| If | you're good enough to beat GWS last week ... | then | ... you're good enough to beat Hawthorn this week. Which would make for one of the great build-ups to a Showdown next week. |
| If | Rocky plays another 21 games with the intensity he showed against the Suns ... | then | ... the lucrative rival club offers that he desperately wanted but didn't get last year, will come this year. Credit where it’s due – that was a ripping start to 2017. |
| If | he played in two JLT Community Series games and then booted four goals in the VFL last weekend ... | then | ... it is time to unleash the No.10 pick in the 2015 national draft. Harry McKay simply has to be one of the official ins when the team to play the Dees is finalised. |
| If | you want to take some positives out of the opening game to round two ... | then | ... there's Grundy, Treloar, Hoskin-Elliott and of course Pendlebury. But yet another nothing-season is already looming. |
| If | you see a certain red-haired guy in the offices of one of the city's big publishing firms this week ... | then | ... it's probably Brendon Goddard. His book and movie plans may not be dead afterall. |
| If | the umpires don't look after Nat against Port Adelaide ... | then | ... Ross The Boss says his Dockers players will. You hear that, Hartlett, Boak, Gray, Wines? Bring. It. On. |
| If | you're patient and you've been prepared to diligently toil through the tough times ... | then | ... you deserve to be rewarded. Things are starting to take nice shape for Lincoln McCarthy. |
| If | you lose to the Lions in round one and have GWS this weekend followed by Hawthorn in round three ... | then | ... the game against Carlton in round four is already looming as one of those season-defining crunch games. |
| If | the Giants' heads have lost some of their unjustified swell since last weekend ... | then | ... the Suns are in for a very ugly Saturday afternoon at Spotless Stadium. |
| If | you can visualise a caged lion having its door thrown open ... | then | ... that's Luke Hodge this week. Look out Crows! |
| If | you recall this time last year ... | then | ... you'll remember the Dees had just beaten GWS. But then lost to the depleted Essendon. They couldn't do it again, could they, this time against Carlton? |
| If | there's a blessing to come out of losing your full-forward for six weeks ... | then | ... it is that Majak Daw will get an overdue clear run. |
| If | you're David Koch ... | then | ... you're entitled to take some credit for the big season-opening win last week. He copped some heat in the build-up, but he knew his strong words were worth it. Sharpened everyone's focus. |
| If | scores are close in the final few minutes of a match and Dusty is one-out in the goalsquare ... | then | ... opponents will inevitably panic. Dimma's most lethal weapon. |
| If | the vista looked rosy this time last week ... | then | ... it's somewhat bleak as we enter round two. Big problems with Riewoldt, Dempster and dealing with opposition match-day pressure. And as for what awaits it in the Eagles forward line on Saturday in Kennedy, LeCras, Darling. Ouch. |
| If | we've seen one thing under John Longmire as coach ... | then | ... it is his side's ability to respond immediately to bad losses. The stage is set for a massive game tonight. |
| If | the mail is right ... | then | ... Le Cras, who has not had an impact for a while now, has been able to jam in a massive pre-season and is primed for a 2010-style output. |
| If | you heard Bevo's post-match press conference last week and didn’t google "Fibonacci sequence" ... | then | ... you’re in the minority. Or a liar. |
And by popular request ...
| If | there's one certainty this season ... | then | ... it is that a match is going to be decided in the final moments by a controversial umpire decision on the new rucking rules. |
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Follow Damian Barrett on Twitter: @barrettdamian
