THOSE central to the deal which transferred Jeremy Cameron from Greater Western to Geelong late on November 12, 2020 will never admit the official trade deadline had passed before official agreement.

Just as the Sydney Swans’ fax to AFL headquarters in late 1994 confirming Tony Lockett’s signature came after the official cut-off time, so too did confirmation of the Cameron swap.

In the minutes after the 7.30pm 2020 trade period siren, the Cats and Giants got AFL approval for their deal. Picks 13, 15 and 20 went out from Geelong, and in came Cameron and two future second round selections.

It was the largest cost ever attached to a negotiation in the AFL trade system. It caused angst and arguments within Geelong operations, at least temporarily fracturing relationships.

And if Geelong, after benefitting from Cameron’s best afield performance in Saturday’s epic qualifying final win against Collingwood, can go on and win the 2022 premiership, it will be in the conversation – with Lockett - as the greatest deal in the history of the game.

Cameron kicked Geelong’s first goal against the Pies, and three for the match. His foot passing away from goal was arguably more impactful, a bullet to Mitch Duncan in the third quarter was breathtaking and a beautifully weighted ball to Gary Rohan in the final minutes helped seal the result.

In his second season as a Swan, 1996, Lockett led his second team to a Grand Final, where he kicked six goals in a loss. That combo never won a flag, but Lockett forever changed the Swans’ standing in Sydney.

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In his second season as a Cat, Cameron is now one game away from a Grand Final. Geelong wouldn’t have defeated Collingwood without Cameron. It wouldn’t have finished two matches clear after the home-and-away season without his All-Australian performances.

A major down payment on the November 2020 deal has already been made. It will be at break-even status if Cameron gets his team into the Grand Final, and all-time jackpot levels if they were to win it.

Cameron’s recruitment to Geelong came 16 years after another very bold, very costly trade, when national draft picks 12 and 16 were required to land Brad Ottens from Richmond.

Without Ottens, the Cats probably wouldn’t have won the 2007, 2009 and 2011 premierships.

Sometimes, clubs just need to abandon the safer player recruitment options. Premierships sometimes can’t be won without the risk.

History repeats for Bevo and the Dogs

“I think it’s dangerous comparing this one to last year’s Grand Final, I mean that was all the adjectives that have been attached to it, but I mean, tonight was different.”

No, Bevo, it is not dangerous to compare the embarrassment of an 11 goal to two goal swing in the final three quarters of a 2022 elimination final against Fremantle with the 16 goal to one goal disaster in the last 45 minutes of the 2021 Grand Final against Melbourne.

That’s a combined 27 goals to three goals swing in the past two finals played by this club. No, it’s not dangerous to compare. It is actually bleedingly obvious to do so.

It is understandable that Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge doesn’t want to engage in the damning narrative that his team is flaky in crunch moments. But it is, and the mental trauma attached to those results will require extraordinary remedy.

Teams with genuine pride in their performance don’t concede 93 and 54-point swings in consecutive finals. In some ways, the Bulldogs escaped proper public scrutiny for that debacle at Optus Stadium last year. And maybe they didn’t delve too deep themselves in reviewing it, because the same players went missing on Saturday.

Not surprisingly, Marcus Bontempelli stood up in both games, and was clearly the Dogs’ best in both those matches.

Josh Dunkley, who seems headed out of the club, deserves a pass mark, too, particularly for the most recent performance. Maybe Jack Macrae, but even with him, Beveridge needs to find a way for him to have more impact in matches.

Aaron Naughton as a key forward just doesn’t reliably perform in the big games, and while that is clearly on him, so too it is on the coach. For Naughton has all-time elite talent.

The Dogs’ backline is simply a mess, not capable of stopping opposition onslaughts. And while the expected reintroduction of Liam Jones will assist operations in that part of the ground, in isolation it certainly won’t fix the problems.

In eight completed seasons, Beveridge has reached finals on six occasions, and twice got to a Grand Final. But he has never reached the finals with a double chance.

The Bulldogs will on Monday begin reviewing their season. They will need to make bold and significant changes if they are to regain standing in 2023.