had been "genius".
GWS have brought in Shane Mumford, Heath Shaw, Ryan Griffen and Joel Patfull through trades and haven't been afraid to offload young talent like No.1 draft pick Tom Boyd.
Akermanis said the Giants had clearly gone past the Gold Coast, where he felt there were problems.
"The list management for GWS has been far, far better and I think the coaching quality at the GWS is better than the Gold Coast, it's as simple as that," he said.
"They're more potent, their defence is better, their game plan is better, they seem to be more desperate and hungry.
"They should [play finals], they're a top-eight side in this competition, without a doubt."
Akermanis said the coaching change hadn't worked for the Suns.
They dumped Guy McKenna, who took them to the verge of the finals but for a shoulder injury to Gary Ablett, and brought in Rodney Eade.
Akermanis played in preliminary finals under Eade at the Western Bulldogs, but said it now looked like he "wasn't the best choice".
Currently coaching North Albury, the former Brisbane Lion has made no secret of his desire to coach at AFL level.
"The Gold Coast can give me a ring at any time and I'm happy to coach them. I'll guarantee that they play in finals as well," he said.
Allan said the Giants and Suns had gone through similar list builds and he felt they were in a similar position.
He said the loss of Ablett (shoulder) and Jaeger O'Meara (knee) were big ones for Gold Coast, plus key forward Charlie Dixon was still underdone after ankle surgery during the off-season.
Allan felt if the boot was on the other foot then it would have been a different result on Anzac Day.
But he was confident the Giants were on the right path.
"I think we've got the talent there, it's just game time now," Allan said.
"You always need to keep drafting good players, every year, but I think we've got a fairly talented list that just needs game time."
One of those emerging players is Dylan Shiel, who had a career-best 39 touches against the Suns on Saturday.
The 22-year-old has been on fire this season, although he had a quiet game against the Sydney Swans.
Shiel is off-contract at the end of the season and the Giants are keen to keep him.
They've already re-signed co-captain Phil Davis, full-forward Jeremy Cameron and Devon Smith this season.
Allan said he hadn't considered the prospect of the Victorian-born midfielder leaving the fledgling club.
"I think Dylan will stay with us," he said.
