| If | it took until round 17 to get your 2018 house in order ... |
| then | well done, finally. The quality of Sloane, the person as much as the footballer, had a lot to do with that. Embarrassingly messy for too long, though. And having said all that, would love for you to dare to dream. |
| If | you make it a third consecutive win or at the very least stay competitive for four quarters against the significantly more favoured Hawks ... |
| then | we will begin to believe your own favourable assessments of progress being made. |
| If | you stubbornly refuse to play Harry McKay for weeks on end but then, out of nowhere, select him for round 17 ... |
| then | you've blinked. And you've also ensured he will be - whether he's good, bad or indifferent – an otherwise unnecessary media focus in the match coverage. But we like it all the same, got him down for four. |
| If | Maxy may have edged ahead of our man Brodie in the race for All Australian ... |
| then | there's no better way to play catch-up than a dominant performance against Nic Nat in a second v third clash at the MCG on Sunday. |
| If | you check the rules ... |
| then | you'll see that umpires are not actually required to award an even amount of free kicks to the competing teams in each match. Get over it, Woosha. Nice media diversion, but you've got bigger problems in this self-inflicted wasted season. |
| If | the Dockers are playing on the weekend ... |
| then | can someone please tell us? Lost all relevance. |
| If | you're seeking a snapshot of where you're actually at ... |
| then | you got it at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night. Impressively thereabouts, but a long way off from actually winning the whole thing, as you have been for some time now. |
| If | there's not a proper, end-of-season think-tank to thrash out every possible scenario relating to this club's standing, and even existence ... |
| then | the AFL is not serious about its operations. Not being dramatic, just realistic. |
| If | the last time the Giants played the Tigers – 2017 prelim final - was arguably the most important game in this club's history ... |
| then | the significance the next time round – Spotless Stadium, Saturday night - is strangely nearly as great. The Giants are hanging in there through great adversity this year, and a win will mean finals are real. |
| If | there's a guy we've always admired for how he keeps smiling and toiling and dreaming and keeping his head held high ... |
| then | it's Whitecross. Back in this week. Will give it his all, as he always does. |
| If | most others have dropped off ... |
| then | we haven't. We've still got you in the premiership conversation. |
| If | Waite, then Wood, going down has been a major setback for the hope the Roos had of making finals ... |
| then | Daw being used as a forward could reignite it. Whatever Scott does up forward, Brown needs real help. |
| If | you don't get Jonas back before the finals ... |
| then | you won't be winning the whole thing. |
| If | you see Vlastuin, Houli and Bolton as the ins ... |
| then | it at least squares the outs of Broad, Butler and Graham. |
| If | our gut feel is right ... |
| then | the Blues won't be easybeats on Friday night. Look out. Will be a very messy week if you don't win. |
| If | rival clubs know one thing about Hannebery ... |
| then | it is that he is contracted to the end of 2021. But some have already asked the question, and others will do so in the off-season. There's something strange going on here. |
| If | Kennedy and Darling both play on Sunday ... |
| then | the Eagles win and we've got the official challenger to Richmond. |
| If | back soreness is the real reason Boyd is not playing this weekend ... |
| then | that's a shame. Would've liked to have seen him up against Gawn. Instead, Roughead, who Bevo has developed a set against, will go up against a guy who may be the best ruckman in the game. |
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| If | virtually all of the high-profiled, key people advocating for a team in Tasmania are themselves based in Melbourne ... |
| then | that's fine. We get it. But the push will never gain proper momentum, and it's not happening. |
