In 2019, it was the Brisbane Lions. The previous year, Collingwood was the club that had the right barrier draw and ran on strongly, while the 2017 Tigers were well-positioned to jump from the gate and then surge home.

Every season lately there's been a team that has benefited from the "bottom-six fixture," from a schedule that fuels the momentum of an upstart team, partly because they play two or three of the bottom teams twice and largely avert second encounters with the best sides.

Marcus Bontempelli. Credit:AAP

The Lions were especially blessed last to have Gold Coast twice in 2019, while avoiding second away meetings with Richmond, Collingwood, West Coast and Geelong. In truth, the Lions weren't quite a top-four team, yet they finished second on the home-and-away ladder, only to be unluckily taken out by the Giants in a semi-final.

Who might be the insurgent from the bottom six who rises up next year, assisted by a friendly fixture?