It's been well documented that Jack Watts will be doing his final year of secondary school studies at Brighton Grammar this year. School starts tomorrow. The MFC trains on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays at Casey Fields at 8.30am.

Obviously JW can't be in two places at the same time and will need to go on a modified training programme.

In addition, I'm told he has to give priority to his school football team when it has matches scheduled.

Surely this will substantially affect his chances of playing in the AFL this season?

His education should take priority over any form of football. However, the MFC should be ahead of any school football.

If this is not the case, it is a disgrace and something must be done.

Let's not forget he only just got picked up with our last pick in the 5th round!

Let's not forget he only just got picked up with our last pick in the 5th round!

Good point Al, we shouldn't expect much from our 5th round pick Jack Watts

not sure if the irony was missed here. the no. 1 pick in the draft should be barred from school football. injurys happen, but to do it in a school game....unacceptable

A 17 year old year 12 student should be allowed to complete his schooling and play for whichever team he desires while he completes a very important year

MFC would have known this when they drafted him.

No biggy. Won't be the first or last footballer to fall into this category. I believe it may be the same story with Blease too

cant agree, education comes first, the MFC comes second. he is going to make a lot of money from the club over the next 8-10 years. with being a high draft pick comes certain responsability. it also comes down to respect for your club , coach teammates and the fans

It works both ways.

If he wants to complete VCE properly he should be allowed to do so. This will probably coincide with less availability to train. If he is training less, and as a result has a lower conditioning than is required, then I don't want him playing at the highest level next year.

The club I'm sure knows this, and will show him the respect to honour his wishes, as he will no doubt do his utmost to play for us in the future.

Maybe a modified Year 12 done over 2 years instead of one....

If Melbourne are paying JW a whole lot of money then THEY get preference..NOT Brighton Grammar School

Rubbish.

MFC knew Watts' intentions when they drafted him. Indeed, I doubt this is even an issue at the club, we're just making it out to be one.

Life, and education, comes before football, he should be given the best chance to succeed in life before beginning his footy career

school comes first.

its one year.

so he doesnt play much this year. care factor = 0

it is not as if we are not going to win the premiership because he isnt playing.

rather the lad got a vce score - this will be very important for the lad down the track, esp if he wants to go to university (which i would assume he does)

if he wants to play for brighton, well, thats fine with me. i dare say he'll play with sandy as well sometimes too.

id rather he played for brighton than had an interstate trip to perth on a friday and missed school for some pointless game that isnt going to get us into the finals anyway.

It will be like Maric last year, except Watts is shitloads better so will play more games. I expect around 10 games.

Maybe a modified Year 12 done over 2 years instead of one....

If Melbourne are paying JW a whole lot of money then THEY get preference..NOT Brighton Grammar School

crazy. education must come first no matter how gifted a footballer/ athlete you are. whether he likes it or not he is now a marked man. in AFL or the seconds you would like to think there is a certain level of professionalism. play hard but fair. cant help but think there will some dim witted fullback from a rival school who maybe isnt likely to have a AFL career and will want to take a cheap shot. as i said before injuries are part of the game. if due to modified training he is not in the 1's allowances should be made so that he is a walk up start for Casey. and no you wouldnt send him on an interstate road trip but games at the G should be strongly considered.

Lol, some dim witted full back who'll take a potshot out of jealousy. Because there is such a history of that happening...

He might get guys paying closer attention to him (as if they wouldn't) but this philosophy is crazy. He's better off playing AFL against 28 year olds than school footy against 17 year olds. Much safer.

And Benno, I'd assume Watts would play for Casey not Sandy

why did Gibbs adapt quicker than Murphy? because he played against men in SANFL. im not saying rush him in . we all know he needs more muscle. as i said drip feed him games to be played at the G. as for history how many no.1 picks of recent years go back and play school footy?

why did Gibbs adapt quicker than Murphy? because he played against men in SANFL. im not saying rush him in . we all know he needs more muscle. as i said drip feed him games to be played at the G. as for history how many no.1 picks of recent years go back and play school footy?

Good point. He's better off playing VFL footy against men than schoolboy footy.

crazy. education must come first no matter how gifted a footballer/ athlete you are. whether he likes it or not he is now a marked man. in AFL or the seconds you would like to think there is a certain level of professionalism. play hard but fair. cant help but think there will some dim witted fullback from a rival school who maybe isnt likely to have a AFL career and will want to take a cheap shot. as i said before injuries are part of the game. if due to modified training he is not in the 1's allowances should be made so that he is a walk up start for Casey. and no you wouldnt send him on an interstate road trip but games at the G should be strongly considered.

I doubt some kid is gonna risk a $20K a year education by king hitting someone in a footy much cos he isn't as good as him.

crazy. education must come first no matter how gifted a footballer/ athlete you are. whether he likes it or not he is now a marked man. in AFL or the seconds you would like to think there is a certain level of professionalism. play hard but fair. cant help but think there will some dim witted fullback from a rival school who maybe isnt likely to have a AFL career and will want to take a cheap shot. as i said before injuries are part of the game. if due to modified training he is not in the 1's allowances should be made so that he is a walk up start for Casey. and no you wouldnt send him on an interstate road trip but games at the G should be strongly considered.

watts will not be any more famous or talked about in school footy this year than he was last year. He was closely tagged and talked about last year cos everyone knew (or thought they knew) that he was going to be number 1 and a lot of attention was payed to him, but no one, in their right mind would have risked their own education just to give some guy a "king hit."

-but back to the topic, I believe from what I have heard, that school football will take priority over Casey, however Melbourne Football Club matches will take priority over school matches. That is, i recon he will play most BGS matches (10 of them usually) and still possibly play some MFC games or casey games when school football is over/hasn't started yet.

Or, if he is playing for Melbourne and then gets dropped, he will then go back to schoolboy games.

However, as I have mentioned before, Luke Ball and Xaiver Ellis are prime examples of people that didn't play any AFL but played almost every schoolboy match.

I would say 4-5 games would be a realistic possibility, but wouldnt be surprised if he didnt play any games at all. I have been saying from the start that he wont play that many games.

the full back analogy wasnt the best one. theres more than one way to skin a cat ala M. Long and T .Simmonds. the point is if he is going to get injured it should be playing for the Red and Blue or the Scorps. as ive said his education is his no. 1 priority and as far as im concerned his school football days should be over. AFL is a young mans game , Cale Morton did all right last year against grown men and he has a similar frame to Watts . repeating myself compare Gibbs with Murphy. and yes even if he was to play every game we as a club would most likely still finish bottom four. Bailey is about fast tracking kids , the future of our club not keeping them bubble wrapped. If Neitz was still playing i think some peoples views would be differant. Lineing up along side him would have been invaluable for Watts. no roads trips just games at the G education permitting but no more school football.

If he is going to get injured it should be playing for the Red and Blue or the Scorps. as ive said his education is his no. 1 priority and as far as im concerned his school football days should be over. AFL is a young mans game.

If he loves his school side (which he does) he can still learn a lot from this. Things such as loyalty, leadership, teamwork etc etc. Why should his school football days be over? If he wants to play school footy, I say we should let him. He owes no more to MFC than to BGS at the moment, and dont bring up his pay check because again, he was drafted as a school kid in full knowledge of his intentions.

2 side notes...

1) Cale Morton had just finished his schooling and Jack Watts is underage and still has a year to go in his schooling, so I don't think this is a viable comparison.

2) He will still be playing for the "red and blue" because that is Brighton's colours.

If he loves his school side (which he does) he can still learn a lot from this. Things such as loyalty, leadership, teamwork etc etc. Why should his school football days be over? If he wants to play school footy, I say we should let him. He owes no more to MFC than to BGS at the moment, and dont bring up his pay check because again, he was drafted as a school kid in full knowledge of his intentions.

2 side notes...

1) Cale Morton had just finished his schooling and Jack Watts is underage and still has a year to go in his schooling, so I don't think this is a viable comparison.

2) He will still be playing for the "red and blue" because that is Brighton's colours.

If he's so in love with his school footy, why didn't he nominate for the draft next year?

Once you sign up as an AFL footballer, that's where your football priorities and loyalties lie.

I doubt some kid is gonna risk a $20K a year education by king hitting someone in a footy much cos he isn't as good as him.

Clearly you've never seen the vast majority of xavier college first xviii play then..

Clearly you've never seen the vast majority of xavier college first xviii play then..

Which soft cork school are you associated with, kid ?

If he's so in love with his school footy, why didn't he nominate for the draft next year?

Once you sign up as an AFL footballer, that's where your football priorities and loyalties lie.

cos he wanted to stay in melbourne. obviously he rates a whole football career in his home state over one year of school football, but i know that he loves his school football, whatever people may think.

Clearly you've never seen the vast majority of xavier college first xviii play then..

they're not bad. ive seen them play several times/played against them (not for the firsts) and no one would deliberately injure jack watts.