WITH the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership season racing to a stunning conclusion, Damian Barrett's Sliding Doors is in full swing.
So put your seatbelt on and enjoy the ride as Damo takes off the gloves and takes aim at your team.
So what is he saying about your club? What's he saying about the AFL? You can't say that, Damo, can you? Check it out below.
>> Check out the latest from Damian Barrett
IF ...
Izak Rankine in 2025 can refrain from KO'ing opponents, being KO'd by opponents, as well as building up condition in his suspect hamstrings ...
THEN ...
there's no reason he won't enter conversations about the game's best players.
IF ..
goal kicking was again wonky in last weekend's elimination final against Carlton ...
THEN ...
the first 57 minutes of the match, where the Blues had not scored, was as close to football perfection as we've seen this season. The Giants won't want to make the mistake of believing the result of Saturday night's semi-final to be a given.
IF ...
the Blues want to change their fortunes in 2025 ...
THEN ...
two things need to happen. One, the new high performance head needs to devise a program that doesn't break players. And two, Dan Houston needs to be added in the exchange period.
IF ...
the main Pies forwards – De Goey, Hill, Mihocek, Elliott and McStay - manage to get, and stay, fit for the entirety of 2025 ...
THEN ...
how dynamic would it look if a fully-fit Jakey Stringer was added. List management conversations starting to heat up in this space.
IF ...
the noise was low decibel level a fortnight ago ...
THEN ...
it's nearing medium level now. Talk of a board room challenge against David Barham getting louder by the week.
IF ...
the Dockers' board and management felt they were being clever earlier this year when they added one season, the 2025 year, to their coach Justin Longmuir's contract ...
THEN ...
really keen to see what they do now. Kicking that problem down the road has simply left them in the exact same spot, with another season of failure to factor into considerations.
IF ...
there were no soft caps on footy departments ...
THEN ...
Chris Scott would be receiving offers of $2.5 million a season, maybe $3 million, and be worth every cent. The best in the caper by considerable margin, he needs the AFL Coaches Association to lobby headquarters to remove the senior coach position from that cap.
IF ...
the Suns mind-bogglingly found themselves in a situation where Jack Bowes was owed $1.6 million to play for them in 2023 and 2024, before they fire-saled him with pick No.7 to the Cats at the end of 2022 ...
THEN ...
I really hope they know what they're doing with their latest blockbuster signing. A nine-year, $12 million deal for a guy who has played … wait for it … 41 matches. Fantastic for Mac Andrew. But yet more stage-managed, off-field hype from the Suns. One day this club may actually force us to talk about what it does on-field, and not only what it does off it.
IF ...
Langford-Mew, Michael-Leppitsch, Scarlett-Taylor and Lake-Gibson are some of the great key position back pairings in football ...
THEN ...
I'll be adding Taylor-Buckley to the list in the event of a Giants' flag. What a duo. Still don't know how the Swans found a way through them late last week.
IF ...
some people seemingly lost their minds over Ginni's decision to have a pub meal and a couple of soft drinks with his best mates while watching some footy, and then even more people lost more minds with his 'see you in 14 days' social media post ...
THEN ...
I have not one iota of care for it. Ginni is doing this to amuse himself now. He can clearly cope with it. And I love it.
IF ...
it's now September and the AFLPA has, drum roll, discovered there were some issues surrounding Christian Petracca's June 10 injury that would be worth investigating ...
THEN ...
I deeply wonder what was going on at the AFLPA between June 10 and September.
IF ...
those in charge of the rebuilding of North Melbourne believe Jack Darling is part of the solution ...
THEN ...
I hope they've got a Plan B, C, D, E, F, G and beyond. Simply staggering that the demise of this club can be traced back to the late 2016 day when it humiliated a quartet of its own older players, and that it now believes it needs to recruit older players from other clubs.
IF ...
Sam Mitchell was still playing for Hawthorn and not just coaching it ...
THEN ...
Zak Butters and his ribs would be subjected to 'within rules' and 'accidental' knees, elbows, forearms, hands, feet, shoulders and even a head. Friday night looms as the biggest moment, to this point, of Butters' footy life. The greats stand up in these moments.
IF ...
Dusty has retired from Richmond ...
THEN ...
football's most mysterious of characters still has to provide a final answer to his old coach and current Suns coach Dimma on whether he wants to play for the Suns in 2025. A big few weeks coming up.
IF ...
I can understand why the Saints have decided not to renew Seb Ross' contract ...
THEN ...
I also feel there are going to be a lot of footballers on AFL lists in 2025 inferior to him. A two-time best-and-fairest winner. Hope he finds a new home.
IF ...
it's shattering for Callum Mills to be dealing with a hamstring complaint so deep into September ...
THEN ...
he's been there before – in his first season, 2016, when he carried that problem into a Grand Final loss. Coach John Longmire has this year sought to shut down every controllable distraction at its earliest juncture, including the linking of Dean Cox to the Eagles' coaching job, which does not bode at all well for the captain's hopes of playing again in 2024.
IF ...
Mac Andrew just landed a $12 million deal ...
THEN ...
Harley Reid should demand $20 million.
IF ...
Dunkley and now Smith have chosen to leave before hitting the prime points of their careers, and if three-time All-Australian Macrae is also desperate to escape the kennel ...
THEN ...
proper internal questions, and not lip service ones, need to be asked of the relationships being fostered with Beveridge, who has now been embarrassingly outcoached in his past three finals (2021 GF, 2022 EF and 2024 EF). Good clubs always find a way to keep star players.
AND THIS ONE'S FOR THE AFL
IF ...
it's 2024 and we're still play the Grand Final in broad and complete daylight on a Saturday ...
THEN ...
maybe one day we might get with the times.
