Bankers & Anchors: Rnd 20, 2025 vs Essendon

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This is the Round 20, 2025 edition of the weekly Bankers and Anchors thread. Once tonight's game against Essendon 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 player.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

I'm going to avoid the obvious ones; Darcy, Naughts, Bont

Bankers:

Cleary, He really either looks like he's more comfortable understanding his role, and more willing to take the game on, back himself and risk making the mistake. I love it. Now, it's gotta come off, or if it doesn't he has to learn how to make sure he makes adjustments and it comes off next time. He looked dead in the water (and truth be told against most teams he probably would've) in breaking through two tackles fairly early in the game. Had he got nailed in either of them, he'd have coughed the ball up in a difficult place to defend! But, he broke through, and was intent always during the night with taking the game on.

JOD. He is fast rocketing up the charts for me as a favourite. He's just about a lock as in first 5 selected in the team week in week out. He has effectively learned on the job, almost his entire career, at AFL level.. His progress is remarkable, and for a guy who finds dangerous ways to hurt himself with alarming regularity, he is, so far, remarkably robust and durable. 92% Time on Ground suggests good endurance and stamina too.

Matt Kennedy: Another who in short time, has to be just about one of the first few read out on the teamsheets. Such consistency week in week out. Amazing to think how much more his game seems to have expanded with us.

No Anchors in a Bomber Belting

[Bornadog]

I was wondering where this thread was.

Bankers

1. Darcy's kicking - his left and right feet kicking is incredible, you wouldn't know if he was a right or left footer.
2. West is very dangerous up forward and his efforts are so good.
3. Cleary - getting better every week

Anchors

1. Bulldog supporters for not showing up
2. Whistle happy umpires - how many 50s in the game
3. Insufficient intent called against Buss - what a joke- it was a bloody accident. He was chasing the ball and over ran it near the boundary and he collected the ball by accident