| If | there's a way to kickstart a sputtering year where massive decisions are being made at selection every weekend (what the heck is going on with Gibbs?) ... |
| then | it's beating premiership hope GWS on Saturday night, then the Tigers next Thursday night. For the Crows, rounds 12 and 13 are a season-defining six days. And maybe coach-defining too. |
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| If | in the run home you have Gabba matches against Melbourne, North Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Gold Coast (and Geelong) and other matches against Carlton (this week) and St Kilda ... |
| then | the finals are a 100 per cent lock, it's just a matter of whether there is a double chance. |
| If | there's one thing the competition can learn from the Carlton experiment of 2016-19 ... |
| then | it is that no club should ever again lose sight of the crucial need to actually win games of football. Some big pictures are allowed, tolerated, and on occasions encouraged to become so big that they are never actually in focus. |
| If | Bucks's timing has always been a feature of his life in football, be it kicking a 50m pass onto the chest of a leading Rocca or inspirationally steering the Pies to within a kick of the 2018 flag ... |
| then | that renowned quality abandoned him on Wednesday morning when he spoke about Mick. Absolutely nothing we didn’t already know. But there are better moments than the morning after a Hall Of Fame entry to give detail and context to one of football's most explosive blow-ups. |
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| If | Woosha thinks a win against the Blues will make the questions go away ... |
| then | it won't. A lot of answers still required. |
| If | Ross The Boss was caught having fish and chips in Lygon St, Carlton, with SOS, a senior football department official of Carlton ... |
| then | something is just not right … you don't have fish and chips in one of the world's greatest Italian-food strips! |
| If | anyone says they thought the Cats could hit the bye at 11-1, which they will do if they defeat the Tigers on Friday ... |
| then | they're lying. Mind-boggling start to 2019, with the only loss coming after a four-goal lead (GWS at GMHBA in round four). |
| If | the first four games were exceptional (three wins and one loss by just one point) ... |
| then | seven straight losses since is starting to loom as a worry. North, on Saturday afternoon, and St Kilda next weekend, present as great chances to get another W. |
| If | this club has been purring beautifully without any significant impact from its best player ... |
| then | look out. Toby Greene to have a massive back half of 2019. |
| If | he's always faced, and conquered, his challenges in his time as coach ... |
| then | here's another one for Clarko – get Wingard back to his 2013-15 brilliant best. Good luck. |
| If | I know Goody like I think I do ... |
| then | he won't be writing off this season just yet. Which means Monday's game is a danger one for Collingwood. |
| If | we live in a football world where 99 per cent of participants aren't allowed to be, or don't allow themselves to be, themselves ... |
| then | Rhyce Shaw is refreshingly in the one per cent. |
| If | there's no focus of an AFL perspective for the Power this week ... |
| then | there certainly will be from a SANFL one. Big Charlie Dixon is back, 10 months after smashing his leg and ankle. The season is alive if he gets back to his best. |
| If | I went early and ruled out a flag when Rance went down in round one only to reinstate them as a premiership chance after a six-from-seven winning sequence but then second-guessed after the bad loss to North ... |
| then | clearly I have no idea. But we will all get to know where the Tigers are at after the game against Geelong. |
| If | the only win in the past six is against the team which sacked its coach this week ... |
| then | the positivity from a 4-1 start to the year has dissipated. Desperately need Hannebery to get through a second VFL game this weekend and be ready for AFL action after the bye. |
| If | someone is overdue for an old-fashioned bag of eight goals ... |
| then | it is the Bud. |
| If | Gaff simply racks up 30 disposals every single week ... |
| then | to get there in round 12 he's going to have work a bit harder, with Ryan Clarke to tag him. |
| If | 2017 was the hangover they had without realising it at the time, and 2018 a complete waste ... |
| then | 2019 is looming as even worse. Surely the bye period is being used to thoroughly review football operations. |
| If | the score review doesn't work this week ... |
| then | ditch it. It's simply embarrassing, the excuses for it not working even worse. |
