| IF | THEN | |
| Adelaide | you packaged up onto a DVD Eddie's highlights in a career now into its 12th season ... | ... that DVD would present very nicely alongside all other players' best-ofs. |
| Brisbane Lions | at the start of the year Lions officials scanned their 2016 matches for possible wins in a very tough fixture ... | ... they would've zoomed in on this one against Carlton. They're not doing that right now. |
| Carlton | you're 5-5 and have the Lions this weekend and St Kilda the next ... | ... there's no reason you shouldn't set yourself to be 7-5 at the bye. Just think about that for a second. |
| Collingwood | there's one thing we really admire in footy ... | ... it is someone prepared to back to the hilt his own methods and ideologies, regardless of circumstances. In Bucks' case in 2016, it has been high risk to do so. But he might have weathered the worst of it. |
| Essendon | we were in charge of this club ... | ... we wouldn't have rested James Kelly for this game. It is very winnable. |
| Fremantle | you start winning matches, maybe even one match ... | ... no one will be talking about tanking. |
| Geelong | the complacency of the past two weeks continues any longer ... | ... the Cats are no chance against GWS. Crunch game, and the two which follow it look tough. |
| Gold Coast | you've got a home game in Saturday night prime time ... | ... you don't want to be receiving the type of carnage seen since round four. Couldn't be a tougher opponent, either, as the Swans are in a high level zone right now. |
| Greater Western Sydney | there's one place we'd love to place a sound boom this weekend ... | ... it's in the Giants' forward line in their match at Simonds Stadium. Stevie J and Mackie may just break the AFL all-time sledge ratings. Ratings which they already jointly hold. |
| Hawthorn | reputations earned from previous seasons counted for nothing ... | ... the Hawks match against the Demons would be considered toss of the coin odds. Melbourne's numbers in the key stats to this point of 2016 stack up very, very nicely against Hawthorn's. Danger game. |
| Melbourne | Jack Trengove's first game of AFL footy back in 2010 was one he won't forget ... | ... we're predicting that game No.82 will be even more vivid in his reflective years down the track. As heart warming as a straight footy story gets. |
| North Melbourne | Goldstein plays with that knee ... | ... we'll be surprised. |
| Port Adelaide | Chad maintains the form of last week for the remainder of the year ... | ... Power make finals. Simple. |
| Richmond | Vickery and Griffiths remain out of contract for much longer ... | ... it'll soon be obvious to all that the Tigers are attempting to lure a big-name key forward. Hello Josh Jenkins? |
| St Kilda | there's one thing that looks really ugly on paper ... | ... it is St Kilda's backline match-ups against the Crows' forward line. |
| Sydney Swans | you've forgotten ... | ... we'll remind you. This club has lost just two matches - by 10 points to Adelaide and one point to Richmond. Building beautifully for yet another premiership campaign. |
| West Coast | you don't like the term flat-track bully ... | ... you can get rid of it, for a week at least, with a win against the Bulldogs. |
| Western Bulldogs | there is indeed room for Boyd and Redpath ... | ... it will be tested soon enough now that Boyd is back in the VFL after shoulder problems. |
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Follow Damian Barrett on Twitter: @barrettdamian
