IN THIS week's Sliding Doors, made possible by ventraip australia, our chief football correspondent Damian Barrett puts Danny Frawley, ex-Crows coach Don Pyke, injured Pie Jordan De Goey, Dons coach John Worsfold, Port's co-captaincy decision, Joe Daniher, and more in the Doors' spotlight.
What's Barrett saying about your club? What's he saying about the AFL? Check it out.
| If |
you want to thoughtlessly criticise Don Pyke upon his exit as Crows coach ... |
| then |
stop. He took his club to a Grand Final. Yes, it had a bad day that day, and yes, things didn't work out in the two seasons that followed. And yes, he's walked away. But he went very close. |
| If |
Robinson is the out for the semi-final against the Giants ... |
| then |
Robertson is the in. And while there's many differences that extend even beyond the letters after the "Rob" bit, there's one undeniable similarity: uncompromising, team-first hardness. |
| If |
the Blues missed on Coniglio ... |
| then |
they had to go a little higher on Martin. Well played. |
| If |
De Goey returns from Germany and plays again this year ... |
| then |
see that feather … use it to knock me down. |
| If | |
| then |
in the end, so be it. Bombers quietly looked around, explored the options, and then stayed with Woosha. It was the right call, and it might just reap reward in 2020, even if Daniher takes flight. |
| If |
Pyke is now available ... |
| then |
at least ask the question. |
| If |
the Cats' loss last week highlighted so many obvious problems ... |
| then |
it also proved that No.35 has a machine-like preparedness to never stop. Danger's game against the Pies was one of the great individual finals performances. |
| If |
the pitch to Burgoyne was worth it ... |
| then |
it's not the end of the world that he said no. Far from sold on the idea that older players from other clubs is the way forward for this joint. |
| If |
you can do it once ... |
| then |
you can do it again. The all-in, manic hardness at the ball and man which embarrassed the Dogs last week must again be the focus against the Lions. |
| If |
you go back three weeks ... |
| then |
Ceglar was out the door, to Brisbane. Glad he stayed. Good player, good club man, good bloke who deserves a good crack free of injury after managing just 76 matches since joining the AFL via the 2010 NAB AFL Draft. |
| If |
there were a heap of problems in 2019 ... |
| then |
I didn't see Sam Frost as one. Need to keep him. |
| If | |
| then |
they'll probably blink on first thoughts on Higgins. Still don't know who is making these calls, given they keep telling us the footy department boss won't be starting until December 1. |
| If |
there's one thing I'd do before the start of 2020 ... |
| then |
it would be to get rid of the co-captaincy arrangement. |
| If |
you've got three players reliably capable of kicking big bags of goals ... |
| then |
despite being without the game's best defender, it may just not matter. |
| If |
Spud is gone ... |
| then |
his laugh, the laughter he created, his warmth, his childish ways, his obsession with bringing people together, his complexity, his pure love of family and friends is eternal. |
| If |
Joe and Bud are roaming the forward 50s of the SCG next year ... |
| then |
finals, here the Swans come. |
| If | |
| then |
surely he went with the 'Lemon-Lime' and not the 'Bolt Blue'. |
| If |
Bevo was livid after losing the 2015 elimination final and went and sacked one of his listed players in the aftermath ... |
| then |
he probably hasn't been much happier this week after the mauling by GWS. What happened to Bont was very wrong, but so too was the lack of support for him. |
| If |
Swimming Australia totally botched its initial handling of the Shayna Jack drugs case ... |
| then |
the AFL may have, impressively, learnt from it in showing strong leadership and making Willie Rioli unavailable, not letting the reasons for his omission be hidden behind a catch-all "personal issues" line. |
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