The biggest "What could've been?"

[ash_1050]

What if Dean Wallace had of actually pumped the ball in long instead of trying to take on a Carlton player in the dying seconds of the 1999 preliminary final?

Clip

 

[Cleavy]

North Fitzroy Kangaroos

How many VFL clubs would have gone to the wall if the national expansion never happened from 1987 onwards?

 

[bradrowe#32]

Promotion/Relegation National League
There was talk sometimes in the 50s to have a national league that incorporated promotion/relegation from the state leagues. Would that have been the more ideal setup to the eventual VFL/AFL transition? Would this have been your preferred method?

I've often thought about that and it would have been a logistical/financial nightmare, especially in the 1950s. But it would have been pretty cool. The VFL as Division 1, SANFL as Division 2, WAFL as Division 3 (or swap the two), a united Tassie league as Division 4, NSW/ACT as Division 5 and QLD/NT as Division 6. Bottom two from each division get relegated for the top two of the division below. There would be a much bigger, focused interest in the whole competition as results from each division would affect other divisions. All of the clubs would maintain their own identity and local WAFL (or whoever) game would have got good attendance, more trading/FA, interesting State of Origin matches, etc. There could have been a Tuesday night FA Cup-style knock out league.

But, as I mentioned, it would cost a heap to do and travelling around the country would be difficult.

 

[LeverPuller]

What if...the current finals system existed in 1998?

In '98, Adelaide became premiers from 5th...despite losing their first final.

 

[footyfan1978]

Fitzroy-Bulldogs... 1989.. say it in the David Bowie voice from Fire Walk With Me

 

[Sylvia Saint]

What if Moore kicked that shot or Hodge wasn't incorrectly awarded holding the ball in the 2014 prelim. No 3 peat, No 2 peat, Hawks discussed very differently and Port win a premiership as the only team outside the top 4 in the current system without a bye week.

I like your sliding doors thinking but would Port have been able to beat Sydney? I doubt it. Maybe.

I think people look at things too rigidly and Don't take the nature of the universe into effect. Who's to say Sydney wouldn't have flogged Hawthorn on another day? Case in point is 2010 GF vs replay. Draw vs Collingwood smashing them.
The Swans had a really bad 2 hours in 2014 and now history doesn't look at them kindly.

 

[Young Gun #6]

I like your sliding doors thinking but would Port have been able to beat Sydney? I doubt it. Maybe.

I think people look at things too rigidly and Don't take the nature of the universe into effect. Who's to say Sydney wouldn't have flogged Hawthorn on another day? Case in point is 2010 GF vs replay. Draw vs Collingwood smashing them.
The Swans had a really bad 2 hours in 2014 and now history doesn't look at them kindly.

History has shown fairly often in the last 15 years the team with a tough close prelim usually fairs a lot better than if the other team belted someone on their prelim..

Can be used as an excuse on that day but I think it's something that occurs to often to be thought of as just a bad day rather than complancency or lack of gritt/mental preparation without having a contest the week before.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

All Hawthorn's wasted high picks in the mid 2000's....
2005 Draft
Pick 3 - Xavier Ellis... chosen over Scott Pendlebury and Josh Kennedy (WCE)
Pick 6 - Beau Dowler... chosen over Paddy Ryder, Nathan Jones and Shannon Hurn
2006 Draft
Pick 6 - Mitch Thorp... chosen over Joel Selwood, David Armitage and Jack Riewoldt
Pick 24 - Brent Renouf... chosen over Kurt Tippett, Tom Hawkins, Todd Goldstein and Robbie Gray
2007 Draft
Pick 29 - Brendan Whitecross... chosen over Jack Steven and Easton Wood

One final one that hurts is 2010 Draft...
Pick 38 - Mitch Hallahan to Hawthorn
Pick 40 - Luke Parker to Sydney.....

wce has been far worse as of late

 

[Anja_Nees]

Not giving away Luke Ball for nothing might have helped too.

Yeah Collingwood took Ball with the pick they offered for him. In hindsight Saints may as well have just taken it. If they'd packaged pick 16 (the Lovett pick) and pick 30 who knows who they might have lured.

Alternatively if Lovett had held it together and lasted the preseason he might have made the difference.

Arguably the trade period that cost them the flag.

 

[Mootsy]

If Dean Rioli had have stayed super fit and played a 15 year career..

 

[LeverPuller]

Actually, another interesting one from a Melbourne perspective is the immediate post-186 situation.

Instead of sacking Dean Bailey, the club proceeds with the original plan and sacks Cameron Schwab. The board is forced to begin the hunt for a new CEO. Bailey remains at the club and receives a 2-year contract extension to the end of 2013.

Then what? Given Bailey died in early 2014 and would have been suspended for the tanking saga, who knows what happens.

 

[Sammymoite]

Jack Trengoves trade to Richmond falls through because of foot injury... potentially could've been playing in the prelim for all we know

Instead delisted today. Poor bloke

 

[LeverPuller]

Jack Trengoves trade to Richmond falls through because of foot injury... potentially could've been playing in the prelim for all we know

Instead delisted today. Poor bloke

Busted his foot in the physical for them.

The flipside is that Melbourne drafts Jake Lever. The suggestion was Trengove + Melbourne's 2nd for Richmond's 1st was the deal.

 

[branedotorg]

jarrad waite

 

[Deep]

If Gary Ablett Jr stayed at Geelong, then I'm certain Geelong would have been 2013 premiers.

Well if Enright wasn't injured and Chapman suspended we would've won that prelim.

However with Ablett in our squad the ladder position likely changes and most likely we meet Hawthorn and get some 08 payback.

 

[Deep]

I've often thought about that and it would have been a logistical/financial nightmare, especially in the 1950s. But it would have been pretty cool. The VFL as Division 1, SANFL as Division 2, WAFL as Division 3 (or swap the two), a united Tassie league as Division 4, NSW/ACT as Division 5 and QLD/NT as Division 6. Bottom two from each division get relegated for the top two of the division below. There would be a much bigger, focused interest in the whole competition as results from each division would affect other divisions. All of the clubs would maintain their own identity and local WAFL (or whoever) game would have got good attendance, more trading/FA, interesting State of Origin matches, etc. There could have been a Tuesday night FA Cup-style knock out league.

But, as I mentioned, it would cost a heap to do and travelling around the country would be difficult.

If only Australia had the money to make this happen. To a footy lover it'd cause a lot of pre-ejaculate.

 

[Aramis]

wce has been far worse as of late

Hmm am I missing anything apart from this quick list:

2013 Draft
Pick 11 - Dom Sheed - over Patrick Cripps (13), Cam McCarthy (14), Matt Crouch (23), Zach Merrett (26)
2014 Draft
Pick 11 - Liam Duggan - over Jake Lever (14)
2016 Draft
Pick 13 - Daniel Venables - over Berry (17), SPP (18)

hardly worse unless i'm missing something...

 

[Topkent]

Definitely... multiple list managers over that period though....
Think of what COULD have been.... Ryder, Selwood, R Gray, Wood and Pendlebury added to our team....

That's not how s**t works. If you had all those blokes you might have lost Lewis Mitchell Franklin or Hodge in a salary squeeze. Dew wouldn't have come in in 08 nor Gibbo Hale Lake etc

 

[Topkent]

Can't think of any Melbourne things recently.....

 

[SizeMatters]

Would he have prevented the development of a young mid like Black/Power or to a lesser degree McRae? The Lions would never have drafted Chris Scott and therefore never would have recruited Brad Scott - meaning Brisbane's back line is underdeveloped in their prime era and Nick Riewoldt's collarbone remains in tact?

Brad Scott might never have returned to AFL footy so would never have become a coach. Chris Scott would not have had such a successful playing career and likely would not have pursued a coaching career either. Brendan McCartney would have become senior coach at Geelong succeeding Bomber and who knows what happens after that.

well that's certainly one way to look at it!

 

[Roddy]

What if Gary Ablett Snr had have stayed at Hawthorn for his entire career, with his brothers and brother in law? We may have got Jnr too as Father/son. Those 2 would have minimum 9 flags between them, and with those two in our sides during those glory periods, quite conceivably more, instead of 2. I reckon we would have won '84 and '12 respectively if we'd had those in those sides. Would have been 11 flags between them instead of 2.
That one boggles my mind.

 

[ABSOLUTE MADMAN]

What kind of juggernaut would Richmond be if they had the onfield success of Hawthorn over the last 35 years.

 

[BigVic]

AFL finals system from 2000 to present is under the old system

 

[Lithium]

Hawthorn lose the 2013 prelim.

Game goes other way - would Hawks have stuck with Clarkson?

Probably not for much longer. That final quarter was probably the most import one in our recent history, maybe all of it.
Losing that would have broken us I think. After the 2011 preliminary final last quarter choke and more or less choking again in the 2012 grandfinal, losing to our biggest rival after finishing the season on top again would have been to difficult to recover from imo.
We lose that game, no threepeat and Clarkson likely looses his job soon after.
Winning though gave us a belief that was missing. After that night we went from a team that kept loosing close ones to having ice in the viens any time it went down to the wire.

 

[iameviljez]

What if Ben Cousins said yes to Geelong's Father Son offer and got away from the influences in Perth that lead him down the self-destructive path?

Well goodness only knows how good Geelong was for Ablett Sr...