In a quality second half in the VFL on Sunday, Anthony collected 20 disposals (14 contested), 6 clearances, 4 inside 50’s, 1 goal and a remarkable 9 tackles to will North Ballarat over the line against Frankston. A heavy tag from Wade Lees did little to quell the North midfielder’s influence.
“Last time he was tagged he had (Mav) Weller from Sandringham go to him. He probably didn’t deal with it that well,” Development Manager Ben Dyer revealed.
“Today (Sunday) he was he was pretty focused on trying to outwork his opponent. In the second half he was able to get inside and he was important at a number of clearances as well.”
Anthony admits half the battle of overcoming a tagger comes from within.
“A couple of weeks ago I let the bloke get to me a little bit too much,” he said post-match.
“Today I really focused on outworking him; I really should be able to use my running ability against his and also use my size inside to try and win the footy for the boys. I felt like I did that and generally helped the team by moving the ball forward.”
A common refrain from the coaching staff during Anthony’s time in the VFL has been to work on the defensive side of his game. 9 tackles in a half and 11 for the game suggests it’s an area he’s making great inroads.
“I’ve been working really hard with our tackling coach and also talking to a few of our inside mids at the club - guys like Andrew Swallow, Ziebs (Jack Ziebell) and Cunno (Ben Cunnington) and getting an idea of how to use your body inside.
“At AFL level I have been playing more of an outside midfield position but here (North Ballarat) there’s more of an inside role.
“It’s about doing extras out on the training track and working mainly on tackle pressure and technique.”
Being able to play in a milestone game for long-time coach Gerard Fitzgerald spurred Anthony to perform.
“He’s a ripper, Fitz. 314 games is a long time in the system,” he added.
“He’s so compassionate to the blokes in the system and he always tries to get the blokes back into the seniors as quickly as possible.
“If we do the right thing by him, come back and play for the team, he does the right thing by us. He’s a superstar and hopefully he continues on for a few more.”
