The lad has put his hand up and deserves another crack.

Maybe ... Just maybe ...

Can he play some more good games please?

Brad Miller called and wants his "crack" back...

Geez I hope Juice does not get let loose. Hopefully all the indicators that he's a spare parts man due to his size and apparent "versatility" are correct and he gets kept in the cupboard for now... Why do we need to bring him in? Our conversion rate is pretty good, we just need to get it inside 50 more, not saying he hasn't played well enough for Casey to be considered but I don't think he's played well enough for MFC to be considered...

Nope. He's not an AFL standard footballer and shouldn't be on our list.

Really? Really????!!!!!

Deserves a shot based on form, but I doubt he will live up to VFL performances

His VFL record is good. His AFL record is not. Last resort only please.

Is dominating at VFl Level. Leading well. Marking well. Kicking well. Applying defensive pressure. Will get a chance as a Full Forward/ Follower at some point I think.

It's a werid one, Juice. On the one hand, we've seen what he's capable (or not) of at AFL level, and no-one wants to bring that into the team. On the other, 11 goals in 2 weeks is hard to ignore, and the fact that maybe, just maybe, the penny might have dropped for him and it's his last "now or never" shot at the big time. He could come in and have an immediate impact....

Just not sure i'd want to drop Watts for him, no matter how bad he actually was, his development in the long term somehow seems more important? That, and Juice is a long way in deficit in terms of footy credit, needs more than just a couple of weeks of dominance at VFL level perhaps. I dunno.

Not a Juice fan, but if he makes it into the side next week can't say he doesnt deserve the shot. Playing against the Suns, he's probably likely to kick a 'soft' bag of 4 or 5. Ideally would like Watts to have a go against the young Suns and gets a few cheapies just for the confidence.

It's a werid one, Juice. On the one hand, we've seen what he's capable (or not) of at AFL level, and no-one wants to bring that into the team. On the other, 11 goals in 2 weeks is hard to ignore, and the fact that maybe, just maybe, the penny might have dropped for him and it's his last "now or never" shot at the big time. He could come in and have an immediate impact....

Just not sure i'd want to drop Watts for him, no matter how bad he actually was, his development in the long term somehow seems more important? That, and Juice is a long way in deficit in terms of footy credit, needs more than just a couple of weeks of dominance at VFL level perhaps. I dunno.

Not a Juice fan, but if he makes it into the side next week can't say he doesnt deserve the shot. Playing against the Suns, he's probably likely to kick a 'soft' bag of 4 or 5. Ideally would like Watts to have a go against the young Suns and gets a few cheapies just for the confidence.

Pretty right here Doggo, the only thing I would question is the comments about Watts. I know he will be a great player for us and his development is important, but on the field he doesn't look hungry for the ball, a contest or anything much at all really. Sometimes a trip to the VFL can help to make a player realise that they are not living up to the standards required of them. That said I think you're dead right that he should have a go against the Suns, because if he manages to get into the game and score some goals, it could do wonders for his confidence and game. The flip side of that is that if he doesn't perform against a soft side, he's in trouble, and if Juice does perform well again I struggle to see how you can not give him a go. There has to come a time where any player who does not perform consistently gets dropped, and after being subbed out yesterday I feel that if Watts doesn't get up and about against what SHOULD be the easiest competition all year, that is likely to be the consequence for his lack of effort. He will get better and he will be good if he wants to, just right now I don't get the feeling he's working nearly hard enough, and until he does we can probably expect to see him spending the odd game in the VFL.

What also needs to be considered is that we need and want the four points and should put a side out there which maximize our chances of that happening.

With regards to Watts, there's a line between getting game time into him and just granting him a guernsey regardless based on his name and draft number. It's leaning well towards the latter now.

Juice may have turned a bit of a corner. Or maybe not. But what's certain is that he's thrusting his hand up high and hard for another chance.

I reckon they should give him one.

I'm starting to believe the old adage that big guys mature like good wine. It's worked for Jamar. It appears to be working for Martin. So why not Newton? Watt's needs more time back in the barrel maturing. To parrot Doggo, 11 goals in two rounds is hard to ignore when we as a team haven't managed more than a dozen a game this season so far.

Edited April 10, 201114 yr by america de cali

He's knocking on the door which is good, but prior efforts mean he has to start banging more loudly. Another couple of 5 goal hauls and he's a chance.

It's a werid one, Juice. On the one hand, we've seen what he's capable (or not) of at AFL level, and no-one wants to bring that into the team. On the other, 11 goals in 2 weeks is hard to ignore, and the fact that maybe, just maybe, the penny might have dropped for him and it's his last "now or never" shot at the big time. He could come in and have an immediate impact....

Just not sure i'd want to drop Watts for him, no matter how bad he actually was, his development in the long term somehow seems more important? That, and Juice is a long way in deficit in terms of footy credit, needs more than just a couple of weeks of dominance at VFL level perhaps. I dunno.

Not a Juice fan, but if he makes it into the side next week can't say he doesnt deserve the shot. Playing against the Suns, he's probably likely to kick a 'soft' bag of 4 or 5. Ideally would like Watts to have a go against the young Suns and gets a few cheapies just for the confidence.

The penny doesn't drop with Michael Newton. Keep your hopes down.

The biggest hole in our forward line at the moment is a mature strong body . . .

Seeing him at casey and training he is really trying his gut's out and his intensity is noticeable different.

I agree he has yet to meet AFL standards but just maybe consider having a strong tall body in out forward line to take a strong defender away while Jurrah, Wonna or Watts are lurking around.

Could be a good decoy and if he can kick 2 a game it maybe worth a look.

I would not write this off as a possibility.

Edited April 10, 201114 yr by deestar

What also needs to be considered is that we need and want the four points and should put a side out there which maximize our chances of that happening.

With regards to Watts, there's a line between getting game time into him and just granting him a guernsey regardless based on his name and draft number. It's leaning well towards the latter now.

Juice may have turned a bit of a corner. Or maybe not. But what's certain is that he's thrusting his hand up high and hard for another chance.

I reckon they should give him one.

Not entirely true. What we should be doing is putting a side out there that, clearly, is capable of winning, but also has an eye to the future. We are not a premiership contender this year, so we need to be thinking about who we want in the side in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Newton does not qualify. Moreover, he has 'thrust his hand up' before, and upon getting his promotion, stunk it up.

Picking Newton is nothing but a step backwards.

HaHaHa, Oh schitt, a good morning laugh. Well Dunn.

Where do ya get 'em?

If only Moloney had opened this thread instead of just reading the subject line.

Please no. Please Please Please Please Please Please Please NO NO NO NO NO!!!!

Juice might be putting his hand up, bagging 11, developing a strong body, developing late, training the house down or he might even be the re-incarnation of the Buddha. But he has proven over 6 (or is it 7) years that AFL standard football is too fast and too intense for him.

Leave Watts starting from the bench, and rotate Stef Martin and Jamar through the forward line for a rest. Give Cook, T McDonald or Howe a go, but "doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same result" is insanity.

No.

More.

Juice.

.

Michael Newton is YOUNGER than Stefan Martin. Give him a chance to show what he's got, like we gave Martin. He deserves it based on form.

Michael Newton is YOUNGER than Stefan Martin.

Good point.

the yay to win games of footy is to pick your best team on form / team balance

out Watts or Dunn in Newton

"Juice might be putting his hand up, bagging 11, developing a strong body, developing late, training the house down or he might even be the re-incarnation of the Buddha. But he has proven over 6 (or is it 7) years that AFL standard football is too fast and too intense for him."

Jamar says hi. IMO, when you can't even quote the coaches comments on the BOG, it's you that has the problem here. Another 6 goals this week.

To address the 'has stunk it up' comments, Juice has had 15 AFL games kicking 16 goals in our last 3 years (where we placed 16,16,12)

'It's the midfield stupid' has come up a lot lately. Why is that? Was is any better in the last 3 years? Could it have been worse?

His elevation rounds have looked as follows:

2008: 1, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21

2009: 4, 5, 17, 18, 19

2010: 2, 3, 21, 22

5 callups in the first 5 rounds, 10 callups in the last 7 rounds.

If we were looking to delevop, say, Watts, would he only play at the start and the end of the season? For a maximum of 3 games sequentially?

Btw, Debut:20y 63d Last:23y 124d. He has had only 4 years, not 6 and certainly not 7.

Michael Newton is YOUNGER than Stefan Martin. Give him a chance to show what he's got, like we gave Martin. He deserves it based on form.

Good call. He's on our list to play senior footy for gods sake. He's clearly too good for VFL not just on this years form but also last years. Yes he's struggled in the past but as the previous post says he's younger then Martin yet he's been given his chance this year and taken it. He's there to put pressure on blokes like Jack Watts and I believe if he plays 3good games in a row he should be given a go.

I'm not a fan of Newtons at all. I've hated the way he's played for Melbourne in the past but the amount of crap he cops compared Jack Watts. Im not saying Watts doesn't get canned cause clearly he does but he always gets defended with people saying his only young needs a few more pre seasons to build a body rah rah rah. We have a bigger bodied player in the VFL who is clearly too good for that competition. I know it sounds like I'm building him up to be a superstar. He's not. All He needs to do at AFL level atm is not get out marked, to chase hard and to hit the contest hard. All areas Jack Watts needs to learn in the VFL.

Jack Watts: 21games

K M H D G T  

Ave/game   7.1 4.4 4.8 11.9 0.6 1.1

Michael Newton: 25games  

K M H D G T  

Ave/game   7.7 4.2 2.4 10.1 1.2 2.4