I have to say my red and blue is broken today,after watching the debacle that was last nights game I have to say I thought Jack Watts was fantastic last night.This kid never stopped trying,most of the other players could learn from watching the kids attitude.I surprised myself by thinking this as I haven't been Jacks biggest fan,always hopeful but I found myself cheering him on last night as he was one of the few that kept trying,running,tackling,marking etc.I thought he showed some great courage,in the end all we as supporters want is for every player to have a red hot crack and never give up no matter how hopeless it seems and I think Jack did that last night.There were a few other players that tried as well,Jamar,Bartram,garland and Jones all had some good spots in the game and all tried very hard but with little support.On Bailey,there has been far to many excuses made for this man and his time must surely be up,he hasn't had a game plan since he walked in the door,I am sick of hearing about the cattle he didn't have in his first 2 seasons,well now he has them and we are no better.He got rid of Junior,worst mistake made by the footy club what an asset he would be now.I also question the recruiters at the club,I think Jack will be OK but we could have had Jack Darling in the forward line last night instead of waiting for a player to be ready in 2 or 3 years.I have been of the opinion that there are a few people at the club that are hopeing that this rebuild takes forever (it could going on the players we have selected in drafts when there were players that could perform at AFL level straight away)so as their jobs will be safe while player develop.Ok I have ranted for long enough,that felt good.Shoot me down if you like but these are my views at the moment.If someone who knows Jack Watts is reading this thread please let him know that he should hold his head up after last night,I saw some great improvement keep it up mate.Bailey must go ASAP

Here here.

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/video/tabid/8667/contentid/350363/default.aspx#playvideo#playvideo

Damn it. Thought your link was going to be a positive spin on Watts. Instead it was the haughty, 'who do you think you are?' responses of a coach who has no answers. "The season's played over 22 rounds." Ummm no it's now over 24 rounds.... I think that statement's indicative of where his game plan is: in the past.

Are your Foxies up for a game in the midfield this sunday??

Sadly no! If they were still around though I would have put them in Demons jumpers and let them loose in the mid field. They had pace, tenacity and determination. Unfortunately, too many of our boys at present are lacking these important traits. Let's hope things will change and SOON!

I found it curious that in his interview on the club website he was asked about his game and he spoke about "giving it a real crack", almost as though this was a novel thing for him to do.

His game has been well overstated, at least from where I was sitting in the stands. Yes he put in a greater effort than anyone else, but that's not hard when your competition is f-all. He was okay. Still has a look of a deer in headlights far too often, which seems to result in a reluctance for his teammates to give him the ball when he's the clear option.

If this game acts as his firestarter then happy days. Til then he has a long way to go. One thing that was noticeable in the flesh is he has definitely added some size to his frame. Hopefully with that comes confidence in his ability.

Is it necessary to find a way to criticise him in everything that he does?

The team was beaten soundly and he was one of the few that stood up.

I think that deserves some recognition.

Your first paragraph is rather sad on your behalf.

What is he supposed to say?

He's obviously excited by the fact he has gone out and been able to stand up against a physical opposition.

He is learning to play against the big boys and have confidence in his ability to do so (physically).

Why does this kid face so much criticism?

I think there's a real disconnect between supporters expectations of draft picks and reality.

They take longer - didn't we learn that with Frawley and Garland-??

I thought he handled his interview after the game. His frustration with the game was written all over his face, and no doubt it was shared by the rest of the team. I thought that was great to see. So amidst all the frustration he's then congratulated for how he played.

I imagine he probably felt like saying "it doesn't mean s@#% because we didn't win", but he did the right thing and accepted the compliment. I think he actually showed a fair bit of maturity in that interview.

If anything, at least he was honest.

was at the game last thursday and Watts started really well and maintained a high level of instensity - great work

Damn it. Thought your link was going to be a positive spin on Watts.

Sorry about that. I checked the initial post and found that it was the DB interview, fixed the link in an edit (Watts interview opened for me) and went on my way. Odd.