Just imagine what the race for finals would look like right now had Melbourne beaten Essendon in Round 2. Sorry to bring it up Dees fans, but that horror result has come back to haunt you now. Had the Demons been able to secure the four points in what should have been a routine win on their home deck, they would almost certainly be featuring in their first finals series since 2006.As it is, theyre in ninth place and relying on some good luck over the final two rounds to extend their season into September.According to ESPNs AFL Power Rankings, the Demons are comfortably among the best eight sides in the competition right now, while the eighth-placed Kangaroos are the definition of limping home after yet another poor performance - this time to reigning champs Hawthorn.Looking to the all-important run home for the top eight sides, its GWS which now look most likely to finish fifth after their last-second loss to West Coast at home, while Adelaide - on current form - look most likely to snag a top-two spot after they scored perfect 10s in three of the rankings form factors.Sydney must win big this weekend and again at home the week after if they want to keep their top-two chances alive, while the Hawks just need to keep winning in order to secure the minor premiership. They face a tough test in Perth this weekend, taking on the literal Giant-killers in West Coast.Meanwhile further down the ladder, Essendon finds themselved out of the bottom two in the rankings for just the third time this season, after their inspirational win over Gold Coast on Sunday afternoon.LegendForm: The higher the number, the better a teams recent form.Draw: The higher the number, the easier a teams upcoming draw.Fitness: Determined by the number and quality of fit players available. A list in good shape is ranked around a 7; a list missing three or four best-22 players might be considered a 3 or 4.X-Factor: The number and quality of genuine match-winning players.Attack: Potency of the teams offence.Defence: Ability of the team to prevent the opposition from scoring.Shabazz Muhammad Jersey . PAUL, Minn. 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LUCIE, Fla.Croatia manager Ante Cacic insists he has buried the hatchet with Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren and fully expects him to be involved in future World Cup qualifiers.The Croats arrived in Belfast over the weekend without a raft of senior players, including Lovren, who asked not to be called up for either Tuesdays friendly with Northern Ireland or last Saturdays World Cup qualifier against Iceland for personal reasons.Lovren has endured a rocky relationship with Cacic, his former boss at Inter Zapresic, having been left out of the Euro 2016 squad - a decision that saw both sides trade barbs in public - but he was back in the fold for the September match with Turkey when he was an unused substitute. Cacic says he has no issues with Lovren And though Lovren has not played a game for his country since before the summer, Cacic insists the door remains open for a player who has impressed since Jurgen Klopps arrival on Merseyside.I think weve said enough about that this year - for me, there is no case with Lovren, Cacic said. I know that when I feel he is needed for the team he will be called up and of course he will come to play for the national team. 6 months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price I was his first senior coach, all the way back in 2006 at Inter Zapresic, I know him very well. He was a young player then and hes shown that he has the capacity to have a respectable career.We are all proud of him because hes playing for a big club in England, one of the two best leagues in the world, along with Spain, which is a great satisfaction for everyone whos worked with him and especially for him personally. Lovren has been revitalised since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool To any national team, including Croatia, hes a needed player, somebody that we dont want to not use in the future.Lovren will not be the only high-profile Croatian player missing at Windsor Park against the Northern Irish, with Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic, Vedran Corluka, Danijel Subasic and Nikola Kalinic all left behind from the original squad announcement.dddddddddddd Michael ONeill and Steven Davis are both looking forward to playing Croatia tomorrow. Its the first time the two nations have played each other It will give Cacic an opportunity to look at others, including teenage midfielder Ante Coric, linked in the past with Liverpool and Tottenham, and former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric.The latter was a record buy for the Foxes in January 2015 but departed for Hoffenheim recently having scored just four times for the Midlands club. Though he may have a point to prove in this part of the world, team-mate Mario Mandzukic is adamant Kramaric can recover from his ill-fated spell with the Foxes. Andrej Kramaric left Leicester to join Hoffenheim I know him very well from his playing days in Croatia and hes obviously a quality player, said Juventus Mandzukic, who refused to discuss the possibility of moving to England himself in the near future.I know what he can do during the match and during the training sessions and I believe there are a lot of good things waiting for him in his career. He is a hard worker and I think he made a good move by moving to the Bundesliga because he has shown he can play at the highest level.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price!Also See:Round-up: Monreal nets in Spain winONeill: Scots not on my agendaNI players donate fees to charityKoeman: Liverpool impress me ' ' '