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 ...

they were labelled one of the worst teams ever at round 14 last year ...

THEN ...

five wins from the ensuing seven matches has certainly stopped that talk. Big chance to make it six from eight, with North Melbourne, the new club boasting that despised moniker, awaiting at Marvel Stadium.

IF ..

you're carrying a debilitating back injury ...

THEN ...

there are easier jobs than AFL football. Lachie Neale courageously toiling through all sorts of pain and problems. 

IF ...

the four points against the Dockers was the win the Blues so desperately needed after yet another 0-2 start to a season ...

THEN ...

they simply have to make it two in a row on Saturday against the ruckman-less Suns.

IF ...

Brodie Grundy is able to lay hands on the Sherrin on 63 occasions in a game of footy ...

THEN ...

the system – not merely Grundy himself - is broken, given the negative centre clearance result against the Lions in round three and the negligible positives at stoppages and overall clearances.

IF ...

Jordan Ridley was a virtual unknown this time last season and a Crichton medallist by the end of it ...

THEN ...

he’s going to add another best and fairest this year, as well as secure an All-Australian jacket.

IF ...

his first AFL season was marred with a serious ankle problem ...

THEN ...

Hayden Young's second year has started equally abysmally, with a serious hamstring injury ruling him out until July at the earliest. A gun junior taken at No.7 in the 2019 national draft, Young deserves a change in fortune.

IF ...

many footy people are highlighting the fact the Cats could be 0-3 (loss in round one, one-point win in round two, five-point win in round three) ...

THEN ...

they're conveniently choosing to ignore the other fact of recent times: they're winners. Coach Scott has been in charge since 2011, and bats at 69 per cent success, the highest in the history of VFL/AFL.

IF ...

the Suns actually choose to not partake in centre square ruck contests against the Blues on Saturday ...

THEN ...

that would make for interesting viewing on so many levels. Witts being out for the year has exposed the biggest big-man hole on any list in history.

IF ...

Toby Greene has his usual sense of theatre and occasion for Saturday night's match against Collingwood at the 'G ...

THEN ...

he will bag seven, be involved in four guernsey-ripping skirmishes (two with Tay Adams, one with Brayden Maynard and one with Jordan De Goey) and lead the banged-up Giants to the most unlikely of wins.

IF ...

they were lucky to win by a point in round one ...

THEN ...

they were arguably unlucky to lose by a kick last Monday. A solid showing in between against the reigning premier. Going OK, and Jaeger O'Meara has had a very good start to 2021.

IF ...

it was Matt De Boer last weekend until he suffered an injury ...

THEN ...

for Clayton Oliver on Sunday at the MCG it will be Mark O'Connor attempting to shut him down. On a beautiful roll at the moment, the Dees and Oliver. Tipping it to continue.

IF ...

the Roos can, somehow, block from memory the horrors attached to their losses to Port Adelaide, Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs (that has left them with a percentage of just 37.4) ...

THEN ...

they might just stand a chance against the Crows on Sunday. The only win they've secured in their past 18 matches was against this mob in round nine last year.

IF ...

it works really well at West Coast with Kennedy, Darling and Allen ...

THEN ...

Kenny seems keen to persevere with three key forwards himself with big Charlie, Marshall and Georgiades. Hope the plan works, the game is always a better spectacle when the big forwards are in the action.

IF ...

Dimma really meant what he said about clubs loaning players to injury hit rivals ...

THEN ...

he would've sought to send Mabior Chol or Callum Coleman-Jones to Gold Coast Suns. And tigers might fly.

IF ...

Brad Hill hasn’t regularly tackled nor bothered too greatly with the defensive side of the game in 171 matches for three clubs ...

THEN ...

he ain't starting now. Nor should he. Was recruited by the Saints to provide outside run and creativity, it's up to others to focus on that other boring-but-necessary stuff.

IF ...

he’s operating at no more than 70 per cent capacity and has still kicked six goals, including the match-securing one against Essendon on Thursday night, from his two games ...

THEN ...

big Bud is set to cut loose at some stage very soon. In an AFL season already brimming with rock star storylines, Bud is still the main act.

IF ...

the Eagles are to return to the Grand Final this year ...

THEN ...

they will need both Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo in their 23. Just need to get them right by September, and should consider writing off their availability until mid-season.

IF ...

by round seven the Bulldogs will have had four matches in the key Friday slots ...

THEN ...

that's more than justified given the brand of footy they're playing. Compelling, prime time viewing in 2021.

AND THIS ONE'S FOR THE AFL

IF ...

COVID-19 destroyed so much of the game in 2020 ...

THEN ...

it also forced one of the all-time great initiatives: the rolling fixture. Rounds seven and eight have been fully maximised for drama, as will rounds nine and 10 when they are publicly released in a fortnight's time.