Just a note on the Watts v NicNat debate....it's good to finally some not so positive media coverge in respect to Natanui. Not good for the guy personally, but good to see some realistic assessments being done of his ability. I think the title of the Article in the Herald Sun says it all: "Nic Naitanui lost in space".

Here's one quote which i found very interesting and will probably fuel the Watts v Naitanui debate further, but this time in the positive for Watts:

Respected commentator Ken Judge, a former Eagles coach, yesterday described Naitanui as a "major work in progress".

Judge said Naitanui was an exciting athlete who needed to learn where to run to attract the ball.

"It is not easy to teach. It will probably get better over time, but I'm not sure he's ever going to be fantastic at it," Judge said.

I think by the end of this season there'll be more commentators than not (with the exception of idiots like Sheedy) supporting our decision to pick Watts as he proves himself to clearly be the best choice in that draft. I think we've seen enough in his last two games to make us feel pretty confident about that.

I think by the end of this season there'll be more commentators than not (with the exception of idiots like Sheedy) supporting our decision to pick Watts as he proves himself to clearly be the best choice in that draft. I think we've seen enough in his last two games to make us feel pretty confident about that.

Can't say I've heard anything from Sheedy regarding Jack Watts.

Lethal Leigh Matthews on the other hand has said plenty on the matter of Jack Watts.....

I was critical after reports on Jacks VFL form a couple of weeks ago, so I thought that I would give my thoughts after watching him at the ground on Saturday. I was sitting directly behind the interchange bench.

Jack will be a superstar!

Some things that stood out

- He is as tall at Jamar when they were standing next to each other (but Jamar is an absolute monster)

-He looks to have a build that is big enough to be playing AFL now, but his frame looks like he will carry a fair bit more weight as well

-He is fast. He does not look like he is moving fast, but is deceptive. His cruising speed is high.

-He is tough. At least 4 times he was knocked over late, every time got straight back up and continued on.

-He has a fantastic attitude. The Power players tried to rattle and bait him (as above) and he kept his focus. He has a look of confidence about him, a strut, but does not look arrogant. He seems to listen to what coaches and team mates are saying when on the bench.

The thing that stood out to me the most was in the last quarter he spent a period of about 5 minutes on the bench when the game was in the balance. All players were rotated throughout the night, but this break seems a bit longer than normal. Normally the players went to the cool room for a minute, came back got a rub down, then sat on the bench waiting for the call up from the bloke wearing the headset. Instead of sitting back down, Jack stood next to the bloke in the headset, and kept looking up at the coaches box. After a couple of minutes he politely asked when he will be going back on, got no answer, but still stood there waiting. When the game is on the line, the great players want the ball in their hand. This was Jack on Saturday night.

The main thing I think that the coaching staff will be working on is getting him to understand his role. I don't think he realises how big he is yet. I think this may be due to his basketball background. He actually looks like he is trying to play like a point guard rather than a power forward. He is often on the outside of packs looking for the outlet pass when the ball is in the air moving into the forward line rather than being in the middle of the contest, however as soon as the ball hits the ground he is on his hands and knees scrapping for it. This is not a criticism, the space that he moves to and the way he reads the play are exceptional, but I don't think that is the role he will be playing in the future.

After seeing Jack on Saturday night, there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that the Dees got the best player of the last few years.

After seeing other games over the last few weeks, I think by the end of next year the question will be should West Coast have taken Hill.

I was watching a bit of Chooseday AFL on Fox the other night, and they had the Cats vs Demons at Kardinia Park from 1994. In this game were very young versions of Neita and Schwartz. They both looked like Jack Watts of today. (It was also a great opportunity to see DS pre-knee injuries - he would have been one of the greatest of all time if he wasn't crueled by constant knee problems.)

I have been guilty of suggesting in the past on here that JW will not turn into another Neita, but even with Neita 20 or 21 in that game, he was still relatively lightly built, but still dominated from the CHB (if we remember he played much of his early career there, and Wayne Carey for one nominates him as the hardest opponent he ever played on).

I was very encouraged by JW's game last Saturday night. His marking and leading are improving all the time (something he was not outstanding at down at Casey) but it is the combination of the big body AND his sublime skill and speed which could potentially set him apart from almost any other. That is the real revolution in front of us - not Nick Natinui

It is easy to get excited by this kid, and watching 10+ years of him in action being fed by Scully, Trengove and Grimes.

Edited May 26, 201015 yr by DeesPower

some more on Nic Nat Lost In Space

I know this is a very unpopular thing to say, but are we fooling ourselves about Jack Watts. From what we can gather about the game at the weekend young jack was beaten pointless by a less than top 50 draftee. Why was this so? Was he injured? Was he unfit? Or was he not good enough?

I dearly hope I am wrong on this, but I fear he may be another Molan.

Reassure me someone. Show me evidence to the contrary.......

"A succession of quiet games from the West Coast ruckman and the sprightly form of several others, including Melbourne trio Jack Trengove, Tom Scully and Jack Watts, has forced bookmakers to reshape their markets." see the Hun today. "...there has been a bit of money for their teammate Jack Watts after two impressive games."

Now two games do not define a draft pick but I think there is enough to see some promise there.

On the other hand...

"His highlights reel is as exquisite as Peking duck, but where's the steamed rice?" Says Mark Stevens of NN.

'2014-Flag' are you at all repentant for your lack of faith?

Have you seen the light?

This topic had slipped off the front page of the forums - we can't have that.

Readme

I just posted a response to that article, which I doubt will get up...

There's a big difference between Hawkins and Watts. Hawkins still hasn't played a top game and has been around in a top-class side (where someone as ordinary as Cameron Mooney has managed to survive simply on the class and delivery of the Geelong midfield), now in his fourth season. Whereas Jack Watts was still in school last year and barely had time to train. This is basically his first season.

Secondly, his build is also totally different from the one Hawkins brought to AFL. Once Watts puts on some more muscle (he's already put on 6kg since last year) he'll tear the competition apart. Hawkins never will. He might be a good player, but Watts will be in another league.

Another thing, there's no way Hawkins would have gone number 1, if he was drafted at 41. GFC would have had to give up their top pick if another club had wanted Hawkins with their first pick.

This topic had slipped off the front page of the forums - we can't have that.

Readme

I dare say Michael Auciello hasn't come accross Liam Jurrah as yet.

I'm really glad I spent 3 minutes of my 20 minute lunch break in between meetings reading that. Awesome

Edited May 28, 201015 yr by Jaded

I'm really glad I spent 3 minutes of my 20 minute lunch break in between meetings reading that. Awesome

Ouch...sorry

Ouch...sorry

Not your fault.

I should have known better than to read the Geelong Advertiser.

I just posted a response to that article, which I doubt will get up...

There's a big difference between Hawkins and Watts. Hawkins still hasn't played a top game and has been around in a top-class side (where someone as ordinary as Cameron Mooney has managed to survive simply on the class and delivery of the Geelong midfield), now in his fourth season. Whereas Jack Watts was still in school last year and barely had time to train. This is basically his first season.

Secondly, his build is also totally different from the one Hawkins brought to AFL. Once Watts puts on some more muscle (he's already put on 6kg since last year) he'll tear the competition apart. Hawkins never will. He might be a good player, but Watts will be in another league.

Another thing, there's no way Hawkins would have gone number 1, if he was drafted at 41. GFC would have had to give up their top pick if another club had wanted Hawkins with their first pick.

There's another difference between the two, Hawkins is a much bigger & bulkier Type with less agility & they take longer to come on. On the other hand Wattsy is much younger & was drafted @ a very young age.

Neither is behind schedule. A realistic schedule, that is.

I'm really glad I spent 3 minutes of my 20 minute lunch break in between meetings reading that. Awesome

I'm slightly alarmed it took you 3 minutes to read that! Not much substance there.

Edited May 28, 201015 yr by Ho Chi Dee

Neither is behind schedule. A realistic schedule, that is.

Excellent point. Though IMO we can realistically expect Jack to be much further down the track after 52 games than Hawkins is. On the other hand, Jack is purely a KPF, while Hawkins can also be effective (in short bursts only) in the ruck.

Ah Jacks back and hunting down the 2000 mark.

I just posted a response to that article, which I doubt will get up...

There's a big difference between Hawkins and Watts. Hawkins still hasn't played a top game and has been around in a top-class side (where someone as ordinary as Cameron Mooney has managed to survive simply on the class and delivery of the Geelong midfield), now in his fourth season. Whereas Jack Watts was still in school last year and barely had time to train. This is basically his first season.

Secondly, his build is also totally different from the one Hawkins brought to AFL. Once Watts puts on some more muscle (he's already put on 6kg since last year) he'll tear the competition apart. Hawkins never will. He might be a good player, but Watts will be in another league.

Another thing, there's no way Hawkins would have gone number 1, if he was drafted at 41. GFC would have had to give up their top pick if another club had wanted Hawkins with their first pick.

Guess what, they posted your comments. Though it's the only comment listed so far so I don't know what that says. It should stir up some healthy debate if anyone in Geelong actually cares to read it.

Guess what, they posted your comments. Though it's the only comment listed so far so I don't know what that says. It should stir up some healthy debate if anyone in Geelong actually cares to read it.

Yeah, interesting. Though, I suspect most Geelong people realise Cameron Mooney wouldn't get a game for anyone else these days.

Another thing, there's no way Hawkins would have gone number 1, if he was drafted at 41. GFC would have had to give up their top pick if another club had wanted Hawkins with their first pick.

The Father/Son bidding system wasn't introduced when Hawkins was drafted. In fact, Geelong's ability to pick him up that low was one of the final triggers that made the new rule necessary. Hawkins was a Round 1 draft pick in anyone's book back then.

Well, I stand corrected.

Oh... my... lord...

Wish I hadn't read that article in the Advertiser. Pathetic. Really ridiculous comparison. Moronic actually. Probably does it too much justice to talk about it too much. They are two massively different prospects.

Not your fault.

I should have known better than to read the Geelong Advertiser.

Yeah, you got an extended lunch break...

(28mins since your previous post..)

Yeah, you got an extended lunch break...

(28mins since your previous post..)

yeah meeting got pushed back which completely stuffed up the rest of my day which is why I'm only just leaving work.

My week has been a bigger fail than the entire back catalogue of the Geelong Advertiser. TGIF!