WITH the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership season up and running, naturally, Damian Barrett's Sliding Doors is also up and about.
So what's Damo saying about your club? What's he saying about the AFL? Check it out.
IF ...
Jake Kelly doesn't remember anything of round one after being KO'd by his former housemate Danger ...
THEN ...
great to see him back after serving the now-required minimum 12 days' concussion protocol. An important part of a team trying to re-establish its credentials.
IF ..
an umpire hadn't got in the way in round two ...
THEN ...
Zac Bailey would've kicked match-winning goals in consecutive weeks. This type of stuff doesn't happen to mere mortals. He's a gun, this 21-year-old.
IF ...
Fyfe, Pearce, Hamling, Hill and Crowden are among the many outs ...
THEN ...
even with their own injuries (Curnow, Martin, Fisher, Silvagni, McGovern among them) there are simply no excuses for a third loss to open the 2021 season. A very dangerous match.
IF ...
you're Nathan Buckley ...
THEN ...
once again on Thursday night you'd be entitled to wonder why the footy gods, which have been so good to you at times, have also been more than regularly brutally, nastily, shockingly unfair.
IF ...
Ben Rutten wants to sit on Table 47 in the Medallion Club or perch himself on the walkway at roof level of Marvel Stadium when he coaches the Bombers against the Saints on Saturday ...
THEN ...
it will actually have no bearing on the result. Can't believe the amount of attention his matchday position has already created. He, and his club, have far more looming crucial matters.
IF ...
you heard Nat Fyfe talk about his concussion fears on The Howie Games last year ...
THEN ...
you will have proper perspective on the situation in which he finds himself after another head knock last week. Worrying times.
IF ...
Isaac Smith expects to wander his way Treloar-style-versus-Magpies through Monday's match against the team at which he played in three premierships and 210 matches during 10 seasons ...
THEN ...
reality will hit early. Word on the street is that a special welcome awaits.
IF ...
Connor Budarick lived the dream last year in not just gaining a spot on an AFL list but in compiling a more-than-handy 2020 season ...
THEN ...
right now he's in a nightmare. Ruptured his ACL last weekend, out for the year.
IF ...
Giants matches were must-watch circa late 2015 through to the prelim final of 2019 ...
THEN ...
nearly every game they've played since has been a turn-off. Issuing an all-points bulletin for the team's spark and dare.
IF ...
the Hawks-Cats rivalry has lost some lustre in recent years after establishing itself as the game's big show on the back of the 2008 Grand Final and subsequent 'Kennett Curse' ...
THEN ...
the Hawks making things uncomfortable for the Cats, particularly Smith, on their way to a massive upset win would be a sure way for it to regain lofty status.
IF ...
his first season as a Demon was a good one ...
THEN ...
Ed Langdon's second year in the red and the blue is looming as outstanding. One of the hardest runners in the comp, beginning to use the ball very well.
IF ...
according to Jack Ziebell the performance against Gold Coast last week was "not what we stand for" ...
THEN ...
the Good Friday match against Western Bulldogs must, at the very least, be a re-set. No one in footy is expecting a victory, but everyone is hoping for a semblance of competitiveness.
IF ...
the Power devise a way to include both Marshall and Georgiades in the same forward line ...
THEN ...
good luck to every other team. Marshall the late out last week, Georgiades the late in, for a lazy four goals. Oh yeah, and Rozee will be back very soon too.
IF ...
it is possible to get better at the age of 32 in your 15th season, having already reached All-Australian highs ...
THEN ...
come on down, Shane Edwards. Among the best people in footy, too.
IF ...
you look at the Saints' fixture ...
THEN ...
they simply HAVE to defeat Essendon on Saturday. Following it: West Coast, Richmond, Port Adelaide. Without Paddy Ryder for probably all of those games, that will be a daunting period.
IF ...
big Bud's absence, one week after his first game in 581 days, against Richmond is a real downer on so many levels ...
THEN ...
I totally understand the rationale of resting him. Big things could unfold for Sydney this season, and very big things await if Bud stays fit.
IF ...
you're familiar with the old bookmaking term "flip of the coin" odds ...
THEN ...
the Eagles versus Power game on Saturday is just that. Eagles very good last week against Dogs, at home for this one. Power in scintillating, premiership-looming form. Impossible to predict with confidence.
IF ...
you're leaving Aaron Naughton out of your considerations on the 2021 Coleman medallist ...
THEN ...
reconsideration might be advised. On the verge of an old-fashioned bag.
AND THIS ONE'S FOR THE AFL
IF ...
a sanction comes in the form of a fine which is "fully suspended" ...
THEN ...
it's not a sanction, simply a wet lettuce leaf on the back of the wrist. And yet when it comes to ruling on what Chris Scott did at quarter-time in round two, I'm comfortable with that outcome.