| IF | THEN | |
| Adelaide | there's a telling head-to-head stat as we enter round 16... | …it is that the Crows have never lost to the Giants. And they'll be 5-0 after this weekend. |
| Brisbane Lions | there's a lesson to take out of what happened in last week's game... | ...it is that players need to be very careful about what they say on a footy field, especially if they front a campaign urging caution on that actual topic. |
| Carlton | Jarrad Waite is at Carlton next year... | ...we are going to be very surprised. |
| Collingwood | there's one thing that we can predict with confidence this week.. | ...it is that Macaffer will receive a lot of attention from the Suns. |
| Essendon | you want to continue to allow yourself to be brainwashed by those running the club now... | …fine. But find some space in your brain for Switkowski's findings too: "... a disturbing picture of a pharmacologically experimental environment never adequately controlled or challenged or documented within the club". |
| Fremantle | there's going to be a better feel-good story this year than Morabito making it back onto an AFL ground... | ...well, there won't be. |
| Geelong | Stevie gets his back right and Joel gets his full fitness back and Allen gets more matches under his belt and Motlop maintains his last-quarter form from last week and Harry returns to his best... | ...there are a lot of "ifs". But the premiership dream right now is still alive. |
| Gold Coast | you want the competition to rate you as real deal... | ...you beat Collingwood this weekend. And you will. Comfortably. |
| Greater Western Sydney | you thought it impossible to get a concussion on a footy field and yet still emerge from the collision as "fortunate"... | ...think again. Heath Shaw was "lucky" last week. On first sight, we feared a half-dozen plates would need to be inserted into his face. |
| Hawthorn | there's going to be a question without an answer at the end of 2014… | …it is this: can Brendon Bolton coach, as in, really coach? The Demons will be keen to find out. |
| Melbourne | our gut feel is right... | ...this weekend's game will be ugly for the Demons. |
| North Melbourne | Brad Scott's biggest problem on the final siren last week was sorting out Tom Rockliff... | ...you could argue his priorities are out of whack. Season is sliding away. |
| Port Adelaide | this club is to do some real damage in September... | ...it simply must find a way to get Trengove back out there before the finals. |
| Richmond | there's one good thing to come out of 2014, and it is probably still debatable that there is... | ...it might be Dusty. If he maintains form for the remaining eight games then he will cruise to the best-and-fairest title. |
| St Kilda | you want some cheering up... | ...think back, to 2009. Remember it? Of course you do. Your team won its first 19 matches of the season that year. |
| Sydney Swans | there's a mystery at the Swans... | ...it is whatever happened to Gary Rohan? Sure, we know he smashed his leg not all that long ago, but we're still dismayed he's not a regular. |
| West Coast | there was a good news story last week... | ...it was Mitch Brown's diagnosis that he hadn't totally wrecked his knee. Deserved some luck. |
| Western Bulldogs | you missed what Bontempelli did in the last quarter last week... | ...make sure you catch up on it. A star was born. |
Click here for more Sliding Doors
Follow Damian Barrett on Twitter: @barrettdamian
