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.
Oh, and be sure you tune in to AFL Daily as Nat and Damo put the spotlight on all the big issues. Check it out.
IF ...
you're a Crows supporter and you manage to negotiate your way through being exposed to those "sweaty men" who might have touched a football that you need to "duck, and do not touch" if it makes its way into the crowd, but if you do touch it make sure you "sanitise your hands before you start eating your chips"...
THEN ...
after dealing with all of that the four premiership points would be a mere bonus on Saturday, if indeed your team is able to beat the Pies. Don’t forget the forever underrated vinegar on the chips, too.
IF ..
the fit-again Brownlow medallist is back alongside one of the coach's favourites in Ryan Lester...
THEN ...
that's even more reason to make sure you're plonked in front of a TV on Friday night by 7.50pm to watch what looms as one of the game of the year, against ladder leader Melbourne.
IF ...
the Blues have been regularly underwhelming to the point of being incapable of beating any opponent with a modicum of good talent...
THEN ...
here's their chance: the equally questionable and now very banged-up Eagles (no Allen, McGovern, Shuey, Kelly, Kennedy, Duggan), at the neutral venue SCG on Sunday. A must-win game in a season which is again going nowhere.
IF ...
Mark Korda spent as much time trying to fix his badly wounded football club as he does writing long letters with the word "governance" in them...
THEN ...
the Pies may have been able to already begin the now very long road back to form of respectability.
IF ...
the Bombers have magnificently captivated Perth with the Dreamtime game at Optus Stadium a sellout...
THEN ...
they need to make sure they tick the box on the last part of the project: the actual football match itself. Win that, and this week may well go down as the official rebirth of the Essendon Football Club.
IF ...
Lobb produces his best and Taberner has recovered from injury and Fyfe kicks straight and Walters winds the clock back...
THEN ...
the Dockers will be a chance against the Dogs. But, like Carlton, this club doesn’t seem capable of a surprise win.
IF ...
you're stopping the All-Australian key forward debate right now...
THEN ...
maybe Harry and Texan are ahead of Tomahawk. But only maybe. And Hawkins has been outstanding, again.
IF ...
the win in round 11 against Hawthorn was impressive albeit expected and left the Suns at 4-7...
THEN ...
they must use the bye weekend to regroup and commit to hitting the back half of the season with never-before-seen-at-the-Suns commitment. Fremantle awaits in round 13.
IF ...
Toby can compact his recovery from a shoulder injury and be ready to go after this weekend's bye...
THEN ...
with North Melbourne, Carlton and Hawthorn awaiting the Giants in rounds 13, 14 and 15 there would be every reason to believe this most unlikely of finals campaigns might still be alive.
IF ...
you've studied Jeff Kennett closely in his public life...
THEN ...
you'll have observed that as well as accomplishing things others could only dream of he has also been the greatest deflector that politics and football has ever seen. Something must be about to go down at his Hawks, because even by Jeff's standards, he has been very keen to publicly express negative opinions on a lot of people in the past few weeks.
IF ...
there are definitely bigger headline-grabbing names at the Demons than Ed Langdon in this history-shaping start to 2021...
THEN ...
it is arguable that there have been too many more impactful players in this startling run. Unfortunately missing with concussion for Friday night lights against the Lions.
IF ...
the Roos drafted a ruckman kid out of Sandringham as the No.1 pick in the NAB AFL Mid-Season draft...
THEN ...
they should play him immediately, after their bye, against GWS. And that would be one almighty initiation for Jacob Edwards, playing against Shane Mumford in an AFL debut.
IF ...
the first half of the season was more than OK with an 8-3 scoreline...
THEN ...
the back half will need to be a whole lot better if Port is to seriously push for a second flag. Sam Powell-Pepper had a big round 11. Might be the key to what lies ahead.
IF ...
he was required to hit the road and drive up the Hume to Sydney this week to join his Tigers teammates before they fly to Perth for Saturday's Dreamtime match...
THEN ...
that's a walk in the park for Shane Edwards and a return to football after injury. Last year he was stuck in quarantine for 14 days with access only to a 45m x 40m patch of grass before returning to dominate in another premiership.
IF ...
the glass is half empty...
THEN ...
the start to the 2021 season, after winning a final in 2020, has been semi-disastrous. If the glass if half full, the Saints are just one game out of the eight.
IF ...
the knee he wrenched late in last week's win against Carlton isn’t too sore...
THEN ...
I reckon Buddy is poised for a big one. Maybe not 13 – thirteeeeen – but at least six. When he's been fit this year, there have been some old-school Buddy moments.
IF ...
all great campaigns are proven to have a positive turning-point moment...
THEN ...
for the Eagles, that day has arrived - Sunday's match against Carlton at the SCG, a venue the club hasn't won at since 1999. No Allen, McGovern, Kennedy, Shuey, Kelly, Duggan. Seemingly no hope. This is when true character might kick in.
IF ...
I haven't agreed with Luke Beveridge on more than a few matters in the past...
THEN ...
I'm fully with him on his suggestion this week that the wages of senior coaches be removed from each club's football department soft-cap. Makes sense on so many levels.
AND THIS ONE'S FOR THE AFL
IF ...
the NAB AFL Mid-Season Draft proves anything...
THEN ...
it is that the AFL should open up more avenues for in-season player acquisition. I'm particularly keen on in-season AFL club to club trading of players and picks.
