Bankers & Anchors: Rnd 22, 2025 vs Melbourne

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This is the Round 22, 2025 edition of the weekly Bankers and Anchors thread. Once today's game against Melbourne 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.

[Bumper Bulldogs]

Bankers
- Baker. Ran all day and took the game on.
- West. Can you imagine if Weightman come back and Arty come on. We need to push him into the Midfield. For mine it’s West/Garcia to replace Libba one day
- Naughton what a different Darcy coming back has made.

Anchors
- VDM when he gets it he just stops and takes forever to move the pill
- Sanders, o like him but today it was almost bruise free footy from him today
- Darcy and Naughton. Can they just split the ground and keep out of the way of each other. Gawn was so focused on Darcy’s space today, Naughton should have just held his width

[Bornadog]

Bankers

1. Richards two goals in the last - both different but both amazing

2. West's goal in the last - that was real clutch stuff

3. Darcy's big mark when we were a goal up - really saved the day.

Anchors

1. Poulter - had multiple opportunities to take a mark over smaller opponents but didn't take one, plus he just doesn't get enough of the ball

2. Sanders poor attempt to handball over a Melbourne player in our F50, gives it to his opponent and Melbourne take it all the way down for a goal

3. Chopping the arm rule - umpires have no idea what this rule is for

[Mantis]

Bankers:

- our grit. We kept coming when things weren’t going our way.

- Bont & Richards stood up when we needed them.

- Naughton - at the top of his game.

Anchors:

- JOD - I’m trying to back you in, but it’s getting harder to justify your position in the team. No want to fight, no ability to defend. Athletically gifted, but he just isn’t what we need right now.

- MC - A ****ing shit show. The constant change of players roles is ****ed. Why change what was working? I’m so ****ing pissed that Garcia was the sub… it threw everything out and we suffered for it.

- Rotations - how the **** can we get into a position when we have all of Richards, Bont, English and Naughton off at the same time? Bont & Richards were off at the same time on multiple occasions… how?

[SonofScray]

B1 NAUGHTON. He has hit a real rich vein of form, peak performance perhaps. I think he might actually have another notch but this version, it’s not the spectacular, mercurial, high flying show we’ve sometimes seen. Rather a confident, measured dominant sort of forward craft.

B2 ED. Stats don’t lie. Superb impact with his numbers. He is going to be a huge factor in us taking something meaningful from the season.

B3 CLEARY. Moreso an encouragement award. Really like the kid. Kicked an important goal. Was very good early. Didn’t drop his head when beaten while the pressure turned up.

A1 VDM. Just seems to have lost that touch and swagger from the first block of footy he played this season, injuries are preventing him from crossing an important threshold. Less bullish on him now than I have been as a big supporter of his strengths.

A2 JOD. Have really high hopes for JOD but watching him up close yesterday, his approach to the contest was awful. Outworked, out positioned and out bodied more often than not. Seemed lost.

A3 No mark paid to Naughton. Clear umpire error. Shouldn’t happen.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bankers -

Cleary - clutch goal when we really needed it. His development this year has been pleasing.
Baker - When he plays like that you can see why he remains in first team contention. I really want him to make it
Garcia - his injection into the game was important.

Anchors
1. VDM's sloppiness was very frustrating
2. The collective misses on goal. We really gave Melbourne an invitation to get into the game, that we really didn't need.