JACK WATTS U-18 CHAMPS 2008

Some great vision there!

Not one of those marks would pass up against the AFL's bigger bodies.

That said he does look skinnier even than the players in this footage (not surprising considering he is a year younger than most of them) and he still uses that smaller frame to good effect.

It is clear to me that he has creativity and pace, but I doubt he will have much effect at AFL level for at least a year, maybe 2.

Also needs to work harder and be smarter off the ball. From the one game I have seen of him I thought he led at the wrong times and into the wrong places. When he got near it he was impressive.

Well he is lightning quick for a guy his size so with afl standard delivery he should go okay. Contested marking has almost disappeared out of todays game anyway.

Well he is lightning quick for a guy his size so with afl standard delivery he should go okay. Contested marking has almost disappeared out of todays game anyway.

There is still contested footy and contested marking where it counts....up in the forward 50. He'll be important in this part of the ground.

Dermott Brereton's view - Watts all the fuss

I just had a look at that article mate.

I didnt quite get the end of it? Was he saying that he wouldnt choose Watts with the first pick and compared Jack Watts to Josh Kennedy? Saying dont use our pick on Watts!!?

I just had a look at that article mate.

I didnt quite get the end of it? Was he saying that he wouldnt choose Watts with the first pick and compared Jack Watts to Josh Kennedy? Saying dont use our pick on Watts!!?

Thats what I think he's saying....

I'm running out of finger nails. If we staff this up, it's a long way up. This is our chance for a marquee player

From: hearldsun.com.au

Watts all the fuss

Dermot Brereton | August 29, 2008 12:00am

IN THE weeks that follow the Grand Final, the most popular team - in terms of inter-club relations - is the side with the No. 1 pick in the national draft.

Mod: edited because it is a breach of copyright to republish the full article without the consent of the author.

I just had a look at that article mate.

I didnt quite get the end of it? Was he saying that he wouldnt choose Watts with the first pick and compared Jack Watts to Josh Kennedy? Saying dont use our pick on Watts!!?

To be honest, the article seems unfinished.

I think his point is simply not to rely just on the recruiting manager, but utilise the expertise of the quality forwards that have been around the club in the last 10-15 years to get their views before reading out Watts' name on draft day.

Based on the brief footage from the under '18s championship, it seems that Watts has all the attributes that Dermott believes that Josh Kennedy lacks. Good hands and can take a pack mark.

Dermott also conveniently left out that Xavier Ellis wouldn't rank in the top 10 picks from that draft based on performance after 3 years. I'd have Josh Kennedy over Xavier Ellis any day.

...

There's a further article where he rates the top 3 (expected) draftees:

Dermie rates the prospects

hmmm that second one where he rates them on their positives and negatives is interesting.

Jeez i dunno.

What does everyone think?

Is Jack Watts still our man?

Brereton clearly leans towards Rich as the No.1 pick IMO

Im not sure whether Watts is our man, Dermie's article certainly isnt going to sway me one way or the other though.

Seemed terribly lopsided, virtually no negatives against Rich, only a handful against Natanui despite acknowledging the boy doesnt really know how to play football & then rips Watts to shreds other than to say he has very, very good hands.

His points seem to focus mostly on where the players are at now, only briefly mentioning their potential for the future, and if thats the approach the mid playing in the WAFL will always come out on top of the lanky, much younger KPP.

Recruiting is all about future potential and the ability to look forward a few years, Dermie clearly isnt a recruiter.

Yeah i know that, but i dont honestly think Rich is our guy. We need pace in our midfield more than anything and like he said Rich just has average pace.

Is out of Watts or Naita for me.

I read this in the paper where he rates the 3 players and gives his 'verdict'. Basically he says Watts has what it takes but is a long way off being capable of AFL football, whereas Rich is ready to go next year in Round 1 (because Rich plays senior footy already, Watts doesn't). He says Naitanui has enough to work with, and is kind of in between the other two. Overall I think he leans towards Rich because he's ready to play AFL now. If we were to take Watts, we wouldn't get anything out of him until 2010 at the earliest (says Dermie). I still think Watts, but Dermie's suggestion that Neitz, Schwarz and Lyon all evaluate Watts is a good one, and if they have queries the club should listen to them.

Dermie's article re: top 3 picks

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...9-19742,00.html

Dermie said this about Watts:

DB:

GENUINE key-position height at 194cm, but is understandably still very lean. He has the frame to put muscle on in the coming years. Reasonable agility and pace, but nothing exceptional.

I think his pace is quite exceptional, and i think it will remain so at afl level. The question is if he gets bigger will he slow down?

LIKES to lead at the ball carrier from full-forward, but can get a little lost at half-forward.

Dermie is bang on with this one.

SET-shot kicking action is not copybook, but very effective. Like Jason Dunstall’s action, it is hardly poetry in motion, but nothing is out of line. Has an excellent temperament for set shots under pressure.

Agreed

CAN side-step nicely, but doesn’t have a great turning circle.

This is one of his best strengths, the ability to create a play while the ball is in his hands.

IS VERY competent by foot on his non-dominant side.

Agreed

CONTESTS aerial duels brilliantly when he has a run at the ball. His hands above his head are very, very good. But when he is in a genuine push-and-shove marking duel, one-on-one against an opponent of comparable size, he falls over a lot. Some more meat on his frame will help this.

I think he has got it a bit wrong here, i actually think that he uses his body vrey well considering how light he is.

I HOPE he has some anger inside, because he will need to develop into a big key-position player who is looked up to by his smaller teammates. He doesn’t seem to have a great appetite for tackling, either. He laid a few in the footage I have seen, but they were not the display of someone who instinctively likes that sort of contact.

A bit of an ego on him, waves his arms about a lot when things don't go his way.

HE APPEARS to be a young man who has dominated his junior career and rarely been challenged because of his height, talent and excellent overhead marking ability. That tells me that he has coasted through juniors without developing an insatiable appetite for a physical contest. He is about to get a wake-up call in open-age football.

If he is coached well and prepared for the differences at AFL level I think he will be fine.

HE IS a genuine top-fi ve choice in this draft, but I would recommend that he doesn’t play in 2009 at AFL level. Physically, he will get punished. But if Melbourne wants an excellent longterm prospect that will assist its structure from 2010 and beyond, then this boy is a target.

His natural ability should get him a game in his first year, but I don't think we should expect much from him and I don't think he will slot into FF/CHF straight away either .

Overall I think he leans towards Rich because he's ready to play AFL now. If we were to take Watts, we wouldn't get anything out of him until 2010 at the earliest (says Dermie).

I don't think we need someone to come in and make an immediate impact - we won't be in contention for a while yet. Dermie on Watts:

"if Melbourne wants an excellent longterm prospect that will assist its structure from 2010 and beyond, then this boy is a target."

^ Sounds good to me.

I don't think we need someone to come in and make an immediate impact - we won't be in contention for a while yet. Dermie on Watts:

"if Melbourne wants an excellent longterm prospect that will assist its structure from 2010 and beyond, then this boy is a target."

^ Sounds good to me.

Yeah I agree Rogue. Even though we're 99.9% certain to get pick 1, Dermie was still making it more of a hypothetical situation, rather than saying: 'Melbourne should take Watts'.

As much as Melbourne lack a key forward, I think they need a top class midfielder even more.

Players like McLean, Jones, Valenti and co. are not good enough to be damaging number one midfielders IMO.

From what I have read, it would be Rich for me.

Watts is 17 FCS. He is underage playing in the comps he is playing so well in. He is the top KP prospect in the draft and Rich is no Judd from all accounts.

Take Watts, if he nominates, and get our 2 development coaches to develop him.

Brereton was a great CHF, he is an awful journalist.

That does not mean he doesn't have insight though. But he has given me no solid reason not to go with a young promising CHF/FF.

Dermie saying we shouldn't take him is almost reason enough on it's own to tell me that we should take him.

But as rpfc has said, he's 17, he's won the u18 national champs medal (2 in a row for us if draft him) and has as late as earlier in the year still been juggling 2 sports. To do what he's done with limited development shows that he oozes natural ability and smarts, give him a few pre-season and some time with a forward coach and watch him become the next elite CHF/FF

His natural ability should get him a game in his first year, but I don't think we should expect much from him and I don't think he will slot into FF/CHF straight away either .

Wouldn't be surprised to see him play on a wing in his first couple of years at senior level

Dermie saying we shouldn't take him is almost reason enough on it's own to tell me that we should take him.

He didn't say we shouldn't take him.

That's what I thought.

Didn't say anyone should/shouldn't take any of the 3.