Bankers and Anchors 2015 - Round 1

[Eastdog]

This is the round 1 edition of the Weekly Bankers and Anchors Thread. Once the game against West Coast is concluded post your nominations for:

The Bankers = 3 guys that you we banked on to do the right thing during the game
The Anchors = 3 guys that weighed us down by their errors or poor play

Please limit it to no more than three of each, 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.

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.

[bulldogtragic]

B: Wallis, JJ, Stringer, Dahl, Minno, Grant, Bonts, Talia etc, etc

A: Not getting a full game of Granty love.

[LostDoggy]

Bankers: pretty good all round team performance, I could name quite a few but Wallis and Stringer were very consistent along with M Boyd.

Anchors: grant should have been on earlier, Redpath needed to end the pain earlier too. Our set shot kicking, particularly Stringer.

[bornadog]

Bankers
- Mboyd

- TBoyd - isn't it great to have a tall bloke bringing the ball to ground.

- Bonti absolute star

Anchors

set shots for goal. Crameri, Jong, Stringer
Redpath - just couldnt mark the ball tonight .
TBoyd forced to ruck. don't like it

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bankers:

Bontempelli's class and poise in crucial in tight contests. Several times his sure hands at ground level and his agility and poise to break free and set up play downfield was a thing of beauty.
Macrae the accumulator, he just keeps getting to repeat contests for 4 Qtrs.
Dickson for finally being the one with a cool head to execute the game sealing goal.

Anchors.
Hard to find, as most had a positive score on the ledger on the back of a hard working win.
Redpath, struggled to make an impact all game. Still tried hard, but just couldn't really get involved.
Stringer had a great game overall but he needs to finish his work. He could've sealed the game a couple of times for us in the last.
Crameri, looked short of a run, and hopefully is the better for it. His miss from 15 out in front was embarrassing.

[westdog54]

Bankers

Bonti. Lifted in a big way in the second and did some stuff that we mere mortals could only Dream of.
Talia. I take it all back, Mick. You were superb tonight.
M. Boyd. Used the ball with composure coming out.

Too many honourable mentions to name them all.

Anchors

Redpath. Got to the right spots but couldn't catch a cold tonight.
Wouldn't normally bake a bloke that kicked 3 goals, but Stringer could have had 5 or 6 tonight. He's better than that.
Macrae. Got plenty of it but was badly out of touch.

Dishonorable mention to Mitch Wallis, purely for his early entry into Jason Dunstall's 'Dribble File'.

[G-Mo77]

Bankers.

Hard to narrownit m down to 3.

Bonti. Oh Bonti. I haven't had a man crush on a player for soooo long.

Boyd was fantatsic across the back half. Not many wanted him there.

Big Will deserves a mention. Tough ask to come against Nat.

Anchors

Sorry Jack you just have to take those marks.

JJ's dropped mark. That Grant knock a couple of weeks ago is still fresh. Bounced back well.

Can I anchor our crowd. 22k Saturday night in our opening game. Melbourne got 27k against Team Plastic #1

[boydogs]

Bankers
Tall defenders held their opponents well, most WCE goals were rebounding from defense
Bonts' work in traffic to get clear and kick long quickly
Forward pressure

Anchors
Fast break goals against us
Missing shots at goal in the last quarter
Tall forwards that couldn't hold marks when they got their hands to the ball

[westdog54]

Bankers.

Hard to narrownit m down to 3.

Bonti. Oh Bonti. I haven't had a man crush on a player for soooo long.

Boyd was fantatsic across the back half. Not many wanted him there.

Big Will deserves a mention. Tough ask to come against Nat.

Anchors

Sorry Jack you just have to take those marks.

JJ's dropped mark. That Grant knock a couple of weeks ago is still fresh. Bounced back well.

Can I anchor our crowd. 22k Saturday night in our opening game. Melbourne got 27k against Team Plastic #1

Fair call on the crowd. I was disappointed too.

[azabob]

Fair call on the crowd. I was disappointed too.

Really? I was happy with it, considering the crowds last season.

[Stefcep]

Really? I was happy with it, considering the crowds last season.

Me too. Its West Coast as well.

[LostDoggy]

Bankers:
Fewch
M.Boyd
Wally

Anchors:
Set shots
Redders-Like a deer in headlights
Banner writers-WTF!!!!?????

[G-Mo77]

Really? I was happy with it, considering the crowds last season.

Still it's opening round. I would have been happier with another 3k - 4k on top of that figure.

[The bulldog tragician]

B : THE BONT. A star who will have kids everywhere with no 4 on their backs, drag people through the gates...and just could be the guy to drag us over the line for a flag.
The more adventurous game stle. So much more watchable.
The massive improvements in Talia's and Jong.

A: the coast to coast WCE goals. Ouch.
Redpath needs to nail those marks.
goal kicking, our perennial Achilles heel .

[Remi Moses]

School Holidays and Easter are big players

[GVGjr]

Bankers
- The back line players held up under a fair bit of pressure via quick movement. Morris, Roughy and Talia and others well done
- Johannisen's two quick goals really got us back on track. Perhaps a crumbing role in the future.
- Jong has come so far in such a short space of time. His run and carry tonight was just what we needed.

Anchors
- Crameri and Stringer missing set shots when it counted.
- Redpath's efforts in marking contests.
- To the fans that showed up tonight, you punched above your weight. For the ones that stayed home we need you to start coming.
Not every game can be a VFL grand final.

[AndrewP6]

B

Bonti...Even saddled with a stupid nickname, he continues to develop. Star in the making.
Stringer: Goalkicking let him down, but I like the way he takes the game on, you can see he wants to win games.
Boyd Snr... I've been critical in recent seasons, but he played a great role in the back half.

A

Redpath... sorry big guy you were ordinary tonight.
Crameri... look forward to seeing him with a week or two under his belt.
Sorry for a whole team one, but the way they were able to rebound and go coast-to-coast was awful to watch.

[G-Mo77]

I better give an Anchor to the dancing mascots. Hmmmm?

Maybe the kids would have liked them? For those that had young kids there what did they think?

[SonofScray]

I better give an Anchor to the dancing mascots. Hmmmm?

Maybe the kids would have liked them? For those that had young kids there what did they think?

Haha, cheesey as all hell. I found it mildly humorous. Not quite what I wanted, it's lke the marketing guys said "the public want something innovative, how about instead if just having one mascot.... Get this....we have FOUR mascots."

[ratsmac]

I better give an Anchor to the dancing mascots. Hmmmm?

Maybe the kids would have liked them? For those that had young kids there what did they think?

I thought they were great. Something different I suppose.

[ratsmac]

Bankers

Minson for rucking most of the game against a bloke who can jump like superman and held his own. Nice work big fella!
Bontempelli, he barely touched the ball in the first quarter and dominated for the next 3.
Honeychuch, he looks like a boy playing against men, but makes up for it with an appetite for the contest. I like him.
Murphy as the captain, it just has a nice feel about it.

ANCHORS

Redpaths hands, the must be made out of concrete
West coast accuracy, they wouldn't miss.
ACL injuries. I felt for M Brown.

[jeemak]

Bankers:

- Crameri's effort after no preseason matches
- Bont breaking through a tag and really influencing the game
- JJ getting forward to kick a couple when we really needed something

Anchors:

- Stringer not icing the game, he could have really showed what the hype's all about tonight in a much bigger way
- Redpath's lack of physical presence in marking contests (don't drop him, this is step one of a long journey)
- Team defence. It was the glaring difference between us and them in the first half. We had to work so hard to get it forward because of how good they were at stopping us, but we didn't repay that favour to them

[Go_Dogs]

Bankers:-
1. Bontempelli - just oozes class, fooch has a ceiling I'm not sure I've seen before.
2. JJ - showed he can finish on the run and crumb, combined with some good run.
3. Jong - I think his game will be somewhat forgotten but he was immense. Kept taking the game on.

Anchors:-
1. Stringer's kicking and not doing a few basics (still gave him votes though...)
2. Crameri - kicking at goal also let him down, forgiven as first game but must nail those set shots.

[SonofScray]

Bankers:

Jong. When the game needed someone to step up their influence and wrestle momentum back in our favour, he shone. Dare, dash, guts.

Minson. Had a tough job competing against an athletic freak with an AFL sanctioned free pass. It was a bullocking, grinding display from our biggest man. Willed the ball forward, hit bodies and showed rare poise with the attacking handball.

Bont. Managed the tag well, just looks like he could do whatever he wants out there. Kicked a wonderful, timely goal.

Anchors:
Redpath. Had a bad case of the the "nearlys," he nearly took that mark, nearly stuck that tackle etc. He'll get the chance to go again, no worse an option than Jones has been in recent years and there is a tangible effort and presence which I appreciate.

Coast to Coast goals. We were easily burnt on the turnover, which I think we all saw coming, but the game opened up for WCE too easily. I want to see that tweaked.

Goal kicking. We need to cash in, some misses were inexcusable and it concerns me that we probably fell 4 goals short of a bigger victory.

[LostDoggy]

Bankers:
Stringer, he could be crazy good
The ball movement was great
All the young guys stood up when needed
Anchors:
Easton Woods poor decision making.
Kicking at goal, we should have really run all over them in the last.
The fact we lost 2 years of development under McCartney

[Maddog37]

I better give an Anchor to the dancing mascots. Hmmmm?

Maybe the kids would have liked them? For those that had young kids there what did they think?

I had a lovely 20 minute conversation with my nine year old daughter about which mascot was her favourite......

[Stefcep]

Bankers:
..
The fact we lost 2 years of development under McCartney

I think it wasn't a total loss. With him we went from being an "outside" playing team to an "inside" playing team-focus on hard tackling, second efforts, spoiling etc. which we needed.

Fans seem to respect the inside hard ball getters, but you can't play the way we are now nor score enough to win playing with just that in mind. We have a good balance of players who have the leg speed, the sure hands, the accurate foot passing and quick handballing with the hard ball winners.

[LostDoggy]

I better give an Anchor to the dancing mascots. Hmmmm?

Maybe the kids would have liked them? For those that had young kids there what did they think?

My kids (8 & 10) went absolutely nuts over them. Jumping and dancing on seats in front of the Pet Food area at half time, daughter comes back to me smiling and happy and says “I got really close to the Dancing Doggies, Dad!”

It's important for the club to engage the kids as much as the nuggety old blokes up the back. Great idea.

[RoZDog]

Bankers: tall defenders kept the eagles forwards largely quiet; Morris, Roughy and Talia were rarely beaten by their direct opponents. Was sold on this defensive lineup two years ago and i'm happy to see it reinstated.
Jong was super important in the 2nd half breaking the lines from the back half to create fast ball movement; ditto Bonts breaking into space.
M.Boyd reinventing himself playing a kick behind the ball, still get the occasional shocking clanger but good far outweighs the bad.

Team Effort!

Anchors:
Redpath was getting separation and into the right positions but couldn't hold onto the pill. Hopefully was just a bad day at the office, need to persevere.
With Murph well held, lacked creativity from the back half. Hopefully Biggs and Darley can offer a little more direct kicking to break through the congestion and break game open to give forwards 1 on 1 opportunities. Crammers (i think) crossfield kick was a thing of beauty.
Dominated the last quarter without putting the eagles away, set shots from our young forwards still remains an issue (Strings, Dahl, Macrae)

[EasternWest]

Bankers

Minson - I thought he was a beast last night. Despite his obvious athletic deficit against Naitanui he just kept working and grinding away. I was really impressed.
Tory Dickson works about as hard as anyone on our list.
Tom Boyd - he's obviously got a ways to go, but he works hard enough and just having someone get hands to a ball and get up in a pack automatically makes us more dangerous. I thought he did ok and loved how passionate he was after nailing that goal.

Anchors

Jarrad Grant hitting the post. Talk about no sense of occasion young fella.

[westdog54]

Anchors

Jarrad Grant hitting the post. Talk about no sense of occasion young fella.

Had goal of the week on a platter until it faded. Shattering.