Bankers and Anchors - Rnd 16, 2020 vs West Coast Eagles

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This is the round 16, 2020 edition of the weekly Bankers and Anchors thread. Once the game against West Coast is concluded post your nominations for:

The Bankers = 3 guys/aspects of the game that we banked on to do the right thing during the game
The Anchors = 3 guys/aspects of the game that weighed us down by their errors or poor play

Please limit it to no more than three of each player or aspect of the game, but feel free to make honourable/dishonourable mentions. As usual try to make it constructive criticism.

Try and restrict it to individual players rather than aspects of the overall match - I will allow more freedom now as the thread seems to be going down more of the aspects of the game path so you can have 3 for each made up of aspects of the game and individual players.

The thread is named in honour of a popular WOOF Contributor, The Banker, who passed away on 22/04/2012 after a six month battle with cancer.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bankers

Toby Mclean- really engaging performance, tough in close

Josh Dunks- must've felt freed not having to sacrifice his game for the team today. Clutch today.

The Fringe dwellers, Roarke and Gardner... There are many others who will be duly recognised here, so I'm happy to highlight these two. Gardner is starting to show some good signs, and is building each week. Roarke was quiet but took his moment when many other more fancied guys did not.

Anchors.

The Umpiring. I could write a book on their atrocities tonight. They seemed to change their interpretations for similar incidents throughout the game.

Naughton. If he cannot kick goals then his marks are wasted up forward. He either needs to get some serious remedial work or he simply has to go back to defense.

Bruce... oh dear... he tries I'll give him that, and he won't shirk a contest, but he just invents ways to butcher things, whether it be shots on goal, dropping chest marks, kicking to an outsized and outnumbered Wallis late in the match.....

[SonofScray]

B:
Dunkley : tireless efforts in some sort of quasi CHF role.
Gardner: credit where it is due, showed signs of an AFL footballer. Some moments of hardness and was secure with the ball by foot.
Libba: Superstar.

A:
Coaching. How is it that in a game where we dominate all facets for long stretches that we remain vulnerable? Games where we go a man down, we're cooked. They kept coming and we struggled to put them away.

[bornadog]

Bankers

1. Bon't Goal millimetre perfect.

2. Two crucial marks in dying minutes, Bont and English.

3. Team's willingness to not give up and let this one slip.

Anchors

1. Team - 49 more disposals, I50 45 to 27, 4 more clearances, 19 more CP, and 5 more stoppages 7 more scoring shots yet we win by 2 points.

2. Free kicks, some strange decisions.

[westbulldog]

Bankers

McLean - back to his best form, hard at it all game with 9 tackles.
The entire defence, including Gardner who I've been critical of, kept them to a total of 1.2 for the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
Tom Liberatore, is there a tougher player in the AFL atm.

Anchors

The forward line coach who must go, we are getting goals by sheer effort and guts, there is no system and we cannot kick straight.
Bruce - effort and enthusiasm = yes, skill and effectiveness being presented = No, enough is enough.
Lloyd, that around the corner crap and miss from close in is not good enough.

[Vred]

Bankers -
1. The whole team actually playing 4 quarters and not giving up when the game was pretty much over, Bont's goal was, as he said 'bees dick' perfect.
2. (as mentioned by YHF) Fringe players, didn't cost us the game tonight, and stepped up when needed, Roakes goal, Hayes tackling and running, and dare I say it, Gardner.. Maybe there's some AFL level footballers in him yet
3. English

Anchors -
1. Umpires were a joke
2. Forward line is a joke, really needs to be addressed
3. Can't think of a third, few people have mentioned Bruce, but go back and watch the game, Bruce puts his ass on the line, yes he didn't grab a few marks he could of but if it wasn't for him he wouldn't of won, he really did help get the ball to ground and manufactured some goals for us.

[soupman]

Nothing wrong with the around the corner snap at goal, if the players think it's more reliable (which it seems to actually be) then go for it. It does look dumb if they miss but Lloyd missing from there would have been equally unforgiveable if he took a normal set shot.

He is actually starting to hit a few but I wouldn't mind Bont being open to the round the corner option on a lot of his set shots. He's usually pretty good from distance with normal set shots but anything in the 20-40 metre range he is shite so I'd rather he at least tries the snap from that range to see if it goes any better, he is a pretty good snap in general play so it should suit him.

[soupman]

Bankers:
Caleb Daniel. The most watchable player in the league, everything he does is so clean and has such purpose. He is like watching a great guitarist playing, a perfect combination of technique, instinct and execution.
Josh Dunkley. He has had a lot asked of him this year and has acquitted himself well, and it was very pleasing to see him have a real positive impact on the match instead of just being the sacrifical lamb in a thankless role. Loved him celebrating in the background as Wallis ran into the open goal in the third. Not sure on the curly hairdo though.
Ryan Gardner. Ok he still has some huge limitations but he has come a long way. Generally has an impact on most aerial contests and while he might not spoil with as much vigor as I would like he is developing into a "nice" tall defender. I am still unsure if he has a long term future but he is not the liability he was and can be proud of how he has performed of late. I think he is a lock for next seasons squad fwiw, the coaching staff would've seen enough to feel vindicated in backing him in and i can't really blame them at this point.

Anchors:
Josh Bruce. The fact his game is being talked up at all because he finally held two marks, applied body pressure (without actually ever having a real impact) in the ruck and tried hard in the roles we had to hide him in because he isn't capable of playing as our main key forward is not a glowing sign of his contribution imo. He was ok tonight but i maintain that Fletcher Roberts at full forward would offer just as much. Bruce's first quarter where he somehow turned two marks 20m out from goal into nothing was particularly poor and he is lucky they didn't cost us.
The MC use of Tim English. He was great tonight, playing that kick behind role as an interceptor again and acquitting himself well in the ruck. It's funny that the only time he has looked good this season/his career has been when he has been able to do both those things. So why has he been avoiding the ruck and hiding in the forwardline for the last month? I assume it was because we were "managing" him but if so what a dumb strategy. Last night showed what an asset he is when he is good to go so instead of him being a non-factor in an already slow and immobile forwardline for the last month and a bit we could have managed him by giving him say every 3rd game off and playing him in the one role he is good at the other 2 weeks. Such a huge missed opportunity and he might have been the difference in the Geelong game had he been fit enough to not be hiding in the forward pocket.
Sam Lloyd. I've enjoyed having him in his time at the club but I think it's best we part ways. He tries hard and seems nice, but he adds nothing to our lineup and contributes to our forwardline being slow and one dimensional. His miss in the first was poor from someone who is relying on his finishing being his point of difference.

[Mofra]

Bankers:
Dunkley's willingness to play team-first football. Bevo must love him.
McLean's toughness. For a guy his size he can play a close-checking role, take huge hits, and keep going.
Bont's long goal. The one thing missing from his game is starting to appear. I like his overhead marking this year too.

Anchors
Forwardline is a mess. We should dominate a game like that given our entries and opportunities.
Make the forwardline all three anchors. Dickson is finished so missed, Lloyd continues our trend of having our no 1 goal kicker from one year play well below his best the next year, and there is little synergy between our players there.
Bruce started getting his attack on the ball back by the end of the game but started terribly.

[comrade]

Anchors
Forwardline is a mess. We should dominate a game like that given our entries and opportunities.
Make the forwardline all three anchors. Dickson is finished so missed, Lloyd continues our trend of having our no 1 goal kicker from one year play well below his best the next year, and there is little synergy between our players there.
Bruce started getting his attack on the ball back by the end of the game but started terribly.

The common denominator is Bruce. Has played pretty much as one of our few permanent forwards all season (Wallis being the other) and we have never looked worse down there over the past 4 years.

Leads into teammate's lanes, drops basic marks, misses by foot at key times and rushes his decision making. That kick in the 4th quarter to Wallis in the pocket when he was outmanned 2-1 was just unforgivable.

I don't know how we keep rationalising his selection each week, but here we are.

[Ozza]

Bankers:

McLean - I can't recall the last time Gaff played a full game and was kept to 15 possessions. Toby clamped him and got 20 himself, as well as having a crucial hand in the Dunkley goal, and having 2 involvements in the match winning goal. Best on ground.

Dunks - looked good playing mid/forward. He's a real threat in the air, and it was great to have him play a more natural role.

Bont/English - neither had huge games, but both had huge finishes. Bont from 50....if it was Q1-Q3 I wouldn't be confident, but in a last quarter with the game on the line he gets it done.

Anchors:

Bruce - a bit mean I know, but during the game I texted to Dad that I'm convinced he is paid by someone else to thwart our efforts at winning. He's trying hard, but in reality just gets in the way and stuffs things up. Can not be selected next week.

Naughton - both set shots he ignored routine and kicked it like he was having kick to kick in the park. Appalling and nearly cost us the game. (Sam Lloyd also a half-anchor for his first quarter effort).

Umpiring - I'm not an umpire basher, but they had a shocker.

[RoZDog]

3. Can't think of a third, few people have mentioned Bruce, but go back and watch the game, Bruce puts his ass on the line, yes he didn't grab a few marks he could of but if it wasn't for him he wouldn't of won, he really did help get the ball to ground and manufactured some goals for us.[/QUOTE]

Bruce was one of the players most enthusiastic after the win and tried his guts out so the effort is there but I can't remember a player having so many games with a negative points rating on the AFL Players ranking. Of course that's only one method of determining performance and the non scores from within range goal scoring opportunities is probably the main culprit but that's still a negative rating on the outcome of games.

[Bulldog4life]

Bankers:

McLean - I can't recall the last time Gaff played a full game and was kept to 15 possessions. Toby clamped him and got 20 himself, as well as having a crucial hand in the Dunkley goal, and having 2 involvements in the match winning goal. Best on ground.

Dunks - looked good playing mid/forward. He's a real threat in the air, and it was great to have him play a more natural role.

Bont/English - neither had huge games, but both had huge finishes. Bont from 50....if it was Q1-Q3 I wouldn't be confident, but in a last quarter with the game on the line he gets it done.

Anchors:

Bruce - a bit mean I know, but during the game I texted to Dad that I'm convinced he is paid by someone else to thwart our efforts at winning. He's trying hard, but in reality just gets in the way and stuffs things up. Can not be selected next week.

Naughton - both set shots he ignored routine and kicked it like he was having kick to kick in the park. Appalling and nearly cost us the game. (Sam Lloyd also a half-anchor for his first quarter effort).

Umpiring - I'm not an umpire basher, but they had a shocker.

Those goal misses were deplorable. The most important stat on the ground and both players didn't show the concentration that is needed in those circumstances.

[comrade]

Those goal misses were deplorable. The most important stat on the ground and both players didn't show the concentration that is needed in those circumstances.

I wrote last week that Naughton never has a complete shocker and always at least takes his moments even in quiet games. I spoke too soon!

[Happy Days]

Bankers

McLean is getting a lot of deserved praise for his job on Gaff, but I hope it taught him the value of workrate. By mere virtue of following Gaff he was able to work into really dangerous spots and produced a far better offensive output than pretty much any time in the last 3 seasons.

Bont's goal - haters will say this is fake. I don't think it was touched regarldess, but players who are out of the field of play shouldn't be allowed to touch the ball anyway (see also: JJ getting robbed of GOTC in the GF)

Dunkley - great when your ruckman can be so dominant around the ground and hit the scoreboard. I hope this is a permanent end to whatever it was we were doing with him before.

Anchors

Crozier - his worst game since we all realised he's good. Needs to learn that while we all respect his courage and willingness to put himself at risk, there are times to pick spots to let the tall defenders do their job and wait for the ball to come to ground. It's cost us goals in several games now and cost us an easy contest clear in this one.

Cordy - JFC how hard is it to stop Jake Waterman from kicking two from the back of the square. Pay better attention.

General forwardline conversion - We should've won this game by 5 goals minimum but the forwards just didn't do their job.