Bankers & Anchors: Rnd 3, 2025 vs Carlton

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This is the Round 3, 2025 edition of the weekly Bankers and Anchors thread. Once this evening's game against Carlton 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.

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.

[GVGjr]

Bump

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

delete wrong thread.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bankers,
1. The next gen: All had their moments that could be very pivotal to their development. Dolan, Freijah, VDM, Davidson, O'Donnell, Khamis.
2. Libba's leadership was everywhere tonight, yep he made a massive mistake that could've cost us, but he was just awesome.
3 Our back 6 was exceptional. They all did there part. I thought Bramble was a bit unfairly maligned tonight. The nature of his role is going to see him make at least 1 horrid mistake each game. The time he got called HTB was because he had two shitty choices, put the next guy under extreme pressure with a handball or else try and take it on. I think he'd actually be given a kudo for accepting the accountability for the moment.

Anchors
1. Naughty's first 3 Qrtrs and 15 minutes! :P
2. Ed didn't have a great night, he and Naughty I felt were the only downers for us overall.
3. The umpiring, against both sides, eventually.

[whythelongface]

Bankers
1. our fitness is really showing through late in games. We are running games out so well. Great work fitness staff.
2. Davidson and Williams- great wing combination. Elite running by both.
3. influence of discarded players- Kennedy, Harmes, Baker and Bramble - all were influential at stages tonight.

Anchors
1. Naughton obviously- had a shocker but to his credit persisted and will get better.
2. Richard’s not great but we can win with him having an average game and no Bont or Treloar.
3. Our slow start and not being switched on. Played well to peg back a four goal lead.

[westbulldog]

Bankers
The emergence of Davidson after 3 games. 606m gained.
Liberatore - another fine leader's game.
Bailey Williams composure.

Anchors
Naughton, 1 goal and that's all folks.
English, totally outplayed by De Koning around the ground.
The ARC review.

[Bornadog]

Bankers

1. Dale's spoil and then following through, grabbing the ball and kicking it to JOD for the sealer.
2. Davidson - what a game from a 3rd gamer
3. Harmes shutting out Cripps in that first half, plus did some great stuff himself

Anchors

1. Naughton couldn't get into the game
2. The mistakes leading to turnovers and easy goals to Blues
3. The deliberate OOB - what a joke - the ball is kicking down the line and must be at least 10 metres from the boundary, but due to the ball not being round, decides to head to the boundary. AFL are a joke

[Happy Days]

Bankers

1. English - TDK was excellent around the ground but I dunno, I thought Timmy kinda worked him into the ground and was a huge reason we got all the way on top in the last quarter. I was watching the game so can’t check the stats but without looking I’d say he won more ruck contests than he lost. And you don’t kick that many goals from F50 stoppages without your ruckman playing well.

2. Darcy - freak show. He can win a game without it all being on the scoreboard. He’s gonna be our best guy soon.

3. James Harmes? That can’t be right.

Anchors

1. There’s no chip in the ball stop lying to us.

2. Dale, with one notable exception. Putrid game under what looked like nothing more than a soft tag.

3. Naughton. What happened to this guy? Looked like he didn’t know how to jump.

[lemmon]

Bankers -

1. Sanders work inside the contest was excellent. I started to see 'it' tonight - great hands, really balanced, nice user of the footy. Easily his best game in the big time

2. Harmes and Kennedy - I didn't want either of them but Sam Power knows a lot more than I do. Mature performers who are both making this side better. They've been critical in both wins.

3. Baker is another in the same vein and I felt he put together a really productive game of footy. It wasn't pretty but he used his pace, did the hard stuff and took ground when it was there. Played nicely in an unfamiliar role

Anchors -

1. So slow with the footy on so many occasions. It's a hot contest, you can't afford to dwell with the ball in hand for that long

2. Naughton - Not sure if it's the three tall forwards but that was a shocker. Silvagni is the kind of guy he should be bullying

3. Running half backs - Carlton did a great job of stopping our drive from the back-line. Bailey, Gags and Bramble were all poor - I think Bramble has struggled to back up 2024 so far.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Bankers: our bottom six, the kids becoming reliable; Davidson and virtually all selected in the absence of many; the club and its old history from its birth, Bevo and the Dougie Hawkins Wing.
Anchors: Naughton perhaps in the wrong possie as a goal kicker and had a bad night; English can be great but seems soft.

[Mantis]

Bankers:

Darcy - playing on if not the best key defender, someone in the top couple he continued to stay dangerous.

Davidson - his work rate is outrageous. Besides Dolan he led both teams in average speed for both attacking and defensive running and had 30+.

Kennedy - his last qtr was huge. So happy for him to put in this performance when he felt he had lots to prove.

Anchors:

Naughton - I know our kicking was ****ing awful to him, but he needs to compete harder than that. Just get the ball to ground.

English - his ruck work was better, but his work around was sub-standard.

Defensive match-ups - We got it wrong. Khamis’s strength is his intercept play so we need to free him up and not have him stand their most important player.

[SonofScray]

B

Darcy. The decisive, centimetre perfect kicks and quick decisions to cut them open as well as his forward craft.
Harmes. Consistently met the physicality requirements of the contest and in a game of two halve,s he gave a four quarter effort.
Baker. 3rd quarter got is going I think. Dale was late to the party and he took responsibility. Then injured and Dale got going.

A

English. Have said it once, will go again. If he was tough, he’d be Tim Scottish.
Naughton. Down day, took his one chance which is a credit. Didn’t like the visible frustration and appealing.
Dale. Off the boil for most of the game.

additionsl anchor for rules/umpiring. Not something to rant and rave about, but the variation from game to game on what is and isn’t a free kick, the application of the ARC amd idea of “definitive” evidence just sucks some of the enjoyment out of things.

[hujsh]

Bankers:

Darcy - playing on if not the best key defender, someone in the top couple he continued to stay dangerous.

Davidson - his work rate is outrageous. Besides Dolan he led both teams in average speed for both attacking and defensive running and had 30+.

Kennedy - his last qtr was huge. So happy for him to put in this performance when he felt he had lots to prove.

Anchors:

Naughton - I know our kicking was ****ing awful to him, but he needs to compete harder than that. Just get the ball to ground.

English - his ruck work was better, but his work around was sub-standard.

Defensive match-ups - We got it wrong. Khamis’s strength is his intercept play so we need to free him up and not have him stand their most important player.

If Naughton was at least being beaten by Weitering you could pass it off as him taking a bullet for Darce, and probably is how it would have gone even a year ago. The fact he was against Silvagni, a solid dependable player but no star, and still couldn't get involved at all, is a real indictment on him.

In the last 3 weeks has had maybe 2-3 quarters of good football. Last year he was influential roaming the ground as that CHF role. Is he still doing that or are we planting him forward more without JUH? I think he needs that space to work TBH because a switched on defender will not let him have the run and jump he needs in d50 anymore.

[Bornadog]

If Naughton was at least being beaten by Weitering you could pass it off as him taking a bullet for Darce, and probably is how it would have gone even a year ago. The fact he was against Silvagni, a solid dependable player but no star, and still couldn't get involved at all, is a real indictment on him.

In the last 3 weeks has had maybe 2-3 quarters of good football. Last year he was influential roaming the ground as that CHF role. Is he still doing that or are we planting him forward more without JUH? I think he needs that space to work TBH because a switched on defender will not let him have the run and jump he needs in d50 anymore.

Don't forget he had a very interrupted pre season and will only get better

[merantau]

Bankers.

1. Davidson - really provided a lot of drive
2. VDM - tracking well.
3. Khamis - didn't put a foot wrong as far as I could see
There were many others I could have mentioned- Williams, McNeil, West, Kennedy, Sanders, Lobb, Darcy, Libba, Baker, O'Donnell
Lots of contributors

Anchors

1. The turnover of Darcy's goal. Ridiculous. All players should be instructed to celebrate wildly after kicking such a goal. All defenders are waving their hands around, like drag queens at a cabaret, and the bloke in front of the VCR reply machine makes his decision based on that.

2. Blatant holding the man in front of the umpire - missed twice.

3. Closed roof. Just stupid