A Banderas
All Australian
- Nov 2, 2019
- 776
- 4,138
- AFL Club
- Richmond
- Banned
- #26
lids was toxic for the younger players. had his own little clique too
also we wouldnt have got caddy and jack graham
Biggest what-if in the AFL this decade
- Thread starter BigVic
- Start date
- Tagged users None
also we wouldnt have got caddy and jack graham
- Sep 16, 2006
- 35,904
- 35,533
- AFL Club
- West Coast
If David Astbury didn't catch and spread his gastro to his team mates PF week in 2018 would Richmond have beaten Collingwood, perhaps gone on to win the flag that year, and then perhaps threepeated this year?
On the field the biggest impact has undoubtedly been the introduction of two new clubs.
So the biggest what-if is how things would’ve gone if they weren’t introduced.
So the biggest what-if is how things would’ve gone if they weren’t introduced.
A Banderas
All Australian
- Nov 2, 2019
- 776
- 4,138
- AFL Club
- Richmond
- Banned
- #30
took sloane out of the gf and kicked 3 goals in his 4th afl game
is still only 20 and developing nicely. tackling machine
take your salt elsewhere princess
manicmagpie
A slice of fried gold
Posted this in a similar 'sliding doors' thread a while back:
The all time classic is what if the ball had bounced differently for Milne in the 2010 drawn Grand Final (or alternatively, what if Milne had actually attacked the ball)?
Think about the difference that would make to:
All these massive changes and more due to one bounce of the ball...
The all time classic is what if the ball had bounced differently for Milne in the 2010 drawn Grand Final (or alternatively, what if Milne had actually attacked the ball)?
Think about the difference that would make to:
- Milne's reputation - would be considered a hero of St Kilda on par with Barry Breen instead of remembered for the indecent assault.
- Malthouse - if he couldn't get Collingwood over the line in 2011 would have coached for 17 seasons without a flag, severely denting his legacy and rep.
- Buckley - the handover would probably be seen as necessary and he would have been initially cut much more slack as a result.
- Lyon - hailed as a coaching genius instead of devising game plans that come up short in Grand Finals.
- Pendlebury - the fact he was suffering through illness in the GF would not have been seen as a valid excuse for his poor performance if he didn't have the ability to make amends the week after. Other achievements greatly diminished as a result.
- McGuire - huge pressure on Eddie's presidency if he doesn't have a flag after all that time in charge.
- Riewoldt, Hayes, Goddard, Montagna etc - vast difference in legacy and reputation if they have a flag on their CV at end of their careers.
- Reverse for Swan, Didak etc who would be missing their premiership credentials.
All these massive changes and more due to one bounce of the ball...
Would still be remembered for that. Gary Ablett Snr was considered possibly one of the best of all time but he is still remembered as someone that basically murdered a teenager. Carey was considered great too, but when people think of him a lot think of him having an affair.
- Feb 5, 2018
- 14,273
- 34,523
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Chicago Blackhawks Melb Renegades
1. What if the ball bounced into Stephen Milnes hands late in the 2010 grand final?
St.Kilda would have a flag and that amazing Collingwood side potentially zilch. Does that change Ross Lyons future?
2. What if the AFL went Tasmania instead of Gold Coast or GWS?
One has turned into a successful club and the other a real struggler. Which one could we have gone without?
3. What if Richmond sacks Dimma at the end of 2016? Do the Tigers go on to win 2 of the next 3 flags?
4. What if the Essendon thing scandal never happened? Would they have won a final by now? Would Hird still be coaching?
St.Kilda would have a flag and that amazing Collingwood side potentially zilch. Does that change Ross Lyons future?
2. What if the AFL went Tasmania instead of Gold Coast or GWS?
One has turned into a successful club and the other a real struggler. Which one could we have gone without?
3. What if Richmond sacks Dimma at the end of 2016? Do the Tigers go on to win 2 of the next 3 flags?
4. What if the Essendon thing scandal never happened? Would they have won a final by now? Would Hird still be coaching?
What if Port won the 2014 Prelim?
RE: 3 Absolutely not
We’d be back down the bottom again, much of the good work for the decade down the toilet. And if he got sacked because of the focus on footy ticket getting through, all of the good work would be gone, and we’re back to the real dark old days.
- Apr 10, 2014
- 20,615
- 56,333
- AFL Club
- Port Adelaide
Imagine all the talent they took up spread evenly across 16 teams.
The quality of the competition would be so much better.
- Sep 26, 2012
- 9,459
- 1,626
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
you left me at eleven... times that you struck and then faded away...
- Jul 19, 2019
- 6,704
- 11,462
- AFL Club
- Richmond
What if we got Buddy.
So many what-ifs for Adelaide 
- 2005 & 2006 - Prelims against West Coast
- 2012 PF v Hawthorn
- 2005 & 2006 - Prelims against West Coast
- 2012 PF v Hawthorn
So many what-ifs for Adelaide
- 2005 & 2006 - Prelims against West Coast
- 2012 PF v Hawthorn
Swans were bloody lucky in that period not to meet Adelaide in the finals. We could beat West Coast, couldn't beat Adelaide to save our lives though.
Forward Press
Hall of Famer
It was the perfect rivalry triangle.
Adelaide > Sydney
Sydney > West Coast
West Coast > Adelaide
Neil Craig's Adelaide underachieved imo, should have got at least one GF out of that list.
- Aug 18, 2009
- 7,234
- 6,736
- AFL Club
- Richmond
At the risk of derailing the thread, what if that girl had never made derogatory comments to Adam Goodes.
Or what if he hadn’t have done the war dance?
The Adam Goodes saga was definitely the biggest AFL story this decade, Essendon drug saga, Phil Walsh tragedy come close, but the Goodes story has an international interest that the others didn’t.
Would be fascinating to see the view of fans of Goodes in a world where those events didn’t transpire.
Or what if he hadn’t have done the war dance?
The Adam Goodes saga was definitely the biggest AFL story this decade, Essendon drug saga, Phil Walsh tragedy come close, but the Goodes story has an international interest that the others didn’t.
Would be fascinating to see the view of fans of Goodes in a world where those events didn’t transpire.
- Nov 8, 2016
- 2,059
- 3,431
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
Let's pretend Marshall Mathers never picked up a pen
Let's pretend things woulda been no different
Pretend he procrastinated, had no motivation
Pretend he just made excuses that were so paper thin
They could blow away with the wind
"Marshall, you're never gonna make it
Makes no sense to play the game
There ain't no way that you'll win."
Pretend he just stayed outside all day and played with his friends
Pretend he even had a friend to say was his friend
And it wasn't time to move and schools weren't changin' again
He wasn't socially awkward and just strange as a kid
He had a father and his mother wasn't crazy as s**t
And he never dreamed he could rip stadiums and just lazy as s**t
"heck a talent show in the gymnasium, bitch!"
"You won't amount to s**t—quit daydreamin', kid!"
"You need to get your cranium checked."
"You're thinking like an alien, it just ain't realistic."
Now pretend they ain't just make him angry with this s**t
And there was no one he could even aim when he's pissed at
And his alarm went off to wake him, but he didn't make it
To the Rap Olympics, slept through his plane and he missed it
He's gon' have a hard time explaining to Hailie and Lainey
These food stamps and this WIC s**t
‘Cause he never risked s**t, he hoped and he wished it
But it didn't fall in his lap, so he ain't even here, he pretends that..
Let's pretend things woulda been no different
Pretend he procrastinated, had no motivation
Pretend he just made excuses that were so paper thin
They could blow away with the wind
"Marshall, you're never gonna make it
Makes no sense to play the game
There ain't no way that you'll win."
Pretend he just stayed outside all day and played with his friends
Pretend he even had a friend to say was his friend
And it wasn't time to move and schools weren't changin' again
He wasn't socially awkward and just strange as a kid
He had a father and his mother wasn't crazy as s**t
And he never dreamed he could rip stadiums and just lazy as s**t
"heck a talent show in the gymnasium, bitch!"
"You won't amount to s**t—quit daydreamin', kid!"
"You need to get your cranium checked."
"You're thinking like an alien, it just ain't realistic."
Now pretend they ain't just make him angry with this s**t
And there was no one he could even aim when he's pissed at
And his alarm went off to wake him, but he didn't make it
To the Rap Olympics, slept through his plane and he missed it
He's gon' have a hard time explaining to Hailie and Lainey
These food stamps and this WIC s**t
‘Cause he never risked s**t, he hoped and he wished it
But it didn't fall in his lap, so he ain't even here, he pretends that..
love this
- Nov 8, 2016
- 2,059
- 3,431
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
A very good 'what if'.
If that girl does not say those comments and Goodes does not point her out he is not named AOTY some months later for a start.
A massive 'what if' for me is the way the boos were handled. Even with the same dirty or floggish onfield antics that apparently irked others from Goodes and even with all his post AOTY statements having happened
Imagine it is early 2015 season and the media questions Goodes about the crowd reception and his response is the following.
'I do not mind the booing. I use it to motivate me to get more out of myself onfield.' (big difference between boos and racist comments and this is not implying that Goodes should tolerate the latter)
Then does not do a war dance at away supporters of a bottom team when the Swans are winning easily.
And Pridham does not make inflammatory statements that if you boo Adam you are racist.
I do not think it blows up like it did for the rest of 2015 even with all the stuff that led to the boos getting to where they were early in the season before the dance.
Not many are prepared to look in to it from that angle but if the real aim was to reduce the booing against Goodes then the way it was handled by the AFL, Swans, and Goodes just gave media every opportunity to polarise the football community. It was amazingly incompetent and instead made the saga more painful for everyone.
