Bankers & Anchors, Rnd 2, 2021: Western Bulldogs vs West Coast Eagles

[bornadog]

That Treloar gives us the opportunity to confidently move Bont forward when the game is up for grabs is fantastic.

Regarding the comment on the defence, at this point its a 'watch' for me. Gardner hasn't played 20 games yet. If his improvement continues on the same trajectory then maybe we get away with him and Keath as the key posts. We won a premiership with Roberts and Hamling.....I too have thought 'Naughton to defence' at times, but at this point Naughts is building towards becoming a key forward monster and headache for the opposition. If we win clearances, the defence is less exposed and forward line is dangerous.
I think we are going to talk about this balance all year!!

A key forward is like Gold and Naughton is Gold and you never give up a power forward to go to defence.

[Ozza]

With Wally often set up as the deepest forward yesterday....I couldn't help but picture Jamarra starting deepest forward.

[Mantis]

With Wally often set up as the deepest forward yesterday....I couldn't help but picture Jamarra starting deepest forward.

Or anyone else.

The change in our forward set-up and the quicker game has Wallis searching for a role and with the likes of JUH, Hannan & Cav waiting in the wings he needs to put his best foot forward.. and quickly.

If selected this week he gets a free hit in a game we should win well, but more concerned how he goes against the good teams.

[Mantis]

Regarding the comment on the defence, at this point its a 'watch' for me. Gardner hasn't played 20 games yet. If his improvement continues on the same trajectory then maybe we get away with him and Keath as the key posts. We won a premiership with Roberts and Hamling.....I too have thought 'Naughton to defence' at times, but at this point Naughts is building towards becoming a key forward monster and headache for the opposition. If we win clearances, the defence is less exposed and forward line is dangerous.
I think we are going to talk about this balance all year!!

In our premiership year our defence also had the likes of Boyd, Morris and Wood who were all very good 1 on 1 players so we were able to share or cover the load. Hamling was seriously under-rated.. Even at this time he was very capable 1 on 1 and took a number of intercept marks.

Naughts is a gem up forward and makes the opposition nervous, but I'm thinking in the back half of the year one of JUH or Schache could easily play with the Bruce & English and still be effective in hitting the scoreboard and our back half will be much harder to score against when we aren't holding fort in the middle... I know it's hard to tell, but do we win yesterday with Yeo & Shuey playing?

[Ozza]

In our premiership year our defence also had the likes of Boyd, Morris and Wood who were all very good 1 on 1 players so we were able to share or cover the load. Hamling was seriously under-rated.. Even at this time he was very capable 1 on 1 and took a number of intercept marks.

Naughts is a gem up forward and makes the opposition nervous, but I'm thinking in the back half of the year one of JUH or Schache could easily play with the Bruce & English and still be effective in hitting the scoreboard and our back half will be much harder to score against when we aren't holding fort in the middle... I know it's hard to tell, but do we win yesterday with Yeo & Shuey playing?

Very hard to say....but the Eagles are a seasoned outfit who have played a lot of footy together. We are still building our cohesion I think, and I'm pretty confident we will be a better team by the time we play them on their deck in Round 15 (which will obviously be a tough one in Perth). They have an amazing team on paper....so many stars....I feel like they should be better.

[Mofra]

There are few kicks in the game as good as Hurn's, but it did frustrate me that we allowed him to get so far out of the goal square unpressured. Needed Vanders on the mark to harrass him as soon as it was 'play on'.

Bankers:
- Vandermeer. I bloody love him. Had a chase-down tackle and two set shots in the space of a couple of minutes, next step for him is making sure he nails those shots. I loved his confidence to kick that final quarter goal, and his team-first attitude to put the block on rather than beelining the ball. Such an expected bonus of 2020, he has a lot of good footy ahead of him.

Ditto. He is a brilliant find for us and we are abetter side when he's on the paddock.

[mjp]

In our premiership year our defence also had the likes of Boyd, Morris and Wood who were all very good 1 on 1 players...

...and very willing help defenders.

[Mantis]

...and very willing help defenders.

Yep... I heard Lyon & Watson on radio this morning singing the praises of Dylan Grimes of his ability to not only stop his opponent, but to play a massive support role for his team-mates. Dale was every bit that player.

[comrade]

The most pleasing part has been the effort of the playing group over the past 2 weeks. There have been periods where the other side has had the ascendency but I haven't felt it had anything to do with a lack of effort or work rate on our behalf.

A big change from the last few years.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

The most pleasing part has been the effort of the playing group over the past 2 weeks. There have been periods where the other side has had the ascendency but I haven't felt it had anything to do with a lack of effort or work rate on our behalf.

A big change from the last few years.

Another big change is that we've beaten 2 teams from the top 8 and perhaps one, the top 4. I know it's early and also we don't know how good Collingwood are, but this is another change from the last few years. To be 2-0 after having had the 2nd toughest draw so far (Carlton's tougher) is a great sign. Again, I know it's really early but it's a much better position than last year.

[FrediKanoute]

Bankers

1. The Bont - Captains game. Stepped up when needed;
2. The midfield generally - aside from a patch in the 3rd, we swarmed and controlled most of the play;
3. The Baileys - first time from memory that we've had a triple Bailey's without the spillage. All played very good games and stepped up when asked.

Anchors

1. Kicking for goal. Wasteful and almost let the Weagles back into the game. Need to nail the door shut early
2. Umpiring inconsistency - here is looking at you Razor Ray....
3. Slow to counter NicNat in the 3rd

[boydogs]

To be 2-0 after having had the 2nd toughest draw so far (Carlton's tougher) is a great sign

We haven't played anyone from last year's top 4 or played interstate yet

[merantau]

Bankers.

Macrae - a constant generator of opportunities.
Bont - massive presence. Kicked the big goals
Naughton and Bruce worked well
Stef Martin - big lift in the last
Bailey Dale - going well
Bailey Williams - CUP - cool under ...

Anchors
Goal kicking
Caleb Daniel's clangers
Taylor Duryea's poor positioning allowed Jones an easy goal square goal in the last.
Gardner pinged. McGovern ball up. Umpires often treat new players more harshly.

[whythelongface]

Bankers
1. The ability to overcome a 3 qtr time deficit against a genuine contender. We have pegged deficits back before but rarely against quality opposition.

2. Stef Martin - although well beaten overall in terms of hit outs his last quarter was huge in nullifying Nic Naitanui's influence on the game. This allowed our midfield to get on top and control the game. His influence on the team can't be underestimated.

3. Bailey Williams - this guy is in red hot form and his aerial work and run will be an important part of our success.

Anchors
1. The free not given to us when McGovern appeared to drag the ball in (and Gardner was pinged not long before)
2. Our dominance in possession didn't reflect the score. We need to take our chances against the top teams. We could have won this by a few more goals but credit to West Coast they hung in and were clearly dominated in the all important 3rd quarter.
3. The media jumping on board means we are now in the spotlight to be a force this year (not sure if this is an anchor or a banker tbh).

[AshMac]

Bankers

- Bont, same points as already made
- beating the eagles in an arm wrestle where their KPP’s all play an outstanding game
- Bailey Williams kicking around the ground and his footwork in traffic. That final moment was superb

Anchors

- goal kicking
- umpiring - for the most part was invisible, the chopping of English’s arms and play on call and the holding the ball for Gardiner in the last were dreadful
- the language I heard in the crowd. Mate had his 10 year old kid, so much swearing for a 3pm game. Doesn’t phase me, but not w kids around