I continue to see steady progress in young Jack. He is now starting to have a presence on the ground and commit himself to more contests. I also particularly like his preparedness to take on contested pack marks and invariably select the right option on disposals. He has a big tank and is now beginning to develop into a player that we all thought he would be. Add another 15 games and a good preseason and we should be raving about this kid. All the best Jack.

All good points, but then I look to my TV screen and watch what Jack Darling is able to do in his 7th game in his first year of footy and I sigh......

I thought Jack was very good yesterday. I liked moving him in defence too. I know some didn't but it freed him up and he took some good marks. A horrible day for the club I thought jack was a shinning light. I have been very critical of the young man but he is starting to come along. He is a different player to Darling and will be better.

All good points, but then I look to my TV screen and watch what Jack Darling is able to do in his 7th game in his first year of footy and I sigh......

Before remembering that Jack Watts is only a year older than Darling and has a much smaller frame.

All good points, but then I look to my TV screen and watch what Jack Darling is able to do in his 7th game in his first year of footy and I sigh......

Good comment, though I think Darling arrived with Senior football experience and Watts came out of the Private School system. As a bigger body player Watts will also take a bit longer to fill out and show his true talent, but what I am seeing is pleasing me.....all the best.

Edited May 15, 201114 yr by demons27

I then look at Jack Darling and see his body is already bigger than that of Jack Watts.

He also has 3 other big men, not players of 190 cm, to help him and to take other defenders for him.

Whilst i know JW will take a while to come on, several times yesterday it looked like he didn't want the body contact. Other times he was willing to commit. He just doesn't appear to crave the ball or have that 'see ball get ball attitude'. Hopefully that will come, but at the same time, if he doesn't have that attitude now, what's to say that he we will ever develop that part of his game?

I felt sorry for him yesterday, as when the ball was kicked to him in the forward line, he was often outnumbered 2 to 1. At least he presented unlike Wonaeamirri (who is quite a few gallops short of a good run).

Edited May 15, 201114 yr by Demon Disciple

Good comment, though I think Darling arrived with Senior football experience and Watts came out of the Private School system. As a bigger body player Watts will also take a bit longer to fill out and show his true talent, but what I am seeing is pleasing me.....all the best.

not sure if your being critical or not as you havnt stated whether the private school system is soft or not. The standard of football in the private school system is actually very high.

none the less.... just wanted to ask what was the senior footy that darling did was it amateurs or....

All good points, but then I look to my TV screen and watch what Jack Darling is able to do in his 7th game in his first year of footy and I sigh......

Fool.

How's Rhys Palmer travelling? Or Daniel Rich?

Just because a player has the body to play AFL straight away does not make that player a better choice than someone who needs physical development. Take your short-term glasses off and think.

Whilst i know JW will take a while to come on, several times yesterday it looked like he didn't want the body contact. Other times he was willing to commit. He just doesn't appear to crave the ball or have that 'see ball get ball attitude'. Hopefully that will come, but at the same time, if he doesn't have that attitude now, what's to say that he we will ever develop that part of his game?

I felt sorry for him yesterday, as when the ball was kicked to him in the forward line, he was often outnumbered 2 to 1. At least he presented unlike Wonaeamirri (who is quite a few gallops short of a good run).

So you think it's because he still lacks the ticker? THen why do you think he's hard at it at some times and not at others? Or could it be that our forward line is so disorganised and badly structured that in some situations he can't be sure that he isn't going to get in someone's way? In other words, hesitancy rather than cowardice.

Because I think you've got it wrong. That might have been true at one stage, but these days he's far more often in there getting it out than he is hanging on the outside relying on others to get it out to him.

All good points, but then I look to my TV screen and watch what Jack Darling is able to do in his 7th game in his first year of footy and I sigh......

How good is Darling. What a talent.

Whilst i know JW will take a while to come on, several times yesterday it looked like he didn't want the body contact. Other times he was willing to commit. He just doesn't appear to crave the ball or have that 'see ball get ball attitude'. Hopefully that will come, but at the same time, if he doesn't have that attitude now, what's to say that he we will ever develop that part of his game?

I felt sorry for him yesterday, as when the ball was kicked to him in the forward line, he was often outnumbered 2 to 1. At least he presented unlike Wonaeamirri (who is quite a few gallops short of a good run).

Im pretty sure Wonaeamirri isn't a key target up forward. Isn't he there for the crumbs and forward pressure. I agree with the body contact coomment though. Severeal contest he was just out bodied couldn't hold his ground.

Whilst i know JW will take a while to come on, several times yesterday it looked like he didn't want the body contact. Other times he was willing to commit. He just doesn't appear to crave the ball or have that 'see ball get ball attitude'.

Interesting.

While I think it's reasonable for people to assume he doesn't want to participate in body contact, I think sometimes it's just Watts being very smart. For example, if he knows he isn't going to outmark his opponent in a contest, he'll try to tap the ball away, which is a basketball tactic. He is probably smart enough to know that he isn't always going to out-muscle his opponent, so he wants to at least neutralise the contest, where he has the upper hand in most cases due to his athleticism and ability to pick the ball up off the deck so cleanly.

It's easy to get excites by man mountains who crash and bash their way through matches from their first season, like Tapscott, but reality is that most players, most great players, started out as being significantly smaller and weaker than their opponent. To me the pleasing thing is seeing Watts lose very few one on one contests, despite being so much less developed than many of his opponents. It means he isn't a liability and it allows him to work on his great agility. Very few players his height can do the work in close that he does every week. And when Bailey threw him down back we saw how good he is at reading the play.

Interesting.

While I think it's reasonable for people to assume he doesn't want to participate in body contact, I think sometimes it's just Watts being very smart. For example, if he knows he isn't going to outmark his opponent in a contest, he'll try to tap the ball away, which is a basketball tactic. He is probably smart enough to know that he isn't always going to out-muscle his opponent, so he wants to at least neutralise the contest, where he has the upper hand in most cases due to his athleticism and ability to pick the ball up off the deck so cleanly.

It's easy to get excites by man mountains who crash and bash their way through matches from their first season, like Tapscott, but reality is that most players, most great players, started out as being significantly smaller and weaker than their opponent. To me the pleasing thing is seeing Watts lose very few one on one contests, despite being so much less developed than many of his opponents. It means he isn't a liability and it allows him to work on his great agility. Very few players his height can do the work in close that he does every week. And when Bailey threw him down back we saw how good he is at reading the play.

Must admit, I didn't think of it this way...great post.

Must admit, I didn't think of it this way...great post.

I also forgot to add that he would probably take more contested marks if his teammates stopped kicking the ball to him when he is outnumbered 2 to 1. Friggin frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It works with Jurrah sometimes because he is a freak who can leap tall buildings, but most normal human footballers can't compete against 2 opponents.

I'm glad that he is at the point where he deserves his spot.

I know he has filled out a bit, his arms are a good size. But he really does need a lot more size through his chest and shoulders.

One more pre-season should do it.

He is showing good signs, I would like to see him win some one on ones, in the air or on the ground I don't care, mind you he wasn't Robinson Crusoe yesterday, we could hardly win a contested possoession in the last 3 quarters.

Look, i am liking what I am starting to see from Watts as well. But I sometimes find it amusing when we get excited by some of the things he does, when i am see that consistently from other young players already(eg. he takes one contested grab, and we all get really excited like he may be the next Carey). If anyone watched Fyfe play for Freo tonight, he took about 3 in the last qtr alone. That kid is an absolute jet, and I predict he will be a top 5 player in the league in future years. He reminds me of Hird in the way he can impact a game around the ground by making all sorts of plays at different moments.

not sure if your being critical or not as you havnt stated whether the private school system is soft or not. The standard of football in the private school system is actually very high.

none the less.... just wanted to ask what was the senior footy that darling did was it amateurs or....

Good standard but no hard bodies to test himself against or get used to heavier physical contact

great post Jaded, on the money.

Interesting.

While I think it's reasonable for people to assume he doesn't want to participate in body contact, I think sometimes it's just Watts being very smart. For example, if he knows he isn't going to outmark his opponent in a contest, he'll try to tap the ball away, which is a basketball tactic. He is probably smart enough to know that he isn't always going to out-muscle his opponent, so he wants to at least neutralise the contest, where he has the upper hand in most cases due to his athleticism and ability to pick the ball up off the deck so cleanly.

It's easy to get excites by man mountains who crash and bash their way through matches from their first season, like Tapscott, but reality is that most players, most great players, started out as being significantly smaller and weaker than their opponent. To me the pleasing thing is seeing Watts lose very few one on one contests, despite being so much less developed than many of his opponents. It means he isn't a liability and it allows him to work on his great agility. Very few players his height can do the work in close that he does every week. And when Bailey threw him down back we saw how good he is at reading the play.

Usually agree with most of what you write but i don't see it this way at all.

1. Tapping the ball away in the way that he does is a concession and a failure to commit to the contest. It can work when you tap to a team-mate's advantage or your own however Watts almost never wins a body to body contest on the ground. Again most, nearly all of the time yesterday he failed to get low enough to win a ball at ground level.

2. I hated that Bailey put him back as a loose man. Sure he did well in that role. He can read the play and pick up some uncontested possession. He can hit a target and moves really well, however we know all this. Getting some cheap footy to validate himself and validate his selection is not what I want to see. I want to see him develop in the areas where he is flawed, not get his possession count higher so he or the coaching staff can feel that he has done enough. I feel we made some of the same mistakes with Morton.

3. A player who is a nice mover and a nice kick but cannot win a contested football has no place in a modern football team.

4. Do not give games to players who cannot or will not win contested football otherwise we will never break through mediocrity.

I don't like he being played as a loose man in defense either, but that is not his fault. He did well in the role he was given.

I understand that some people will feel that not trying to go for the contested mark every time is a concession of failure and due to Watts lacking the desire to go for the contest, but a smart and good player knows their limitations. The bottom line is, he won't win about 90% of aerial contests he's involved in due to a combination of strength, and experience. So instead of getting outmarked and losing the contest, he tries to at least create a contest. I like that idea much better than seeing him get outmarked time and time again. For one, it will sap his confidence, and it will also hurt the team.

I feel that his teammates are also not helping. Watts is better served having the ball come in high where he can use his leap and ball reading ability to his advantage, as opposed to having it kicked to his chest where his opponent can easily outmuscle him.

Everybody is going to disagree on Watts until he puts in a very strong consistent season, but we know he is a couple of years away from that still.

But in the meantime I hope people watch him closely and start to understand how smart he actually is and how talented he is, and accept that for now we need to appreciate him for what he can do and not what we want him to do.

In my whole time as a Melbourne supporter I have never come across a player who is more harshly or unfairly criticised and it's really quite upsetting. I would hate to have to perform at my job under that much immense pressure and weight of expectations.

Usually agree with most of what you write but i don't see it this way at all.

1. Tapping the ball away in the way that he does is a concession and a failure to commit to the contest. It can work when you tap to a team-mate's advantage or your own however Watts almost never wins a body to body contest on the ground. Again most, nearly all of the time yesterday he failed to get low enough to win a ball at ground level.

2. I hated that Bailey put him back as a loose man. Sure he did well in that role. He can read the play and pick up some uncontested possession. He can hit a target and moves really well, however we know all this. Getting some cheap footy to validate himself and validate his selection is not what I want to see. I want to see him develop in the areas where he is flawed, not get his possession count higher so he or the coaching staff can feel that he has done enough. I feel we made some of the same mistakes with Morton.

3. A player who is a nice mover and a nice kick but cannot win a contested football has no place in a modern football team.

4. Do not give games to players who cannot or will not win contested football otherwise we will never break through mediocrity.

Watts is improving every game and that is all I can ask for. He is a great mover, a good kick and has football good understanding of the game! Ever since his pack mark against Hawthorn he has contested more and more packs which shows that his confidence is growing in those situations. He may only be get hands to the ball in those situations at least he is a part of them and as he grows in size he will take more and more marks! What would rather a player that can win the contested ball but can't hit up a target and use it effectively or a player that already had useful hand and foot skills but needs a bit more size to be more competitive in the contest high and low?

Playing him down back would be positive for his development, I'm sure it wouldn't have anything to do with getting cheap possessions. Hopefully it happens against the likes of Collingwood or a team with some strong forwards so he really knows what contested possessions are really like! It will improve his own game up forward, understanding different structures, how the ball comes in, ability to achieve under pressure. Remember David Neitz started in the back line!

His main deficiency is his size which he has the frame to build on unlike Morton!

Go Dees!

Edited May 15, 201114 yr by Rogue
I changed it for you

Whilst i know JW will take a while to come on, several times yesterday it looked like he didn't want the body contact. Other times he was willing to commit. He just doesn't appear to crave the ball or have that 'see ball get ball attitude'. Hopefully that will come, but at the same time, if he doesn't have that attitude now, what's to say that he we will ever develop that part of his game?

I felt sorry for him yesterday, as when the ball was kicked to him in the forward line, he was often outnumbered 2 to 1. At least he presented unlike Wonaeamirri (who is quite a few gallops short of a good run).

Because we all saw him eagerly welcoming it last week against Adelaide. The IN'greedient thats missing is "one in all in". Thats what we want. Examples.

Edited May 15, 201114 yr by dee-luded

Watts is improving every game and that is all I can ask for. He is a great mover, a good kick and has football good understanding of the game! Ever since his pack mark against Hawthorn he has contested more and more packs which shows that his confidence is growing in those situations. He may only be get hands to the ball in those situations at least he is a part of them and as he grows in size he will take more and more marks! What would rather a player that can win the contested ball but can't hit up a target and use it effectively or a player that already had useful hand and foot skills but needs a bit more size to be more competitive in the contest high and low?

Playing him down back would be positive for his development, I'm sure it wouldn't have anything to do with getting cheap possessions. Hopefully it happens against the likes of Collingwood or a team with some strong forwards so he really knows what contested possessions are really like! It will improve his own game up forward, understanding different structures, how the ball comes in, ability to achieve under pressure. Remember David Neitz started in the back line!

His main deficiency is his size which he has the frame to build on unlike Morton!

Go Dees!

I tried to read it, I really did, please change your font, I find it unreadable.