Old Xav is nothing but a freakin' troll. Don't feed him an he'll soon get bored and go away.

I hope Jack Watts was watching Nic Naitanui last night. The standout for me is just what hard work can do for your game. Naitanui was a spaz last year (outside of that last quarter against Hawthorn). He was terrific last night. He's done a lot of work and is very committed, that much is clear.

I hope Jack Watts was watching Nic Naitanui last night.

Why?

They are completely different players at completely different stages of development.

Watts is not in competition with Naitanui, and should feel absolutely no pressure to draw comparisons.

I loath these stupid, irrelevant comparisons.

Why?

They are completely different players at completely different stages of development.

Watts is not in competition with Naitanui, and should feel absolutely no pressure to draw comparisons.

I loath these stupid, irrelevant comparisons.

I was simply noting how far you can advance quickly with work, if you'd bothered to read it.

I was simply noting how far you can advance quickly with work, if you'd bothered to read it.

So you think Watts doesn't already know that? or that he isn't already doing everything in his power to improve and progress?

He has plenty of good role models around him already to learn from regarding work ethic. He doesn't need to be taking lessons from Naitanui, or feeling pressured by his progress. The only person Watts is competing with is himself.

I was simply noting how far you can advance quickly with work, if you'd bothered to read it.

Probably but study, illness and injury make it a bit hard. He'll be fine.

Just to detract from some of the mindless dribble regarding NikNat/Watts comparisons, I`d like to mention that he is by far the most approachable bloke at our club. All the players were absolutely fantastic in giving their time on the field after the game today, we have some absolute quality``people``representing our club and Jack Watts is as nice a bloke as you`d ever meet.

Just to detract from some of the mindless dribble regarding NikNat/Watts comparisons, I`d like to mention that he is by far the most approachable bloke at our club. All the players were absolutely fantastic in giving their time on the field after the game today, we have some absolute quality``people``representing our club and Jack Watts is as nice a bloke as you`d ever meet.

Your right, he was incredibly nice to me when I talked to him today

So you think Watts doesn't already know that? or that he isn't already doing everything in his power to improve and progress?

He has plenty of good role models around him already to learn from regarding work ethic. He doesn't need to be taking lessons from Naitanui, or feeling pressured by his progress. The only person Watts is competing with is himself.

nothing wrong with dangling the Nik Nat carrot in front of Jack.

He may know the talk in his head, but i for one want to see him DO it, right from the start.

Not Drafting Nik Nat was a big Gamble, like it or not-He will be a freak.

So the Club must get the best out of jack or we will pay.

I want Watts to be a gun CHF make no mistake, but passing up on Nik Nat is one hell of a big call

Let's see what they both do this year.

nothing wrong with dangling the Nik Nat carrot in front of Jack.

He may know the talk in his head, but i for one want to see him DO it, right from the start.

Not Drafting Nik Nat was a big Gamble, like it or not-He will be a freak.

So the Club must get the best out of jack or we will pay.

I want Watts to be a gun CHF make no mistake, but passing up on Nik Nat is one hell of a big call

Let's see what they both do this year.

Drafting him would also have been a big gamble. He was (and to some extent still is) a completely unknown quantity. Would he adjust to the game? Would he decide he liked something else better and ditch his club? Would he freak at the media coverage a la Nathan Ablett?

Not only did Watts suit our needs better, he was a safer bet.

Drafting him would also have been a big gamble. He was (and to some extent still is) a completely unknown quantity. Would he adjust to the game? Would he decide he liked something else better and ditch his club? Would he freak at the media coverage a la Nathan Ablett?

Not only did Watts suit our needs better, he was a safer bet.

The Media coverage Nik Nat gets in perth is no different to what he would get here, as there is only 2 teams over there it could be even more amplified.

Far as i am concerned the jury is still out, but what i saw friday night was truly "out there" so i hope the club made the right call.

And i hope Jack saw the game to..raise the bar that little bit higher

Drafting him would also have been a big gamble. He was (and to some extent still is) a completely unknown quantity. Would he adjust to the game? Would he decide he liked something else better and ditch his club? Would he freak at the media coverage a la Nathan Ablett?

Not only did Watts suit our needs better, he was a safer bet.

How are any of those issues specific to Naitanui compared to any of the other 700 players in the league? The gamble was, and still is: will an incredibly-gifted freak athlete be able to cut it at AFL level given he is is a relatively poorly-skilled and has a relatively 'clueless' football brain. I'm not convinced he has proven anything yet, for starters he is rubbish as an actual ruckman and in contested maring situations. He is more of a big midfielder. In the real game against good sides who will target him he will probably struggle, and his good efforts will be somewhat undone by regular blatent errors and a tendency to go missing. I also reckon he might miss heaps of footy through injury, just a hunch that a body like that won't hold up under the strain (he has already missed half a year). In any case we needed a forward and the Victorian factor probably played a part. Don't forget also that Watts is reputedly a quality person, marketable and leadership material. The real comparison will be made in 2012-2017 when these two are at their peak and Melb and WCE are battling in September. Watts will be on the end of our dominant midfield and I suspect he will be hurting sides badly and we will come out on top then. Besides, who gives a rats, plenty of clubs have taken players that were inferior to one taken later, it's part and parcel of recruitment FFS. Maybe we should have taken Rioli instead of Morton, maybe we should have taken Martin instead of Trengove, what is the point in speculating on it all?

Drafting him would also have been a big gamble. He was (and to some extent still is) a completely unknown quantity. Would he adjust to the game? Would he decide he liked something else better and ditch his club? Would he freak at the media coverage a la Nathan Ablett?

Not only did Watts suit our needs better, he was a safer bet.

On Friday night he seemed to have adjusted to the game and to the media okay. He is not a complete unknown anymore, he played football quite well on Friday night. Conjecture about him ditching a club seems to be grasping at straws a little I reckon. I reckon they both would have suited our needs at the time of their draft and there are never any safe bets on draft night its all a gamble.

How are any of those issues specific to Naitanui compared to any of the other 700 players in the league? The gamble was, and still is: will an incredibly-gifted freak athlete be able to cut it at AFL level given he is is a relatively poorly-skilled and has a relatively 'clueless' football brain. I'm not convinced he has proven anything yet, for starters he is rubbish as an actual ruckman and in contested maring situations. He is more of a big midfielder. In the real game against good sides who will target him he will probably struggle, and his good efforts will be somewhat undone by regular blatent errors and a tendency to go missing. I also reckon he might miss heaps of footy through injury, just a hunch that a body like that won't hold up under the strain (he has already missed half a year). In any case we needed a forward and the Victorian factor probably played a part. Don't forget also that Watts is reputedly a quality person, marketable and leadership material. The real comparison will be made in 2012-2017 when these two are at their peak and Melb and WCE are battling in September. Watts will be on the end of our dominant midfield and I suspect he will be hurting sides badly and we will come out on top then. Besides, who gives a rats, plenty of clubs have taken players that were inferior to one taken later, it's part and parcel of recruitment FFS. Maybe we should have taken Rioli instead of Morton, maybe we should have taken Martin instead of Trengove, what is the point in speculating on it all?

Which Nic were you watching on Friday Night?

..will an incredibly-gifted freak athlete (Yes I saw him on friday night) be able to cut it at AFL level given he is is a relatively poorly-skilled and has a relatively 'clueless' football brain. I'm not convinced he has proven anything yet, for starters he is rubbish as an actual ruckman and in contested maring situations Who are you talking about here if its Nic Nat then it's a bit harsh, I saw a 2nd year player who had 4 goals, 18 possessions, 21 hitouts and eight tackles, but most importantly he was a catalyst for his teams win. They were a little sluggish in the first quarter the eagles but he sparked them with some of his incredibly-gifted freakish talent.

I am not going to get involved in the Watts V NicNat issue, it irks me though when we are blinded to the obvious talent of a player because he plays for another team especially to win an argument debate.

I guess we will see what happens between 2012 -2017 I know one thing though it will be great football to watch Watts Vs NicNat.

looks like NNN has greatly improved his skills in 2 areas. He got 18 -20 possessions. That's double his average for the last 2 years. He seems to be reading the play better and the timing on a couple of his tackles was very good (eg; the one on Mcveigh).

He has also bulked up. Richo said that NNN was bench pressing 135 kg, up from 90 last year. That is amazing considering that Richo admitted he never cracked 150kg. Maybe we should send morton over there for 3 months.

He kicked 4 goals including a brilliant snap that may have been a fluke. However his kicking and handball skills will never be as good as Jacks, or most other players in the league. He is an athlete playing football.

I always wondered how a person built like Michael Jordan would handle AFL. He'll be great for the game in a completely different way to Jack, who will develop into a very fine forward. He sounded good in the interview, and i have some cream that can help NNN with that ...problem.

Edited February 13, 201015 yr by DirtyDees DDC

How are any of those issues specific to Naitanui compared to any of the other 700 players in the league? The gamble was, and still is: will an incredibly-gifted freak athlete be able to cut it at AFL level given he is is a relatively poorly-skilled and has a relatively 'clueless' football brain. I'm not convinced he has proven anything yet, for starters he is rubbish as an actual ruckman and in contested maring situations. He is more of a big midfielder. In the real game against good sides who will target him he will probably struggle, and his good efforts will be somewhat undone by regular blatent errors and a tendency to go missing. I also reckon he might miss heaps of footy through injury, just a hunch that a body like that won't hold up under the strain (he has already missed half a year). In any case we needed a forward and the Victorian factor probably played a part. Don't forget also that Watts is reputedly a quality person, marketable and leadership material. The real comparison will be made in 2012-2017 when these two are at their peak and Melb and WCE are battling in September. Watts will be on the end of our dominant midfield and I suspect he will be hurting sides badly and we will come out on top then. Besides, who gives a rats, plenty of clubs have taken players that were inferior to one taken later, it's part and parcel of recruitment FFS. Maybe we should have taken Rioli instead of Morton, maybe we should have taken Martin instead of Trengove, what is the point in speculating on it all?

My sentiments exactly. We chose Watts over NikNat. End of story. If NN proves to be a better footballer than Watts then so be it. Watts will hopefully be very good. Are we going to whip ourselves every time NN has a good game for the next ten years? The club made a decision based on sound thinking. It may prove to be right or wrong over time. I don't want to think or talk about it any more!!!!

Don't forget also that Watts is reputedly a quality person, marketable and leadership material. The

From what I've seen of Natnaui, he speaks very well, has said numerous times that enjoying his football drives him, comes from a close family & is the most marketable player since Buddy. You would have got 80 K to the Queen's Birthday game if it were Natnaui on debut, not Watts.

Edited February 14, 201015 yr by The Old Xaverian

He kicked 4 goals including a brilliant snap that may have been a fluke. However his kicking and handball skills will never be as good as Jacks, or most other players in the league. He is an athlete playing football.

I always wondered how a person built like Michael Jordan would handle AFL. He'll be great for the game in a completely different way to Jack, who will develop into a very fine forward. He sounded good in the interview, and i have some cream that can help NNN with that ...problem.

Try a stock standard snap from the pocket under no pressure. The only brilliant thing about it was that he couldn't have done it last year.

I admit he's improving and it was a good game for him, but people tack words like "brilliant" on to everything he does regardless of the actual quality of the play.

How are any of those issues specific to Naitanui compared to any of the other 700 players in the league? The gamble was, and still is: will an incredibly-gifted freak athlete be able to cut it at AFL level given he is is a relatively poorly-skilled and has a relatively 'clueless' football brain. I'm not convinced he has proven anything yet, for starters he is rubbish as an actual ruckman and in contested maring situations. He is more of a big midfielder. In the real game against good sides who will target him he will probably struggle, and his good efforts will be somewhat undone by regular blatent errors and a tendency to go missing. I also reckon he might miss heaps of footy through injury, just a hunch that a body like that won't hold up under the strain (he has already missed half a year). In any case we needed a forward and the Victorian factor probably played a part. Don't forget also that Watts is reputedly a quality person, marketable and leadership material. The real comparison will be made in 2012-2017 when these two are at their peak and Melb and WCE are battling in September. Watts will be on the end of our dominant midfield and I suspect he will be hurting sides badly and we will come out on top then. Besides, who gives a rats, plenty of clubs have taken players that were inferior to one taken later, it's part and parcel of recruitment FFS. Maybe we should have taken Rioli instead of Morton, maybe we should have taken Martin instead of Trengove, what is the point in speculating on it all?

firt time poster long time reader lads....

ive resisted posting for a while but that post, beer & curry, is the biggest load of $^&% ive ever read!! its all well and good to hold out hope for jacky boy, im sure he'll come good and hopefully be a star but your assumptions regarding nic nat seem to be based on absolutely nothing going by friday nights game.

I seriously dont know were to start....injury prone,blatant errors, tendancy to go missing(hahaha)...what in the bloody hell could that be based on? the kids played a few games and looked great. your just assuming silly things so you can fel better about JW. your comments on his rucking, skills and marking: what more could a kid with a few games under his belt possibly do to prove him self in all those areas???hes taken marks, first hands to the ball almost every ruck contest and kicked goals from the boundry, set shots and crumming goals. who knows whos gonna be better but ill tell you this much, if he was doing that stuff for us now, there would already be atleast 50 pages of manlove dedicated to him on demonland by now.

stuff it, lets just assume scully will never fix his loopy kicking, watts will never learn to take body contact, jurah is just gonna fade out of games, probbaly be injured his whole career aswell with his frame..while were at it, tamblings probably gonna end up better than buddy aswell....

Nics gonna be a star, hopefully jack will to.

our youngsters have all been injured and weve won a grand total of eight games in the last 2 years..id hate to see how critical your posts on the dees over the last few years must have been....

go dees!

ps adam maric to star this year!