IF Mitchell has been caught engaging with two rival captains ... THEN
STRAP yourselves in, footy fans - Damian Barrett's Sliding Doors is gearing up for the business end of 2025.The finals series is in full swing and Damo is not slowing down any time soon. He's still got plenty of thoughts about all 18 clubs - and the AFL.So what is he saying about your team? What's he saying about the AFL? You can't say that, Damo, can you? Check it out below.>> ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND OPINION FROM DAMIAN BARRETTIF ...ever a player's skill set was built for a big final ...THEN ...it's Josh Rachele's. Had compiled a very good season, scoring at two goals a game, before badly damaging a knee in round 17. Back for Friday night lights in a semi-final against the Hawks. Will clearly be physically underdone, but his footy smarts should compensate.IF ..there is a heap of intrigue surrounding the Lions' response to last weekend's qualifying final drubbing in Saturday night's semi against Gold Coast ...THEN ...a lot of it is focused on Charlie Cameron. He had one kick and one handball against Geelong. Nine times goalless this season. I have learned to never write off the true stars, so I'm tipping we'll be hearing Country Roads at least four times at the Gabba on Saturday.IF ...Nick Haynes' new contract for 2025 wasn't prominent among the biggest AFL news items in a tumultuous week ...THEN ...it was nevertheless a positive one for player and club. Thought he fought very hard in his first season as a Blue amid difficult circumstances in the backline.IF ...this time last week Bobby Hill was 100-1 to play in September ...THEN ...the plunge is on. Still a long shot. But into 10-1 now. The most intriguing selection call of Craig McRae's four seasons in charge of the Pies.IF ...it's three-quarter time in round one next year, the Bombers are three points down, and the captain Zach Merrett demands everything from every teammate for the next 30 minutes ...THEN ...nah, that can't happen. Being a Bomber is conditional for Zach and has been for a long time. It is understandable. His club has constantly shattered him. He has to exit, because it is toxic now. Can't wait to hear from president David Barham on this. I know what a predecessor of his, Graeme McMahon, would have done if Hawthorn had dared tried to poach a superstar Bomber in the 1990s. Aaaah, the good old days of the Essendon Football Club. Remember them?IF ...there was so much to like about the Dockers in the back half of the 2025 season ...THEN ...there remains a lot to ponder and dissect. The opportunity that came with a home final against a team playing its first ever match in September simply had to be taken. Proof of that came in the way the Dockers stormed from 26 points in arrears to a goal clear with two minutes to play. Everyone at this club needs to know they are on the hook for a very big result next year.IF ...I've never been critical of anything Bailey Smith has done in a headline-blazing seven-season career ...THEN ...I am this week. Highly critical. His outburst against a photographer simply doing her job at an open media Cats training session on Wednesday was not just unacceptable but sanctionable, including under the game's respect and responsibility protocols. His text message apology on Thursday was the very least he needed to do. Seems it's OK for Bailey to be photographed in staged paparazzi shots on the Gold Coast but not filmed at his public place of work.IF ...Suns players were emboldened and brazen enough in a pre-season practice match against reigning premier Brisbane to sledge Will Ashcroft about being an unworthy Norm Smith medallist ...THEN ...it was a sure sign they were ready for the big time. Fast forward to Saturday night at the Gabba. Ashcroft can expect more of that. The Suns are more than ready. Cannot wait.IF ...the end to 2023, via a one-point loss in a preliminary final to eventual premier Collingwood, was shattering and the straight-sets exit in 2024 - after leading two finals by 28 and 44 points against that year's Grand Finalists – was heartbreaking ...THEN ...the 2025 outcome was a combination of shattering and heartbreaking. Yes, I know there were injuries to big-name players this year. But three consecutive years of outcomes which fall short of their own expectations has, simply, been a waste of preparation and talent.IF ...Sam Mitchell has been publicly caught engaging personally with two rival captains in the past six months ...THEN ...there's every chance he's met privately with another half-dozen opposition stars. It's how he rolls. Mitchell did not care for people's views when he played, and he cares even less now. It's the US athlete's way, and I've always loved that about him. Going to extremes to prepare for 2026 while being a live chance to win the '25 flag.IF ...I've always rated the footy smarts of Charlie Spargo ...THEN ...I still don't believe that his exit as an unrestricted free agent to North Melbourne would be worthy of any compensation. Let's see the secret herbs and spices that go into this one.IF ...the 2025 season was another disaster for North ...THEN ...there at least appeared to be a positive change in game style in the final two rounds. Twenty goals against bottom team Richmond in round 23 was encouraging, 15 goals against top team Adelaide in the final round even more so. That attacking mindset must be a staple of all operations in 2026.IF ...Docker Will Brodie has flagged his intent to join Port Adelaide ...THEN ...that will be a positive for new coach Josh Carr. But the Power are going to need a whole lot more firepower if they are to go near rejoining the top eight in 2026.IF ...Kamdyn McIntosh and his headband won't be seen again in Richmond colours ...THEN ...I wouldn't be shocked if he and it were in different AFL colours next year. Sure, he will be 32 early in the 2026 season. But he played a very solid full quota of matches in 2025. And missed just four in the previous three seasons. He's durable, he'll do whatever a coach asks him to do, and all his old teammates love him.IF ...there is still a massive unknown hovering over Rowan Marshall after the unprecedented money and approaches afforded rival players ...THEN ...I have no doubt the Saints powerbrokers were prepared for him to seek a way out of the remaining two seasons of his contract, and will be excited at the trade currency attached to an exit.IF ...Dean Cox has enough talent on his list to push back into finals in 2026 ...THEN ...those hopes would be greatly enhanced should a quality key forward and a quality key back find their way to the Swans in the next month. Hard to see them doing anything significant without at least one of those targets.IF ...the Eagles won just one match this season and have won just 11 in the past four ...THEN ...it is truly staggering there were 107,000-plus Eagles memberships on 2025 books. Even with the creative accounting that all clubs utilise when it comes to memberships, that number confirms this underperforming club still has top-two AFL status when it comes to off-field clout.IF ...The Bont already has six Charles Sutton Medals ...THEN ...the five matches he missed at the start of 2025 will probably cost him a seventh. Ed Richards, who played all 23 matches, beautifully poised for his first.AND THIS ONE'S FOR THE AFLIF ...the AFL commission's recent inaction has rightly left it exposed to both severe club and public criticism as well as strategic challenges from the NRL ...THEN ...it can still never consider agreeing to the clubs' demands that they have the final say on anything. Clubs running the old VFL operations nearly ran the game into the ground back in the 1980s, forcing the then courageous formation of the AFL commission. Time for the commission to return to those days of being dynamic. And maybe it needs to be very bold and, merely temporarily, appoint the most common-sense person the game has seen, Leigh Matthews, as chairman.
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