IF | THEN | |
Adelaide | the Crows don’t get on the board this week against the Lions ... | ... watch for a little bit of panic to set in, with a big Showdown looming in round three. |
Brisbane Lions | Moloney and Rockliff again start on the bench against the likes of Dangerfield, Sloane and Thompson... | ... Michael Voss needs to re-evaluate. |
Carlton | Collingwood beat them on Sunday ... | ... will Mick Malthouse seek to shake Eddie McGuire’s hand? |
Collingwood | Carlton beat them on Sunday | ... will Eddie McGuire seek to shake Mick Malthouse’s hand? |
Essendon | Jobe Watson doesn’t pick up another three votes against the Melbourne rabble ... | ... maybe he doesn’t deserve a second consecutive Brownlow. Maybe. |
Fremantle | Ross Lyon’s game plan doesn’t shut down Brett Goodes’ ability to roam free across half-back ... | ... we all need to ask even louder: how was he not drafted earlier??!! |
Geelong | there is a better captain in the competition than Joel Selwood ... | ... well, there’s not. |
Gold Coast | Rory Thompson can limit Sam Reid’s influence like he did Nick Riewoldt’s last week ... | ... the 22-year-old will be introduced to All-Australian conversations. |
Greater Western Sydney | ... its round two opponent Port Adelaide suddenly reverts to 2012 form | ... the Giants are a live chance. |
Hawthorn | the Hawks don't get Brad Hill up to four-quarter match fitness, and on available evidence he is about two quarters short ... | ... they will rarely match an opponent with leg speed. |
Melbourne | the Demons don’t come out and back up their words by making a statement with ferocious tackling and pressure in the first 10 minutes on Saturday night ... | ... we will all officially be justified in saying they have little care for their team, their coach and themselves. |
North Melbourne | Kangaroos players attack the footy this week against the Cats as aggressively as coach Brad Scott did the Collingwood sponsor board after last Sunday’s match ... | ... they’ll register victory No.1 for the year. |
Port Adelaide | anyone in the off-season predicted that after two rounds the Power would sit atop the ladder, which is where they will be after they do a number on GWS on Saturday ... | ... they're lying. |
Richmond | teams continue to allow Brett Deledio to have free space in the attacking midfield ... | ... he could become the most damaging goalkicking midfielder in the competition. |
St Kilda | Lenny Hayes has to think twice about attacking the footy as he has for 15 seasons and 264 matches ... | ... our game is poorer. |
Sydney Swans | there is a bigger flaw in the fixture than the reigning premiers playing GWS and Gold Coast in the opening two rounds ... | ... it is Hawthorn having only a six-day break against West Coast’s 15 day-break before Sunday’s match. |
West Coast | the Eagles can't defeat the Hawks at home, coming off a 15-day break compared to the Hawks’ six ... | ... there will be loud alarms going off in Perth. |
Western Bulldogs | Tom Liberatore has another blinder ... | ... the club needs to remove a bit of the understandable protection placed around him and let him answer a few media questions about what happened last year, and how he has admirably dealt with it. |
Follow Damian Barrett on Twitter: @barrettdamian