| IF | THEN | |
| Adelaide | vision of Tom Lynch leading with his head isn't on the AFL rules DVD next season... | …the rules committee isn't doing its job. |
| Brisbane Lions | this side's form since the bye in round 10 had been solid until last weekend... | ...a 105-point loss to the Crows undid a lot of good. And Pies, Dockers, Cats to come. |
| Carlton | we were really, really, really happy about something this week... | ...it was Chris Judd committing to play on into 2015. Just wouldn't have been right if he'd walked this year. |
| Collingwood | Swanny comes out and tears the Lions a fresh one on Saturday night... | ...don't be surprised. Last time he had an in-season break, to Arizona, he returned scarily good. |
| Essendon | Dyson Heppell wasn't so busy this week preparing to lead the Bombers into the finals... | …he would have been in robe and wig in the Federal Court. Has done pretty much everything else this year. Remarkable young man. |
| Fremantle | you didn't think a man with just 43 games to his name could be so crucial to a side's premiership chances... | ...think again. The rules are thrown out for Michael Walters. No Walters, no Dockers. |
| Geelong | ...Mundy kicks that goal last week, Selwood misses the winner against the Blues and the Tigers sneak one more goal earlier this year... | ...the Cats are sitting fifth, not equal first. This mob is clutch. |
| Gold Coast | the Suns were based in Victoria... | ...they'd be copping serious heat right now. Second half of the season has been horrifically bad. |
| Greater Western Sydney | we thought Heath Shaw's tweet in June about the pizzas was funny... | ...his tweet alluding to Jon Patton house hunting in Footscray was even funnier. Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack kind of funny. |
| Hawthorn | someone told you on the final siren of last year's grand final that the Hawks, minus Buddy, Roughy, Cyril, Sewelly, and maybe Brian and Jack, were a huge chance of beating the Dockers in Perth... | ...you would have scoffed. |
| Melbourne | Demons fans wanted one more reason to be frustrated with past decisions... | ...here it is: Liam Jurrah was taken at No.1 in the 2009 pre-season draft. Tom Rockliff went at No.5. |
| North Melbourne | you closely study what's been going on in the North forward line this year... | ...you'll notice Petrie seems to play a whole lot better when Ben Brown is part of the 22. |
| Port Adelaide | we didn't deep down believe this club was capable of something special in 2014... | ...we would be prepared to write it off. Something tells us not to, just yet. But something also tells us that if our man Chad doesn't fire soon then the Power are done. |
| Richmond | we are to admit guilt on seriously underestimating the worth of one player to his team in 2014... | ...it is because we just didn't realise how much ticker big Ivan has. Just love how he talked it up and then delivered. And stats tell us since start of 2013, the Tigers are 19-11 II (Ivan in), 5-7 IO (Ivan out). |
| St Kilda | Sam Fisher can get another year out of his body... | ...it will be a massive win for the Saints. A joy to watch when he's reading the ball off half-back. People still don't realise how good he was in his prime. |
| Sydney Swans | the Swans need to re-contract one guy... | ...it is Mike Pyke. They're close now, but they need to confirm it, given big Mummy was forced out last year. |
| West Coast | one team's big picture outlook has ever had a greater perception transformation on the back of two wins than the Eagles (with victories against Crows and Pies)... | ...it must have been a sizeable perception transformation. |
| Western Bulldogs | the Bulldogs really want us to believe the future is bright... | ...they need to defeat, or at the very least seriously challenge, the Roos this Sunday. |
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Follow Damian Barrett on Twitter: @barrettdamian
