STRAP yourselves in, footy fans - Damian Barrett's Sliding Doors is back in full swing for 2025. 

With the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season underway, Damo's got plenty of thoughts about all 18 clubs - and the AFL - after another big off-season. 

So what is he saying about your team? What's he saying about the AFL? You can't say that, Damo, can you? Check it out below.

>> ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND OPINION FROM DAMIAN BARRETT

IF ...

there's a player who has come effectively out of nowhere to being an emerging top tier midfielder ...

THEN ...

it is Jake Soligo. Loving the way he is impacting contests, and matches. Has a big task in a big game in round four. Rowell, Anderson, Graham, maybe Flanders will be his opponent. Popcorn at the ready.

IF ..

there are up to 10 players on this brilliant Lions list who get more headlines and publicity and fanfare ...

THEN ...

Hugh McCluggage won't care one little bit. But he has stood up big-time in the past two Grand Finals, plays near capacity every single match and is as important as anyone in Chris Fagan's reigning premiership team.

IF ...

there are now seemingly insurmountable problems ...

THEN ...

the tale of the second-half tape might be the most damning issue. Blues 10.24 (84), Opposition (Tigers, Hawks, Dogs, Pies) 29.20 (194). There are going to be some big-name changes for round five.

IF ...

they're very, very old, and on Thursday night the oldest there has ever been on a VFL/AFL ground in a game which finished way past their normal bedtimes ...

THEN ...

who cares about the birth certificates!! They're all-in on the oldies, the Pies, and they're still very, very good. Destroyed the Blues when the contests were at their fiercest.

IF ...

in February Tom Edwards was able to experience the rush of being given a place on an AFL club's list and in March earned another surge with three goals in a MCG  debut ...

THEN ...

what a jolting, unfortunate, and footy-sad thud endured by the 24-year-old this week on the training track. Now, out for 12 months with an ACL rupture.

IF ...

the Dockers were really good against West Coast in round three, finally securing a win after six consecutive losses dating back to round 21 last year ...

THEN ...

let's see that style against the better opponents. No excuses going into Sunday's Optus Stadium match against the Western Bulldogs.

IF ...

Tom Stewart is back ...

THEN ...

that should be more than enough to get the Cats back on the winners list. Subbed out before quarter-time two weeks ago, didn't play last week. Both losses - to the Saints, from eight goals down, and the Lions, from six goals up. They're not a one-man band, the Cats. But they always sound better with Stewart on drums.

IF ...

there's a player I'm really starting to warm to ...

THEN ...

it's Bailey Humphrey. Ability, attitude, swagger. Love it.

IF ...

the Giants' first two matches were good, against Collingwood and Melbourne ...

THEN ...

they were shown up against the benchmark Hawthorn in Launceston in round three. Yes, the wind and conditions played havoc. But they were no match when the contest got hot.

IF ...

Sam Mitchell continues to pick off unsettled players at vulnerable clubs ...

THEN ...

no idea why other coaches aren't playing a similar game and targeting the many Hawks who aren't playing seniors due to depth or injury, as well as the ones who may be seeking greater in-game responsibilities. Here's some options: Mitch Lewis, Jai Serong, James Worpel, Josh Ward, Ned Reeves, James Blanck, Sam Frost. Something will have to give at some stage.

IF ...

nothing has gone right for the Demons in 2025, from an unlucky loss in round one to GWS to embarrassing drubbings inflicted by North Melbourne and Gold Coast ...

THEN ...

maybe it's time to abandon the love and connection mantra, and just resort to some old-fashioned, uncompromising, look-each-other-in-the-eye style of demanded toughness. A Friday night lights match is next up at the Cattery. They don't have to win, but they cannot be embarrassed again.

IF ...

Nick Larkey has kicked 12.4 from just 22 kicks this season ...

THEN ...

that is an extraordinary return. Went close to a Coleman Medal in 2023. Early days obviously, but beautifully on target for the title in 2025. Gets a huge opportunity for a bag on Saturday, against the Swans at Marvel Stadium.

IF ...

Zak Butters gives the impression he is wound up like a top before every single match, which I love ...

THEN ...

I can only imagine how wound up he will be on Sunday, when he returns after a knee injury having watched his team lose two of its first three matches. He is almost guaranteed to start a melee before the first bounce.

IF ...

you look up scapegoat in this week's online footy dictionary ...

THEN ...

up bobs Rhyan Mansell. Was unlucky to become the first player to cop a suspension for pushing an opponent into a marking contest. But it was the right call, as the game needed to take a belated and strong stand against the practice, having chosen to ignore it in the pre-season and early home-and-away season matches.

IF ...

the forward line is starting to function smoothly without Max King ...

THEN ...

look out when he returns from a knee injury, hopefully next weekend. Owens has been excellent, so too Higgins. Wood is hitting the scoreboard, Sharman gets to the right spots.

IF ...

Gulden's extended absence has been a major setback for Dean Cox in his first season as coach ...

THEN ...

Papley's addition to the long-term injury list makes it borderline catastrophic.

IF ...

you remember the way West Coast ran itself for most of its first 34 years in the national competition, from 1987 to 2021 ...

THEN ...

you'll recall an uncompromising, ruthless football club. Not a meek one which has come to accept losing, and now just cops a rival coach brazenly flying in to make a play at its captain Oscar Allen, immediately after a round three match. The same coach was allowed to rip out the contracted Tom Barrass last year, and also wants Harley Reid more than he wants Allen. That West Coast didn't demand Allen stand down as captain was more proof it has lost its edge and even way. I feel for new coach Andrew McQualter.

IF ...

Bevo is well within his rights to go public with his frustrations on how holding-the-ball decisions are being adjudicated – "No one understands the rule anymore, and it's very difficult to coach it," he said on Thursday ...

THEN ...

John Longmire will remind him that he and his Bulldogs were major beneficiaries of how that matter, and other matters, was umpired in the 2016 Grand Final.

AND THIS ONE'S FOR THE AFL

IF ...

I don't often agree with Bevo ...

THEN ...

I do on this occasion. Decision-making on holding-the-ball needs to be urgently addressed and made uniform.