Casey Scorpions v Geelong

[Don24 103]

I was thinking that as well.

If anyone is disappointed about Jack Watts lack of goals, i wouldn't be too concerned. As it has already been pointed out, Casey had a stacked forward line today, and Watts was not a main target in it. On one hand that is a little disappointing, but on the other shows that he will be a player who can probably play all over the ground like a Pavlich or Hird. Peter German was not going to get Juice or Robbo playing too far up the ground was he?

Reiwoldt play his first two seasons on a wing while he learnt and bulked up, i would expect a simmilar devlelopment for Watts

[H_T 3,049]

gold.

That was gold. I am inclined to agree with dandeemans comments on Watts. Firstly I think they are managing him well. By playing him on the wing they are improving his aerobic capacity and he wont be getting that by playing at full forward. Some fans must remember he is still catching up on the rest of his teammates in terms of fitness block requirements.

[Tolstoys Nudge 1,734]

I can't think of another recent number 1 pick who has had a slower start to their career.

Are you kidding me?

It is fools like you that stop me from coming here more often.

He was on a modified program pre-season, is 8 weeks behind the rest of the squad, the club has said they expect nothing from him at senior level, he was drafted under age, this year, he would not be able to be drafted with the new age limits.

Jack is doing just fine, better infact. HE WAS NAMED IN THE BEST!! what more do you want?

Seriously, people like you just make me so angry, no idea about development at all!!

Plenty of no.1 pickls take time, especially the taller younger, less developed ones! Riewoldt ring any bells? how many games did he play in year 1? oh thats right, NONE!

He is the latest example of a top KPP pick!

Relax, Jack is allright by me!

[Adam The God 30,407]

Are you kidding me?

It is fools like you that stop me from coming here more often.

He was on a modified program pre-season, is 8 weeks behind the rest of the squad, the club has said they expect nothing from him at senior level, he was drafted under age, this year, he would not be able to be drafted with the new age limits.

Jack is doing just fine, better infact. HE WAS NAMED IN THE BEST!! what more do you want?

Seriously, people like you just make me so angry, no idea about development at all!!

Plenty of no.1 pickls take time, especially the taller younger, less developed ones! Riewoldt ring any bells? how many games did he play in year 1? oh thats right, NONE!

He is the latest example of a top KPP pick!

Relax, Jack is allright by me!

Agreed.

[Goodvibes 3,596]

gold.

I feel like I've just spotted Elvis at Seven Eleven.

[Freak 100]

im sorry, but there is a big difference between being NAMED IN THE BEST and being IN THE BEST. watts didn't play a bad game but there was no way known he was in our best.

petterd, jurrah, robbo, cheney, dunn, valenti, newton and hughes were all better.

not to mention the casey listed players in wall, silvagni and faulks.

just my opinion, but i think watts shouldnt debut this year. well he might be good to debut for the sake of debuting but i'd prefer to wait until he is going to get some worthwhile stats, instead of cheap ones.

[45HG 1,559]

Riewoldt did play in his first year, and the Number One pick before Watts was a tall player who has made an immediate impact.

I agree with what your saying Nudge, but not with how you back it up

[Tolstoys Nudge 1,734]

Riewoldt did play in his first year, and the Number One pick before Watts was a tall player who has made an immediate impact.

I agree with what your saying Nudge, but not with how you back it up

Nope sorry!

Kruezer is a ruckman, he was far bigger built and 18 months older, you cannot compare the 2!

Jack is still in high school, thats a MASSIVE factor!

Riewoldt did not play in his 1st year, if he did, it was AFTER round 11, Jack WILL play within the next 4 or 5.

My real point is, JAck is a massive talent, and deserves the time to concentrate on building his physique, study hard, and build a core fitness!

I just will not listen to idiots who just throw around negative vibes, its just ridiculous!

As for being named in the best, they dont give them away, he did what he was asked, and named, simple! at his age and stage of development, thats a great effort! The club were delighted with how he performed. Yes, somemay say others were better, but to be honest, id rather hear it from the club rather than some Demonland observers.

Those of you who bag JAck, be ready for some warm, steamy, sticky humble cherry pie!

Morons.

[Freak 100]

says the guy with a morton avatar.

my avatar also highlights why we shouldnt praise Watts like God

[Rod Grinter Riot Squad 5,654]

lol yes and no. He is so much better than miller it isnt funny. Not to mention Bate. Every now and again a player comes around and for some reason he is criticised for absolutely no reason. He works harder off the ball than any of our forwards, he is the best marker of the footy on our list and is just in a bad time in terms of kicking conversion.

People want watts to debut, but i cant see it happening when Newton is playing the way we want watts too. Absolutely ripping it up for the past month

He may be better than Miller, not Bate.

He may yet become an AFL player, but I hold out no hope for him. I may be wrong, you could be right.

I once thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.

[Guest Rojik of the Arctic]

He may be better than Miller, not Bate.

He may yet become an AFL player, but I hold out no hope for him. I may be wrong, you could be right.

I once thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.

I agree with you that I don't have a lot of faith in Newton ever being a top line player, but how are we ever going to find out what he is capable of unless we give him 8-10 weeks at the top level. Who knows what might happen? If he can get 4 or 5 shots on goal a week plus the occasional game of 7-8 then we have a more than handy forward. Give him the rest of the year to see what he can do.

[Jarka 767]

Are you kidding me?

It is fools like you that stop me from coming here more often.

He was on a modified program pre-season, is 8 weeks behind the rest of the squad, the club has said they expect nothing from him at senior level, he was drafted under age, this year, he would not be able to be drafted with the new age limits.

Jack is doing just fine, better infact. HE WAS NAMED IN THE BEST!! what more do you want?

Seriously, people like you just make me so angry, no idea about development at all!!

Plenty of no.1 pickls take time, especially the taller younger, less developed ones! Riewoldt ring any bells? how many games did he play in year 1? oh thats right, NONE!

He is the latest example of a top KPP pick!

Relax, Jack is allright by me!

FFS, you are an absolute idiot. Firstly show me with quotes where I've been negative about Watts in this thread, I merely pointed out a fact. Secondly Riewoldt played 6 games in his first year and he would have played more but for an injury. As someone else has already pointed out you have to go back to Luke Ball in 2001 who didn't play any games in their first year due to school commitments.

So, you can't read and you clearly don't know what you're talking about with regards to Riewoldt.

Fair dinkum, it's morons like you who frustrate me with their lack of knowledge about the game and topic.

Can some on the idiots out there who have taken offense with my comment please tell me why it's so bad to compare Watts' development with other recent number 1 picks? I'm not bagging him at all, in fact I've openly said I'm happy with the way Bailey is treating him this year, but there's this group mentallity going around this place that as soon as someone posts anything that's not 100% positive about the kid then they're set upon by the herd.

[Jarka 767]

says the guy with a morton avatar.

my avatar also highlights why we shouldnt praise Watts like God

What concerns me about kids like Morton and Watts is that the majority of Melbourne fans have built them up to be the elite of the elite, if for any reason they don't get to that level then they'll become instantly hated like what happened to Sylvia.

Most people here expect Watts to be the saviour of the club, it's pretty sad really to put so much pressure on a kid.

[montasaurus 0]

im sorry, but there is a big difference between being NAMED IN THE BEST and being IN THE BEST. watts didn't play a bad game but there was no way known he was in our best.

petterd, jurrah, robbo, cheney, dunn, valenti, newton and hughes were all better.

not to mention the casey listed players in wall, silvagni and faulks.

just my opinion, but i think watts shouldnt debut this year. well he might be good to debut for the sake of debuting but i'd prefer to wait until he is going to get some worthwhile stats, instead of cheap ones.

Probably agree with freak re watts + best. But people don't give up hope he is going to be a gun. I have a feeling in years to come what we have done with watts and conditioning will become the norm for under 18.5yr old players.

this is the 2nd game I have seen from him and there is something that jumps out about him..... He always hits his target by foot and Good decision making.

The other two great things that came out of yesterday in my eyes were the form of Jurrah and Hughes. Jurrah I think is a realistic outside chance of getting a snr game on monday for us. yes he is raw etc etc etc but played a very good 4Q performance. Ditto Hughes, backed up from a couple of weeks ago and IMO deserves an elevation mid year. I thought he had twice the impact of watts on the day yet missed the best????

On a side note we turned up about 5-10min into the 1st Q and spencer was in full kit on the boundary line yet did not site him. Did he play in the 1's? did he get injured?

[Guest Rojik of the Arctic]

What concerns me about kids like Morton and Watts is that the majority of Melbourne fans have built them up to be the elite of the elite, if for any reason they don't get to that level then they'll become instantly hated like what happened to Sylvia.

Most people here expect Watts to be the saviour of the club, it's pretty sad really to put so much pressure on a kid.

I can only speak for myself but I am happy to let the coaching team take as much time as it likes with the under twenties, but Sylvia is a different kettle of fish. He has played too many lazy games to earn my respect yet. The way I see it is Watts is a kid who might become a good player, Morton is a kid who will become a good player and Sylvia is a man who needs to show us that he is a good player.

[CarnTheDees 52]

In 2001 Luke Ball was the number 2 pick behind Luke Hodge...

[casey scorp 2]

..... Secondly Riewoldt played 6 games in his first year and he would have played more but for an injury. As someone else has already pointed out you have to go back to Luke Ball in 2001 who didn't play any games in their first year due to school commitments.

In the 2000 draft Riewoldt went #1 and Koschitkze #2.

In 2001 Riewoldt played 6 games due to injury; Kosi played 20 and won the Rising Star.

In 2002 Riewoldt played 22 games and won the Rising Star; Kosi played 4 games due to injury.

Both were ready to play in 2001.

Watts is still a school boy - he'll be on the ground next year. Let him find his feet in the VFL this year, and maybe play a few AFL games towards the end of the season (in Melbourne - maybe Richmond, North & Freo in successive weeks). Then let him concentrate on his study and exams for the next 3 months.

[Nasher 33,617]

Some of the comments in this thread have made me a little bit embarressed to be a Melbourne supporter TBH.

[Cards13 9,117]

Some of the comments in this thread have made me a little bit embarressed to be a Melbourne supporter TBH.

agree, every week someone posts a drop so and so thread or so an so is not going to be good enough. give it a rest and have some patience, it is fine to question but give it some time on players in there 1st season of footy. why compare previous no1 picks to watts??? the mfc have stated how many times they have a program he is on and they will not deviate from it, deal with it. he will play some games this year as a 17yr old, he will play his best footy in his 20's... we have years to go before we see his or any of the draftees from the last 3 years best footy.

[H_T 3,049]

agree, every week someone posts a drop so and so thread or so an so is not going to be good enough. give it a rest and have some patience, it is fine to question but give it some time on players in there 1st season of footy. why compare previous no1 picks to watts??? the mfc have stated how many times they have a program he is on and they will not deviate from it, deal with it. he will play some games this year as a 17yr old, he will play his best footy in his 20's... we have years to go before we see his or any of the draftees from the last 3 years best footy.

Agree. Patience is a virtue.

[sylvinator 96]

This thread is a disgrace. I too am embarrassed by the pathetic posting of some on this site.

Watts was named in the best, and has had games of 24 and 22 possessions respectively in his last 2 games. From all reports he used the ball extremely well and looked a future star. 3 weeks a go i watched him kick 3 goals on abc, and he looked frikin awesome.

He is developing well.

Previous number one picks were not is year 12 in their first year of footy, so incomparable. Xavier Ellis and Luke Ball are 2 awesome players who were top picks who didn't play in their first year.

Watts will be a gun. He's not big enough to play as the key forward yet, so is developing on the wong in the meantime. makes perfect sense to me actually.

[titan_uranus 25,043]

I cannot believe what people are saying about Watts. Unbelievable. FFS, he's only just turned 18, he's playing on a wing/half-foward and got more than 20 disposals. He mightn't be ready for AFL football yet, but for a kid like him, playing out of position, and not being able to train fully because he's still at school, I certainly can't see any reason for concern.

The positives to come out of this match are Jurrah and Cheney, I reckon. Cheney should get a call up this week. He was stiff to get dropped in the first place. Should be in the team.

I doubt Jurrah's close to ready for AFL football yet, but I'm excited to see him amongst the goals.

[stranga 328]

In defence of other posters, i dont think ive seen one person critisise Watts. If anything peoples comments show that they are actually realising they have to be more patient. No one has said he's been poor or wont be a good player in the future.

[Cards13 9,117]

In defence of other posters, i dont think ive seen one person critisise Watts. If anything peoples comments show that they are actually realising they have to be more patient. No one has said he's been poor or wont be a good player in the future.

some posters are concerned with his development and the fact they think as he has not played any games as the number 1 pick he might not be up to it.

[45HG 1,559]

It's a little odd to draw that concern out to "Melbourne supporters" in general though.

I'm happy with what is happening with Watts at the moment, but can understand why some supporters would hope he would be playing AFL - supporters of any club would desire this of their top pick.

No one is criticising Watts nor the FD, no one has said it's a disgrace that he isn't playing, or that he must be rubbish or that Bailey is a crap coach for not playing him.

We'd had a rubbish 3 years. Criticising supporters for wanting to see our No. 1 pick play is a little bit silly IMO.

I myself will wait until the club is ready to play him - I do also believe that any player on an AFL list would benefit from playing AFL footy. Round 14 would seem like an ideal time to begin his MFC on field career if his form holds up over coming weeks.