Bankers & Anchors: Rnd 15, 2022 vs Hawthorn

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

This is the Round 15, 2022 edition of the weekly Bankers and Anchors thread. Once the game against Hawthorn is 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.

[westbulldog]

Bankers
Rhylee West - is clearly now best 22 based on the last few weeks, hard at it and good forward craft.
Tom Liberatore - the best inside mid we have seen in a long time, lightning reflexes with ball in hand.
Jack Macrae - every week just a top quality game.

Anchors
Last 1/4 defence - let in far too many goals. Something lacking in our defensive structure, same last week against GWS. % counts in a tight competition.
Richards' injury.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Bankers

1. JJ's run down in the 2nd qtr was just reminiscent of his heyday now 5 years ago

2. West - this kid has just about fully franked a declaration on his talent. He's showing some tremendous signs

3. Libba, another elite game. His will, strength, hands, execution (his horror clanger kick excluded!) was top shelf. And he just rolled up his sleeves all game when Sicily got yappy.

Extra Banker: How good was it to see Sicily get poleaxed by Bont. Sicily thought he was going to take Bont out with his attempted run down, and he just bounced off our skipper's frame like jelly. I wonder if Bont giving him loads of aggro right after hthat encounter had anything to do with Jamarra going down off ball with Sicily nearby, not long before?

Anchors

1. Not to labour the point, but I will be absolutely be gobsmacked if we don't seriously look to expend some capital to acquire a key defender this off-season.

2. Keath had a mixed game, but there was one passage early on when Hawks were on top. Lewis took a mark 70 metres out, Keath nearby as his direct opponent. Lewis short passes, and runs hard forward....Keath ambles purposelessly back. Lewis meanwhile cashes in on Keath's lack of concentration by marking in front of a pack 10 metres out in front of goal.

3. Our midfielders set up at the centre bounce in the first quarter just brought back the horrors of the GF in me. Absolute refusal at times for anyone to pay respect for their direct opponent. Treloar in particular just 100% rolled the dice on a couple of occasions, at centre bounce to our cost, leaving his opponent in the area behind the Hawks ruckman completely free, before he was in any possible position to make a decision as to whether we were likely to win the ensuing ruck contest.

[Mutz]

Anchors
3. Our midfielders set up at the centre bounce in the first quarter just brought back the horrors of the GF in me. Absolute refusal at times for anyone to pay respect for their direct opponent. Treloar in particular just 100% rolled the dice on a couple of occasions, at centre bounce to our cost, leaving his opponent in the area behind the Hawks ruckman completely free, before he was in any possible position to make a decision as to whether we were likely to win the ensuing ruck contest.
Exactly what I was thinking too. Just horrible deja vu!

[bornadog]

Bankers

1. West was terrific tonight, his best game for the club

2. Piling on the goals after the first quarter and not allowing Hawks to get into the game

3. Bont's hit on Sicily

Anchors

1. Weightman and McNeil, 1 mark, 1 kick, zero tackles

2. First quarter start, not good

3. Crozier brain fade

[Vred]

Bankers

1. West is now best 22, breakout game for him
2. Sicily getting knocked on his ass
3. Schache / JUH showing that they might just be up for it

Anchors

1. Our defense is putrid, 1st and 4th quarter were terrible
2. Richards injury, was looking on fire before that
3. Selection - Weightman should of been rested.

[jeemak]

Bankers:

1. Bont - missed an early shot that he should have nailed in the first that had me lamenting why he isn't the leader he could be due to the misses he should nail. Then his goal and just about everything else in the game thereafter was top shelf. If we can get him into the middle for the rest of the season and he's productive we win more than we lose and make finals

2. West - showing why he was a first/ second round selection on talent alone, and now showing why he should be an AFL player. Good in the air, good by hand and foot, and bloody hard. If he keeps this maturity curve going and he doesn't lapse into selfishness he will cement a spot long term and be a real asset

3. Libba - pace away from the contest, good ball use. Toughness in close, good ball use. Get the ball in his hands as much as possible, everyone chip in to make sure it happens because he is as thoughtful a user of the footy as I have seen across the game's current midfielders

Anchors:

1. Team effort - we just can't keep rocking up to games (and later in games in the case of the game just gone) without intensity around the ball and a willingness to squeeze space between the arcs. As soon as we switched this element of the game on the Hawks were cooked and it's the same result every time we do it to any team. This year we have seen what we can do when we concentrate pretty much across all games, and funnily enough our execution by hand and foot improves when we get into this mindset because we are working for each other and space opens up. It's not taxing physically, every good team in the competition does it when playing well and we need to stop doing it here and there, and start just doing it all the time

2. As above*

3. As above*

*The game is so busy and there's plenty of things players do wrong within it that could make them out to be anchors in this context. But if we get this right we are a top four side, even with a lack of personnel

[ratsmac]

Bankers

1. Schache - I actually think it's the best game he's played for us. He had a competitive edge that I didn't know he possessed. He attacked the contest, attacked the man and it payed dividends. Please be the corner he has turned.

2. West again - he has owned the Bankers for a month now. Super game, contested marks, elite hands, elite f50 entries, goals, behinds, he did it all.

3. Libba - unstoppable. He was in God mode on the weekend. Somehow he has hacked the AFL and has the cheat codes. It wasn't fair what he was doing.

Anchors

1. Crozier's moment of hell. Brain fart not realising Breust was right there. Otherwise I thought he played well.

2. Weightman- hindsight shouldn't have played but was still worth the risk at the time imo.

3. Allowing Hawthorn to kick 7 goals in the last when an 80+ point belting was on the cards.

4. First quarter- we can't afford to continue with these starts. We won't always get away with it eg: Geelong