Amongst the six teams remaining in the race for the AFL premiership, the Brisbane Lions are considered the rankest of rank outsiders to take the title - and that sits just fine with coach Michael Voss.

Pundits and punters alike have written off the Lions' chances - with some bookmakers offering odds of over $40 for the side to claim the flag ahead of their knockout semi-final against the Western Bulldogs.

Voss seemed a little miffed that his side was still not considered a force in the finals, but ultimately was more than content to be slipping under the radar.

"There are five teams that have been spoken about - I almost feel like the ugly duckling left in the competition," Voss said.

"Everybody is talking about the five (teams), and we're the sixth."

"That's just where we're at - all the competition is talking about five and we're the ones dragging the chain."

Despite entering their first finals series in five years, the Lions have readily escaped the attention that is associated with the football-mad cities of Melbourne and Adelaide.

Even after Brisbane eroded a 30-point margin in the final quarter to triumph over Carlton in last Saturday's elimination final, the bandwagon is barely motoring - and Voss would not have it any other way.

"Most of the year, this group has (proven the doubters wrong)," he said.

"So maybe they've enjoyed the ugly duckling tag … maybe we've been ugly ducklings the whole year, but we certainly feel like that this week, that's for sure."

Voss believed his club, the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood and Adelaide all still had to prove that deserved to be in the mix alongside runaway flag-favourites St Kilda and Geelong.

"At the moment, when you talk about premiership contenders, I think two have earned that right … they won on the weekend and they get to play a preliminary final," he said.

"There are two teams that have the advantage and there are four teams that are trying to fight to get that equal footing."