Past #4: Liam Anthony - delisted by NM end '14 - 4th in 2016 Sandover Medal

[Only Forwards]

I meant just in the first half where he seriously didn't do one thing wrong. That's why he didn't get dropped IMO because he looked at home. Then his 3rd quarter was just terrible.

I just don't remember him from game, other than watching him watch Harry O waltz the ball out.

He has skill he needs consistency of footy in a non port environment.

 

[The Nostradamus]

Gez I thought JA was good today!!!

The player I think should be dropped for his crap kicking is Sam Gibson.

Three times I saw Gibson hit a Cats player on the chest with his kicking, all 3 times costing us a goal.

Once he ran towards the 50 with only 2 players between him and the goal, Petrie on the lead and the Cats player behind Petrie and Gibson managed to kick the ball straight over Drews head and hit the Cats player on the chest.

Another time he marked about 60 out dead infront and kicked a shank that went about 45 degrees and hit a cats player on the chest who then pumped it down the other end for a goal.

A third time he marked a ball in the defensive 50 and hit a cats player about 40 out on his own who ran in and kicked the ball straight over Gibsons head!

If we stop the crap turnovers like this we stop losing games like today's even with the moronic umpiring.

Agree with this, gibson cannot kick (worse than LA and Jmac).

I hope gibson gets dropped this week for wright or hine

 

[Daz]

Gibson's kick to Petrie which went 20m over his head was embarrassing.

 

[JRoo]

Gibson's kick to Petrie which went 20m over his head was embarrassing.

Yep that was one of them, only 2 people in the 50 metre arc between Gibson and the goal, and he missed the leading Petrie and hit the cats player on the chest!!

 

[muttley45]

surely when you saw what atley can do with the pill from the centre or going forward, the answer to the question is right there, play him up the ground and get the ball into his hands, one of the best kicks to advantage on our list, has excellent vision and decision making for the most part, and shooting for goal looks like shelling peas for him, bring in hine and release him for a more damaging role asap

 

[Twinkletoes]

Gibson's kick to Petrie which went 20m over his head was embarrassing.

It was, but it was a decision error rather than a poor kicking technique thing.

As for LA, I've been saying here for years that he should be forward of centre when he plays. Think what you like about his kicking but his goal kicking is very good, and always has been.

 

[Psicosis]

LA & Gibbo will not be in a top 4 side together. Ever.

 

[Husk]

Never been a fan of LA, and it's becoming clear Gibson is pretty much cut from the same cloth as well.

Both are nothing more than depth players for a good side. For us they are a necessity with our lack of depth in the position.

Until we can replace them with players capable of hurting the opposition when in space we will remain a middle of the road side.

 

[SMaturin]

Gibson and Anthony aren't up to it, won't take us to the top four. Unless they're playing when we're in the top four, in which case they'll have taken us to the top four.

 

[Scallop Industry Thug]

This is fairly cut and dried. Brad Scott wants a side that can run all day.

The younger players can't do that yet so runners like Anthony and Gibson are holding the fort until actual footballers like McKenzie, McDonald, Harper, Wright etc have the tank to run all day.

Simply put, Anthony and Gibson are runners, not footballers.

 

[King Corey]

Gez I thought JA was good today!!!

The player I think should be dropped for his crap kicking is Sam Gibson.

Three times I saw Gibson hit a Cats player on the chest with his kicking, all 3 times costing us a goal.

Once he ran towards the 50 with only 2 players between him and the goal, Petrie on the lead and the Cats player behind Petrie and Gibson managed to kick the ball straight over Drews head and hit the Cats player on the chest.

Another time he marked about 60 out dead infront and kicked a shank that went about 45 degrees and hit a cats player on the chest who then pumped it down the other end for a goal.

A third time he marked a ball in the defensive 50 and hit a cats player about 40 out on his own who ran in and kicked the ball straight over Gibsons head!

If we stop the crap turnovers like this we stop losing games like today's even with the moronic umpiring.

Agree and agree.

This was the most complete game I've seen Liam Anthony play and I'm not being sarcastic.

Watch it without bias - he contested and chased a lot more than some of his more fancied teammates. Have a look at a couple of Cunnington's non-efforts.. not that anyone will.

I'd go as far to say I adjusted my view on LA based on yesterday's game.

However I've never rated Sam Gibson and the deficiencies I suspected were on show the last couple of weeks. You have a mature aged/bodied player with no real x-factor near goal, weak defensively and unable to hit the body or tackle hard - and misses leading targets by foot.

His story is great and yeh he can probably run and up down the Hume for hours collecting possessions but it amounts to little impact.

 

[scottywiper]

Gibson and Anthony aren't up to it, won't take us to the top four. Unless they're playing when we're in the top four, in which case they'll have taken us to the top four.

They'll be phased out as the likes of McKenzie and McDonald come in. Which will help our efficiency going forward significantly. However, in the meantime they are two hard runners who play a role. It's just a shame their kicking is such a weakness.

 

[Tas]

They'll be phased out as the likes of McKenzie and McDonald come in. Which will help our efficiency going forward significantly. However, in the meantime they are two hard runners who play a role. It's just a shame their kicking is such a weakness.

The weakness is amplified by Wells and Adams not stepping up in Boomers absence and Harper being transparent for the first two weeks.

These dumb selfish acts is what is hurting us. Loose's undisciplined smack and suspension, Boomer acting like an idiot in the WCE final. We are still a team of individuals not prepared to do enough for eachother. We need to change to be individuals playing team football.

I was happy for Anthony when he kicked that goal, but he was on the run, a fair bit out on an angle and he burned someone running free in the corridor. We don't look up enough when we should, we put the ball to foot when we shouldn't. It is not the sign of a well drilled team. We have too many flaws at the moment.

 

[utility]

The weakness is amplified by Wells and Adams not stepping up in Boomers absence and Harper being transparent for the first two weeks.

These three have been a big disappointment in the first two rounds. You just can't afford to have three quality players having close to zero impact on a game.

 

[Saintly31]

We have nothing. That is the problem. They have deficiencies but they move to position to receive, something the highly fancied players are not doing when it isn't their turn to go in at the contest.

I love Harper and think he is going to be awesome for us, but after what he has dished up in the first two games he doesn't deserve to put on the VFL senior jumper. Wells isn't delivering. You can laugh about Petrie's brain fade and missed sitter, but it is the difference between 4 points and 0 points. Ziebell kicked blindly most of the time, seriously... if you are going to put it on the boot and give it to the opposition in space then you might aswell turn around and boot it into our defensive 50, because that is where your disposal is heading.

So many players made so many mistakes, not sure how you can crucify Anthony. If they just told him to get the ball and don't kick beyond 30m and you make sure you do the 1%ers to get guys like Swallow, Wells, setc in space so they can deliver he would be ultra effective.

Good post there Tas, plenty of valid points.

Anthony is very limited and scary when he gets the footy, but this isn't the week to single him out.

 

[LT Smash]

Good post there Tas, plenty of valid points.

Anthony is very limited and scary when he gets the footy, but this isn't the week to single him out.

When posters with a long history of being critical of every little thing LA does are prepared to offer him some slack this week, that really makes the people calling for his head on the basis of yesterday's game look like really poor judges of football. Which is probably true.

 

[LuvtheKangas]

... 100% Liam Anthony is not the reason we lost today. He was a contributing factor last week but not because of how he played but rather the fact he started as sub.

Hmmm, you've made this point 3 times on one page (i.e. the bit about we would have beaten Collingwood if LA started).

Put me down as one who categorically disagrees.

 

[ArjenTheGreat]

Liam Anthony - 4 Tackles
Sam Gibson - 0

How does one go through a game like that with out laying a single tackle.

Unfortunately until BMac, Garner, LMac and Wood have a tank commensurate with the likes of these 2, they just have to play.

 

[Saintly31]

When posters with a long history of being critical of every little thing LA does are prepared to offer him some slack this week, that really makes the people calling for his head on the basis of yesterday's game look like really poor judges of football. Which is probably true.

I haven't got a long history of criticising LA, but have certainly done so.

I stand by view that he and Gibson are the types players who won't cut it if we are to become a quality team.

But even so other more fancied players (like Cunnington, Harper and Wells, who were all below par for mine) have escaped criticism since the game and it's unfair to put the heat on LA with that in mind.

 

[King Corey]

I'm still a little surprised at Liam's intensity yesterday. He's given some credence to a suggestion last year by a few of us that he could be a decent run with type. Has the endurance and goes where the ball is - yesterday he did the hard stuff too.

 

[Wild Kangaroo]

Title is enough.

He almost makes Sam Power look like a hard player.

Arguably the softest player to ever wear a North jumper since Shane Clayton.

We need tough midfielders we can run a little less.

Has no Tank, and sh*t disposal. Doesn't offer anything more then Greenwood.

Drop this clown now.

WTF are you serious.

One of the few who could hold his head up in the last 2 weeks.

I could think of a few others before LA, who need a kick in the arse.

 

[Wild Kangaroo]

I thought he was good too. Faded in the last quarter, but genuinely attacked the game in the first half.

Exactly.

PS. Love the avatar.

 

[LB2Snake]

Unfortunately until BMac, Garner, LMac and Wood have a tank commensurate with the likes of these 2, they just have to play.

We need one of these blokes to "jump out of the box", so to speak......Other teams have managed to find an early gun mid that doesn't require the 50+ games to get up to speed.
LMac obviously a year away and remains to be seen what impact he can have early anyway.

 

[Tas]

When posters with a long history of being critical of every little thing LA does are prepared to offer him some slack this week, that really makes the people calling for his head on the basis of yesterday's game look like really poor judges of football. Which is probably true.

I am not being critical of Anthony in that he is no good as a footballer, I am saying he isn't effective in the way we use him. If he is doing stuff consistently which the coaches are telling him not to do, he wouldn't get a game. He is obviously doing what he is being told to do so I don't blame him, I blame our coaches.

I haven't been having a go at Anthony or Gibson for their lack of trying, they give 100% and i rather have someone who is giving 100% and has limitations than someone who has talent in spades and is giving 50%.

But, I was just highlighting the deficiencies these players have, things that were being overlooked when people rated their games when they got tons of the ball. They played a big role in us progressing from a road-kill side to a competitive side but there is a quantum leap you need to make from competitive to a challenger.

We don't have the players to pull-off a Scott gameplan and be a challenger, not in 2010, 2011, 2012 or 2013. Will we beyond 2013? I don't know. My major criticism for Scott and coaches like him that go into a club and say we are going to play a particular style of football is Do we have the cattle to pull it off and are we playing to our strengths?

I am happy with the development of our players, i think list wise we have a very good list, it is not well balanced in terms of age and experience but that isn't Scott's fault. If we are going to play the footy the way we are playing, we can't give the ball to the opposition easily. They have to work as hard to win the ball as we do. We work hard but give it on a silver platter. They don't have to work hard, just be standing in space. We need guys that will hit targets and retain the ball, especially under pressure. We do not have enough of those types.

 

[Grogg]

He's a terrible kick of the footy, I don't think anybody could argue that & given the style the coach is now asking us to play by retaining ball by foot, he doesn't meet the requirements.

I see two options for him: forward flank or tagger.

As mentioned, he's a pretty good shot on goal and has a pretty good leg that can hit from 50, also knows how to read the play and get hands on the pill.

As a tagger, you'd give him the job of completely smothering his opponent and forget about getting a kick. Has a big engine and if specifically focused on, could be taught how to tackle properly.

Those roles play to his strengths, minimise his weaknesses & helps him and the team.