Sliding Doors: Round Nine

IF every team has played each other once this season...

THEN it calls for the return of Nanas Sliding Doors

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IF your first win of the season came in Round 1 against Nana Winner...

THEN after nine-consecutive rounds posting a bottom-two score, Round 10 might be your last chance to taste four points again this year.

IF you traded away your only reliable captain option of the 2025 season...

THEN what were you expecting to achieve in 2026? Especially after trading away your first round selection.

IF you don't own a first round selection until 2029 and sit two wins outside the finals picture through nine rounds...

THEN where to next for Future Players? The Catholic Church (5th) looks to have allegedly thrown in the towel, so how does Coach Rapaic bridge the gap to fellow expansion club Xerri Berries (6th) or Beat Mike (7th)?

Christian Petracca (M/F) is averaging 100.1 in his new colours

IF you've spent countless years in Nanas no man's land and just traded away Brodie Grundy for 21-year-old Dan Curtin...

THEN do Marcus Bontempelli and James Sicily also find new homes? Or does Coach Roberts still quietly believe he's a sniff for finals?

IF it's possible to claim two wins in one week of Nanas football...

THEN the 5-4 Xerri Berries did just that. Coach Moore handed Heeney Some Milk its first loss of the season in the same week The Catholic Church and Beat Mike traded away three key players. A lot of people thought Future Players would be the first expansion club to play finals, but Coach Moore now finds his side in the box seat.

IF draft day hinted at the end of an era for The Catholic Church...

THEN the departure of Lachie Whitfield and Shai Bolton all but confirmed it. An incredible 81-19 win-loss record since the beginning of the 2020 season, but sadly only one premiership to show for it. A textbook list build from Coach Hedges.

IF there's one way to bounce back from a shock loss to Beat Mike, especially after Brodie Grundy's underwhelming homecoming...

THEN it's by knocking off a vulnerable Heeney Some Milk in Round 10. A win would not only solidify Max's Team as a top-three threat, but keep the door open for a minor premiership.

Brodie Grundy returned to Max's Team and churned out a disappointing 54

IF you weren't happy with fellow coaches predicting a third-place finish for your side...

THEN, with the sudden rise of the Jammers and Max's Team, maybe third place isn't so bad after all, especially given the new-look finals format.

IF a potential Grand Final preview awaits in Round 14 when you face Heeney Some Milk...

THEN it is absolutely criminal eight of your starting 18 will be on the bye. But if those two sides do meet in the finals, it will be hard to tip against the Jammers.

IF your dearest rival officially closed his premiership window this week after acknowledging new kids on the block in JMHQB and Max's Team were too strong...

THEN the 2026 finals series could be the last shot at premiership glory for the Milkmen. A horror 1490-point outing against the Berries could end up costing Heeney Some Milk the minor premiership, with the Jammers ready to claim top spot whenever the next slip-up comes.

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