he was definately having a shot, had a few players open but he couldn't get it to then without giving them a hospital handpass so took it on himself to have a shot.... was a absolute floater but it was struck well enough on his wrong side and went through. which i think is a great effort considering the pressure on him

Three things really impressed me about Watts' game - apart from that fantastic goal. 1. The superb tackle he laid to stop Simmonds in his tracks. 2. He stayed out of the brawl - just hung around the outside to show he was there (smart play) for the team. 3. After the siren he went and hugged Aussie (who had been angry all day). The way Aussie responded looked like he was hugging his Captain.

Not bad qualities displayed for his first game in the VFL - not to mention only his third game for the year.

On the whole I endorse the cultivation of legends - but the goal was not intentional.

I was standing halfway up the hill in front of him. He tried to centre the footy and miskicked under pressure.

It was the only mistake I saw him make all day.

I'm with angryfijian - the tackle on Simmonds was just as impressive.

  Swampfox said:

His movement is very similar to James Hird

Bingo. That's what I said after the U18 Champs last year. Even has the golden boy looks to match. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, hey...

  Rhino Richards said:

I think you are the sort of poster Choko was talking about.

I thought he tried to centre and kicked a floater.

For me the exciting bit was what he did leading up to the kick.

Left foot banana I'd reckon was the concept but the result was a reverse torpedo. If you watch in full broadcast resolution the clockwise spin is apparent. You take it of course.

Nice to see he's happy to have a crack with the non-preferred. Too many in our side don't have that option.

  AzzKikA said:

I don't car if he didn't look to centre it, coz it shows he has the hunger and confidence to just go for it, wish SOME of the seniors would do that in stead of trying to palm off the task of kicking goals to another teammate.

its funny, when yze did that two years ago everyone screamed for his head.

but i do agree with you somewhat. some of my highlights from sunday against geelong were watching players have shots from 50-55, cale (from 60), and jones both had cracks. much better kick a point than fluff a short kick to a contest.

Whether he tried to kick it or not doesn't matter. Players with class and x factor have those things happen to them - regularly. It's funny how they rarely, if ever, happen to the also-rans.

Me, I'll pretend he meant it.

  deanox said:

its funny, when yze did that two years ago everyone screamed for his head.

but i do agree with you somewhat. some of my highlights from sunday against geelong were watching players have shots from 50-55, cale (from 60), and jones both had cracks. much better kick a point than fluff a short kick to a contest.

It's only bad when you have other options and choose to take a high-risk option for no reason.

Jack, had no other option than to kick to the top of the square. It landed between the goal posts behind the white line, which was a bonus, but the idea itself was right. Same goes for Morton and Jones, who needed to take the punt because there were no realistic contests to kick it too. Kicking long goals is the best way to break a defensive zone. Jones nearly nailed that one too.

Of course if you've got players constantly going for these goals and kicking them out of the full, that's just stupid. Everyone should know their limitations, and if they can't nail 60m goals consistently, they should look to dish it off to someone who can. I doubt Meesen will ever attempt those low-percentage kicks, but Sylvia for example can and should.

As it stands, Jack's goal was a bit of a miracle, and he probably won't pull that off too regularly, however his ability to rove a pack is extraordinary for someone his size, and his lateral movement is what really stands out when you watch that goal.

  Hannabal said:

Whether he tried to kick it or not doesn't matter. Players with class and x factor have those things happen to them - regularly. It's funny how they rarely, if ever, happen to the also-rans.

Me, I'll pretend he meant it.

funny, I was saying the same last night. Great players always seem to make their own luck, and more regulary then other players. He really looks like he could be something special.

Me, if I kicked it from there on the left I would have been celebrating a bit more then watts' did so I'll say he was lucky! I just hope he has a lot of this type of luck!

The look on his face suggested he meant it. Normally when players fluke a goal, they have a look of "What the...?" Jack didn't look shocked.

I think he meant it.

Pity we can't add a vote to this thread, I think it would make for an interesting tally:

1. He meant to kick the goal, or was kicking for goal.

2. He meant to do the disciplined thing and center it, but it came off alot better.

I saw it live and think he meant to center it, and it just came off better than expected.

  Hannabal said:

Me, I'll pretend he meant it.

HA! That's not a bad answer.

  Bring-Back-Powell said:

I think he meant it.

I thought the look on his face was "That was a low-percentage kick, I miskicked it pretty bad, but hey, I'm Jack Watts and stuff like that happens to me all the time... No surprise at all. Ooh. Is that some fish and chips that bloke is eating? I might just grab that and see if I can feed the whole crowd after I go for a walk on the ocean."

I'd be interested to see which way the wind was blowing. If he was kicking with the breeze he may well have intended to put it in front of goals as a floater and let the wind do the rest. On my good days I know I've had that intention when I used to play... Never worked for me of course.

  Dappa Dan said:

"That was a low-percentage kick, I miskicked it pretty bad, but hey, I'm Jack Watts and stuff like that happens to me all the time... No surprise at all."

If this is what he was thinking, then thank f$%k and get him in the team.

A confident attitude and the leadership skills he has, wow.

For me, if he meant that, then I'm Gary Ablett

the ball sailed along way through the goals. do you think he would've kicked it that hard if he was trying to centre it?

  deanox said:

the ball sailed along way through the goals. do you think he would've kicked it that hard if he was trying to centre it?

Game, set and match Deanox

Loved it, but no way he meant it. he took a look inside a split second before he kicked, and that was where he was aiming, he never looked at the goals. still loved it though.

Ahh the 'look-away' ... even better! :D

  Demon16 said:

Loved it, but no way he meant it. he took a look inside a split second before he kicked, and that was where he was aiming, he never looked at the goals. still loved it though.

yes he lookedn inboard...realised no option wheeled around and sent it though...just like that.

if you havent played as a forward you mighnt know that they as a lot invariably think (after many many many hours practising ) that they can ping a goal on demand...(well really good ones do ). Its this kind of forward that we have been crying out for..someone who actually knows where the goals are.. Actually if you are any good you can 'sense' where they are as youve built that into yor mindset over the journey.

Did you notice he wasnt ovrely surprised ?? Thats not arrogance..just self belief.. (and rare ability )

welcome to Melbourne Jack

Of course he meant to kick the Goal. September Huge crowd Bring it on.

Dean Bailey building an awesome team as we speak.

We made those Cats earn it on sunday, unlike a few "better" sides.

  Bring-Back-Powell said:

The look on his face suggested he meant it. Normally when players fluke a goal, they have a look of "What the...?" Jack didn't look shocked.

I think he meant it.

The look on his face after he turned to the crowd as the ball sailed through was a very sheepish: 'sometimes you win, sometimes you lose - I just won'.

That's why the celebration was half-hearted. Nobody can take full credit for a fluke.

But as Hanny girl says, flukes happen more often to some than others.

keep in mind theres a difference between meaning it...and expecting it !!

  Choko said:

I think most of us would be best advised to watch that video in the privacy of our bedrooms.

Quote of the year... comfortably

It's funny because it'd true

  jikajika said:

The look on his face after he turned to the crowd as the ball sailed through was a very sheepish: 'sometimes you win, sometimes you lose - I just won'.

That's why the celebration was half-hearted. Nobody can take full credit for a fluke.

But as Hanny girl says, flukes happen more often to some than others.

I think you're reading him wrong.

He was saying "Yeah, I kicked an off-balance banana with my left... what of it? I'm just going to point to the crowd and show them that that was just Jack Watts being Jack Watts."

Remember: mere mortals get excited when they fluke an extraordinary outcome, others just expect it and react accordingly.

Regardless of whether he meant it or not, from close up, the most impressive thing for me was that as he picked up the ball, he had a few options in terms of which direction to run. Without any hesitation, he turned onto his left side. Not even a thought of "let's try to get onto the trusty right", just instinctively knew which way was best and didn't for a moment doubt his ability to dispose of the ball well on his left. And despite the floater, the kicking action on the left looked reasonably natural. We have a gem people. By no means ready for AFL footy judging on what I saw on Sunday, but will be a star.

  rpfc said:

Remember: mere mortals get excited when they fluke an extraordinary outcome, others just expect it and react accordingly.

I see you are jedi too.

I sense the Force is strong within you.