why i worry over watts

[Yencks 8]

yencken hardly any footage of him there!

he's a freak though everyone

he got that goal from 50 out at the G

not bad

[Trisul 664]

Saw that game and goal - very assured and never in doubt. One to mark for the shopping basket and keep tabs on.

[ChaserJ 4,708]

i think he can, but dont hold me to that

Fair enough, hope he is, because I get the feeling we may have a shot at selecting him if he is eligible next year.

Cheers Nugget, BB.

[H_T 3,032]

here we go:

some footage of him here

number 15

Hardly footage.....glad to hear he kicked that goal, because all we saw was him spin the ball in his hands and take 4 steps from outside 50m

[Deers 202]

Jack Watts fits the criteria for us. Neitz left the gaping hole of enormous presence in that forward line and we need it back.

But for ability and immediate results, Daniel Rich blows him and NikNat out of the water. He would be very hard to overlook and Watts will not nominate for the draft if he knows he will not go #1 to us. The response among the club will be electrifying because he will be ready-made stardom from the early rounds.

KPP power forward at 17/19 or use the trade. Best player available should be drafted though.

[Freak 100]

finally someone talking sense. Watts is not the best player in the draft, end of story. Rule number one with early pick picks: TAKE BEST AVAILABLE. dunno why people think this has changed

[Deers 202]

It could be that Prendergast does in fact believe Watts is the best available when you weigh everything into consideration.

Watts has an excellent added ability of his versatility to push into the midfield and link on-ballers towards the forward 50. That's dynamite!

But Rich can [censored] the ball 50, 60 metres, which effectively will create goal opportunities and the sausage rolls themselves.

It will be very tough.

[H_T 3,032]

finally someone talking sense. Watts is not the best player in the draft, end of story. Rule number one with early pick picks: TAKE BEST AVAILABLE. dunno why people think this has changed

The recruiters will be taking into consideration: -

1/ Is he the best available? That is debatable. Rich goes ok at U18 level that's all we know.

2/ The go home factor? Ie Judd, S.Thompson,....

How do you know Watts, is not the best player in the draft? Are you a recruiter? No.

[Deers 202]

Rich goes ok at U18 level that's all we know.

Hmm. Would you like to try again?

[demon_king 13]

Hmm. Would you like to try again?

That is the thing that makes me lean more towards Rich and Nik Nat, both are playing some good footy against men at the moment in the WAFL while there is still that question mark with Watts. Gee it's tough though I can't give a definate answer with which name I want us to call out late November, all 3 of them have a very good case.

[Freak 100]

The recruiters will be taking into consideration: -

1/ Is he the best available? That is debatable. Rich goes ok at U18 level that's all we know.

2/ The go home factor? Ie Judd, S.Thompson,....

How do you know Watts, is not the best player in the draft? Are you a recruiter? No.

i stopped reading after ur first point. rich is proven against men

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

i stopped reading after ur first point. rich is proven against men

I thought HT's last point was most pertinent in your regard.

[rpfc 28,048]

You don't pick the best player right now, you pick the kid you think will become the best player.

It's an important distinction in the wake of Palmer adjudged the 'best player' of last years draft while Cotchin, Kreuzer, Morton and probably others will be better players in the long run judging from what i have seen in their fledgling careers.

Watts is 17, thin, 194cm, AA full fwd for his age, and in Yr 11. He is also playing the toughest position on the ground - CHF.

He is a different player than Rich, of course, and most reports say that Rich is a tough, polished performer.

But don't tell me it isn't a gamble either way.

And when they are this close, you always go tall. It's like affirmative action for people over 6 foot 4.

[Yencks 8]

Hardly footage.....glad to hear he kicked that goal, because all we saw was him spin the ball in his hands and take 4 steps from outside 50m

but they were good steps and good spins

The recruiters will be taking into consideration: -

1/ Is he the best available? That is debatable. Rich goes ok at U18 level that's all we know.

2/ The go home factor? Ie Judd, S.Thompson,....

How do you know Watts, is not the best player in the draft? Are you a recruiter? No.

i think thats a couple of unfair statements

-firstly, as has been pointed out, rich has been proven at WAFL level against men...which basically puts him above a whole heap of players on the melbourne list atm who are either struggling at Sandy or are in the sandy reserves

-secondly, what a lot people are saying...watts will not be the best player next year or in the next couple of years

he could be the best player in the future, but no, at the moment he is not the best player...u dont have to be a recruiter to say that one player is currently better than another

here is an example, a nice easy one...judd is better than newton

i am not a recruiter, and i know that judd is better and will always be better than newton

[Eastie Boyz 0]

That is the thing that makes me lean more towards Rich and Nik Nat, both are playing some good footy against men at the moment in the WAFL while there is still that question mark with Watts. Gee it's tough though I can't give a definate answer with which name I want us to call out late November, all 3 of them have a very good case.

By your reckoning there were question marks over Judd, Hawkins, J. Brown, Ball, Hodge and every other Victorian player ever drafted out of the TAC cup because they play Under 18s

[furious d 448]

Will Newton win the Brownlow this year Nugget? Watts won the Larke, judged best player in a comp that included one Daniel Rich I believe. If you think Watts is a Newton compared to Rich's Judd, you are kidding yourself, ridiculous analogy.

Alot of people may be saying Watts is not the best player, but as far as I'm aware 99.98% of them are armchair experts who wouldn't know their elbow from their ahole. What I've heard from recruiters is he won't be ready to compete in a key possie till he bulks up a bit. This doesn't mean he is not the better player. Mids can often step straight in, but to play against the bigger stronger blokes requires some bulk, something not many 17 year old athletes have.

Why are the Rich supporters so condesending? Where is this irrefutable proof that Rich is the better player. There is no standout #1 this year, no consensus, you lot have invented it amongst yourselves.

I'll be happy whoever we get (at least for the first few years), because unlike most of you lot I realise I am not a recruiter. Watching a few minutes on youtube doesn't make you an expert. Having said that I'd prefer Watts, we desperately need a quality tall.

[Neita3000 37]

ppl are making it out to be that Watts is crap. The kid is a serious talent. Personally I'd prefer Naita but at the end of the day I'd be happy with anyone of the big 3

[Yencks 8]

Will Newton win the Brownlow this year Nugget? Watts won the Larke, judged best player in a comp that included one Daniel Rich I believe. If you think Watts is a Newton compared to Rich's Judd, you are kidding yourself, ridiculous analogy.

Alot of people may be saying Watts is not the best player, but as far as I'm aware 99.98% of them are armchair experts who wouldn't know their elbow from their ahole. What I've heard from recruiters is he won't be ready to compete in a key possie till he bulks up a bit. This doesn't mean he is not the better player. Mids can often step straight in, but to play against the bigger stronger blokes requires some bulk, something not many 17 year old athletes have.

Why are the Rich supporters so condesending? Where is this irrefutable proof that Rich is the better player. There is no standout #1 this year, no consensus, you lot have invented it amongst yourselves.

I'll be happy whoever we get (at least for the first few years), because unlike most of you lot I realise I am not a recruiter. Watching a few minutes on youtube doesn't make you an expert. Having said that I'd prefer Watts, we desperately need a quality tall.

i was using newton and judd as an extreme...not to compare them to watts and rich but to say that you dont have to be a recruiter to say one person is better than another...i just took a crappy forward and a good midfielder and put them in the same sentance...i also think palmer will be better than weetra and that morton will be better than meesen....i am not claiming to be an expert but i hate it when people say "you cant say one person will be better than another unless you are a recruiter"...or "are you a recruiter? no"

ppl are making it out to be that Watts is crap. The kid is a serious talent. Personally I'd prefer Naita but at the end of the day I'd be happy with anyone of the big 3

watts is still probably my preferred choice and i do rate him very highly but i just cant be bothered for fickle members/supporters (like with this year with morton) to start saying we should have taken this, we should have taken that...although watts WILL be great (i believe/hope) he will not be much for at least 1 or 2 years minimum

people will start to think we have wasted our number 1 pick...and i know we cant accept mediocrity and not care what the ignorant fans think...but i also think that melbourne is not at a stage where it can frustrate supporters anymore and i still think natanui especially could be a very exiting prospect earlier than watts

watts is a pretty long term prospect, and that's not a secret

it frustrates me when people say things like this "Alot of people may be saying Watts is not the best player, but as far as I'm aware 99.98% are armchair critics"

... what a lot of people are trying to say is that next year, in the AFL (considering most number 1 draft picks play a fair chunk of AFL in their first year) watts will not be the best player out of the "big 3" and going by where he is in his schooling, how old he is and the size of his body, and the position he plays, you dont have to be an expert to figure that out

[furious d 448]

You can't base your recruiting on what fickle supporters might think. Despite stereotypes I think our supporters have proved this year that we're not that fickle anyway.

You pick the best player, be it Rich, Niknat or Watts. The thing that grates at me is people claiming Rich is clearly the best available. That's a nonsense. If it were true he'd be a clear #1 pick. He isn't thefefore it's rubbish. Watts won't be strong enough to compete with the bigger bodied defenders next year, that doesn't mean he's not the better player.

Mids and KPP's don't develop at the same rate, the footy public understands that. I don't see what you're worried about

[Jerry Lundergard 420]

If we decide to draft Watts fro next season, and put him on ice for a year to let his body develop(he is a bottom age player, playing a key position), can Watts still play school footy, or does he have to play VFL?

If he is not ready to go physically next year in the AFL, then the VFL is probably no better. However, he will still need game time, which is why i am wondering if he can play school footy.

[Eastie Boyz 0]

Well Patrick Dangerfield who is on Adelaide's list has been playing TAC cup, Xavier Ellis and Luke Ball both played school footy after being drafted

[Freak 100]

You don't pick the best player right now, you pick the kid you think will become the best player.

It's an important distinction in the wake of Palmer adjudged the 'best player' of last years draft while Cotchin, Kreuzer, Morton and probably others will be better players in the long run judging from what i have seen in their fledgling careers.

Watts is 17, thin, 194cm, AA full fwd for his age, and in Yr 11. He is also playing the toughest position on the ground - CHF.

He is a different player than Rich, of course, and most reports say that Rich is a tough, polished performer.

But don't tell me it isn't a gamble either way.

And when they are this close, you always go tall. It's like affirmative action for people over 6 foot 4.

wrong. you don't necessarily pick the player that you think will eventually become the best player. You have to take into account longevity. Lets just say that Watts spends the first 4 years building up his body and the next 2-3 years getting into top AFL form by the age of 25, meanwhile Rich becomes a 4 time All-Australian at the same age. Was it worth the wait?

Ultimately, for Watts to make up for all of the time taken to bulk up and hit his straps he will have to surpass Rich in a big way in a 2 or 3 year window.

[Yencks 8]

wrong. you don't necessarily pick the player that you think will eventually become the best player. You have to take into account longevity. Lets just say that Watts spends the first 4 years building up his body and the next 2-3 years getting into top AFL form by the age of 25, meanwhile Rich becomes a 4 time All-Australian at the same age. Was it worth the wait?

Ultimately, for Watts to make up for all of the time taken to bulk up and hit his straps he will have to surpass Rich in a big way in a 2 or 3 year window.

and im not saying it will neccesarily be this extreme...but this is why i worry...especially because all of our fans will start to become very angry that we have "made another recruiting blunder"

i hope i am wrong...and there is still a big part of me that wants watts, but it is this theory that makes me worry

and yes, he is still eligible to play school football and probably will play all of his school matches next year for BGS

[Red and Blue Flame 150]

quit all of your whinging, i can pretty much guarentee that it's been finalised with jack. he'll be coming to us next year

[sylvinator 96]

quit all of your whinging, i can pretty much guarentee that it's been finalised with jack. he'll be coming to us next year

unless you know barry prendergast personally, and he then proceeded to tell you that he's going to pick Watts pick 1 (before draft camp mind you)...

then NO you CANNOT prety much guarantee it's been finalized