Bankers and Anchors R2 2025 vs Collingwood

[GVGjr]

This is the Round 1 2025 edition of the weekly Bankers and Anchors thread. Once this afternoon's game against Collingwood has 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.

he 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.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bankers

1. Lobb and Dale in defense - were amazing a tandem all night.
2. Libba was even more frenetic and magnet-like in the fray even when being buffered. It's like he's in the matrix sometimes.
3. Darcy - He is the real deal, that's for sure. By year's end he could be the stand out best big man player in the comp, and soon to be challenging for best player in comp

Anchors

1. The umpiring was horrible. Ridiculously so. The deference shown to Pendlebury and Daicos (not their fault either) by the umpires is embarrassing, especially when you see it stacked up against similar examples against our players tonight. Bailey Dale being penalised for putting the ball out, when he was attacking the contest.. He would've been shredded had he not made an attempt to intercept the flight of the ball.

2. Sanders- it's way too early to go on in, but I did not see any standout attributes that warranted him being a top tier pick? I really hope it comes together for him, and this is just the apprenticeship he needs to go through. But he wouldn't be the first highly rated mid drafted who just didn't match their junior level.

3. He had a lot of typically brave and footy smart moments, but Jeez Duryea's turnover to Cox took the wind out of our sails.. It's harsh on him but they're the one's the change the result, the mistakes when you're all out of shape trying to respond and maneouver for what should be your now offensive set up.

[Mofra]

Bankers
- Our late draft finds, Freijah's run through the middle and goal in the last, and Davidson's gut-running and his dance steps late in the game.
- Darcy's field kicking. Where did that come from? Sublime from anyone at around 210cm who is such a marking threat.
- Libba willing himself on the game

Anchors
- English dropped at least 3 marks a ruckman really should take. Worked hard, but rucks just need to take marks when they get a mismatch.
- The injury gods. Take your pick - if one of Bont, Treloar, Liam Jones or Weightman play, we win. Simples. JOD at a pinch too.

The effort was 100% there so it seems harsh to dig out a 3rd.

[westbulldog]

Bankers
Liberatore - a true Footscray captain's game
Darcy - so much talent and will get even better.
Lobb, good consistent game across the backline.

Anchors
Duryea - past it imo, a liability.
Jones - not convinced he is up to AFL standard.
Free kicks 33 to 14 , hard to win with those stats.

[josie]

Bankers
Liberatore - a true Footscray captain's game
Darcy - so much talent and will get even better.
Lobb, good consistent game across the backline.

Anchors
Duryea - past it imo, a liability.
Jones - not convinced he is up to AFL standard.
Free kicks 33 to 14 , hard to win with those stats.

Yeah-Duryea looks cooked.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

It is a bit of a challenge for me to respond to this thread because my brother Tim was the Banker.
Bankers: Friejah, big silky and mean.
Davidson with less size, bigwork ethic.
The look in Sam Darcy's eye.
Dolan bouncing back this week, showing some of what he's got.

Anchors: Sanders, plodder on the night.
Doubting the state of mind of those particular umps and feeling they were unconsciously prejudiced.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

B:

- Darcy taking Moore to the cleaners. He's an absolute superstar, ready to become the best player in the game.

- Libba. Huge game. All heart. Fitting performance given the occasion.

- Lobb. How big is his heart!? He's become a real fan favourite.

A:

Duryea - Should have retired. The signs were clear to me at the end of last year. He's unplayable at this point.

English - Loses key moments consistently. We learned nothing new.

Umpiring - Shameful. One of the worst displays I've seen. It's not just what they paid to them, it's what they missed i.e. Naughton cops frontal contact, play on. Costly in a close game.

[jazzadogs]

I don't have three of each, but want to shout out Davidson's two chases late in the game. Bobby Hill and McReery are two of the fastest players in the game, and this endurance beast was able to keep up with both of them.
Unfortunately neither chase was successful in hindering them, but it was a surprise to me how much pace he had!

[Dry Rot]

Bankers

Overall team effort, it seems that almost everyone aside from English was playing at 110% of their ability and intensity

Williams and VDM in different ways

I was really impressed with Naughton in the guts, I appreciate ruckwork is not good for his knees, but Jesus he could make be an amazing wrecking ball giant inside mid

Anchors

Abysmal umpiring

English

Generally our bottom tier players, like Baker and Jones are not up to it, Drop Sanders, until he can learn to kick properly and stop handballing all the time

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I'm clearly alone here, but Duryea's role is prone to being exposed occasionally. I thought yes he made some mistakes, but geez he does a million little things that we often don't notice.

[SonofScray]

B

VDM - that electric run down the boundary on the Warne Stand side. What a moment to watch from up above. Pure acceleration with the footy and just full of confidence. Was great to see.

Darcy - can’t believe we get to see a player of the Bonts calibre AND Sam Darcy’s careers overlap. He’s a dead set stud.

Libba - if we get up, it goes down as one of the great home and away performances in our jumper. Didn’t go our way, but the look on Snr’s face when he kicked that goal said it all.

A

Bramble. Tough ask tonight but he was poor when the whips were cracking, has to physically impact the contests he goes to more often.
Duryea, he fell off a cliff tonight. A liability. I’m really sorry to say, because he’s been so reliable and dogged with us.
Arty. Having doubts about him being at the level.

[Mantis]

Bankers:

our grit - so much went against us in terms of line up and the umpires but we didn’t go away and that was a massive positive.

Darcy - just kick it to Darcy.

Khamis - it was a good return to the senior team

Anchors:

where the **** do we start?

Sanders - has absolutely no confidence with the ball in his hands and it’s like a game of hot potato when in possession. This needs to change.

Umpires- it wasn’t fair.

The bottom tier - the likes of Dolan, Arty and Doc aren’t up this level at present.. it makes it difficult to win when you have no contribution from team members but understand why we have to play them.

[SlimPickens]

Bankers- Freijah- Rate this kid, another top performance on a big stage

Darcy- wow, just wow

Libba- put us on his back tonight, amazing captains game.

Anchors
Bramble- had a shocker, no run tonight.

Blokes slipping over- Naughton, Bramble, Williams- drove me nuts. Pick the right boots for the conditions!

Duryea- mid ground turn over to Cox was horrific.

[Pottz]

Bankers
- Lobb, the nation thanks you for landing one on the most punchable face in the game, worth it even if you get a week off.
- Libba, beast mode activated.
- Darcy, boy oh boy. He must have a weakness in his game but it ain’t visible yet.
- Honourable mentions to Dale, VDM and Naughton (wasn’t his night but never dropped his head).

Anchors
- Duryea, sad to see him at the moment and should be the first to go when Jones is back.
- Sanders, his heat map must just show deep red circles where he ran around and around the same spot.
- Umpiring, they gave us a few 50/50s early which only served to fire up the great toothless masses who booed them into a complete 180. Disgraceful.