IN THIS week's Sliding Doors, made possible by ventraip australia, our chief football correspondent Damian Barrett puts the West Coast recruiters, the Bombers, Sam Jacobs, North Melbourne, Tom Harley and more in the Doors' spotlight.
What's Barrett saying about your club? What's he saying about the AFL? Check it out.
| If |
the Crows were listed on the ASX ... |
| then |
I'd be selling every single share I held. A looming Black Monday feel about this stock. |
| If |
the plan is to be quiet this Trade Period ... |
| then |
I'd be abandoning that plan. As good as 2019 was, based significantly on the beautiful boldness of recruiting Lachie Neale this time last year, the Lions are not guaranteed to repeat that feat in 2020. Should double-down. And there's still time. |
| If |
you reckon Betts won't be returning ... |
| then |
reckon again. He'll be there in 2020. |
| If |
the carefully planned, diligently researched list management strategy deduced that Elliott should only be offered a two-year extension ... |
| then |
that's OK. But gut feel now needs to be applied in the form of a three-year deal. He's simply too good to lose. |
| If |
the Bombers were listed on the ASX ... |
| then |
I'd be selling 70 per cent of the stock I held. Players still aren't happy, which is a major worry given the recent coaching succession plan. |
| If |
it was going to be – and this is a quote from the man himself - a feather in Peter Bell's cap last year had he managed to keep Lachie Neale at the Dockers ... |
| then |
he can proudly and rightly jam two dozen feathers in that cap of his if he somehow pulls off a deal that gets Tim Kelly to Fremantle. |
| If | |
| then |
that, simply, is sensational. Hopefully there will be a 20th. |
| If |
there is one certainty in an industry jam-packed with uncertainty and people who second-guess themselves ... |
| then |
it is this: the Suns will – 100 per cent - reject all offers for draft picks one and two, and use those picks for Rowell and Anderson. |
Matt Rowell at the AFL Draft Combine on Thursday. Picture: AFL Photos
| If |
he's small fry in the scheme of the 2019 player exchange period ... |
| then |
he may just prove in the 2020 season to be one of the best deals … predicting Sam Jacobs to be highly impactful as a Giant. And after what the Crows did to him at that "nothing to see here" camp, can't fathom why he stayed this long. One of the game's good guys. |
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| If |
I asked my spies this past week to pay specific attention to Clarko's movements ... |
| then |
they've failed. He escaped their watch. But he's up to something big. |
| If |
you've had a season that was only one step above hell ... |
| then |
I have zero idea how you've allowed one player who actually tries every single week, and who hurts with every single loss, to walk. Yes, Frosty has his flaws. But there's no way I'd be allowing him to leave. |
| If |
I was worried about the workload of new coach Rhyce Shaw eight weeks ago ... |
| then |
I'm even more worried now. Officially, he's coach. Unofficially, he's CEO, list manager, footy department boss, recruiter, confidante to the entire playing list, barista, Arden St groundsman. The joint is rudderless, and has been for way too long. |
| If |
you want to add Orazio ... |
| then |
I get it. And you need to do it. His best is elite. But he does come with flaws, and you've already recruited a few of that type. |
| If |
the AFL decides to give you end-of-first-round draft compensation for losing Ellis ... |
| then |
it is simply wrong. Obviously, that's not your fault nor your problem. But I'm predicting the magic 11 herbs and spices, along with the sauces and jus and vegetable stocks and borage blossoms which the AFL magically applies to every free agent compensation "formula" decision will deem that you will only get a second-round pick. And even that's too high. |
| If |
you add Zak Jones to Hill and Ryder, and then one more player of note ... |
| then |
you win Trade Period. |
| If |
the CEO invites to his house a big forward from a rival club to pitch a future with the Swans ... |
| then |
he simply has to deliver now. Embarrassing if he doesn't. Daniher is on the hook, the barb about to rip through the flesh. But you need to land him. |
| If |
you stuffed it last year when Kelly wanted to join ... |
| then |
surely you won't stuff it up this year. Might have gone back-to-back had you transacted last year. |
| If |
Bont was listed on the ASX ... |
| then |
he'd be blue chip and I'd be buying every single Bont stock until there was no more to buy. And also throwing some cash into the Dunkley stock. |
| If |
I've been saying it for the entire seven years of AFL free agency ... |
| then |
I ain't stopping now. Compensation to a team for loss of a free agent NEEDS to stop. IMMEDIATELY. It's a mess, this system. And don't get me started on the "formula" applied for each compensation assessment. |
