Watts starting to show good signs

[waikikkamukau 62]

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

Good call I'll change it now!

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, 2011 by Rogue
I changed it for you

[jnrmac 19,128]

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

So where exactly do you think players will get that experience that will allow them to win contested footy if they don't play games?

Think man.

[Ned 156]

I think the bar is set incredibly low for Watts these days. He takes a couple of marks and kicks a goal and people get excited. What about the scores he drops, his timidness and his ABSOLUTE FAILURE to stick a tackle. When Watts is the tackler you're already looking ahead to see where the ball is going because it's that certain the opposition will get through. He has skills, you can see it. So what? The only game of his I would rate was the one against Freo in Perth last year. But he missed a couple of critical goals when the pressure was on and we lost what would have been an extraordinary comeback. He looks like he lacks ticker. Hopefully it's just low confidence. But he didn't do anything yesterday that excited me. His impact was minimal.

[ChaserJ 3,972]

just wanted to ask what was the senior footy that darling did was it amateurs or....

Darling played two seasons (one and a bit really) for West Perth in the WAFL. Caught the eye in his first few games in 2009, just went in 2010, which is one of the reasons he slid down the draft order. The others have been well publicised.

Edited May 15, 2011 by ChaserJ

[Eth 4]

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.

Watts and Fyfe will be in the top 5 players in the league in five or six years.

Fyfe is definitely the next Hird, how he slipped to a second round pick is insane.

Watts is like Riewoldt, but I reckon better. Quicker, more versatile, better kick.

[John Crow Batty 8,272]

Has anyone considered that the type of shyte thats been dished out to the likes of Watts is perhaps linked to why Tom Scully is leaving?

Edited May 15, 2011 by america de cali

[Ned 156]

Has anyone considered that the type of shyte that been dished out to the likes of Watts is perhaps linked to why Tom Scully is leaving?

Yes, that's a good call. Nothing to do with money or anything.

[rhaz 342]

Has anyone considered that the type of shyte that been dished out to the likes of Watts is perhaps linked to why Tom Scully is leaving?

What.

[rpfc 27,572]

I think the bar is set incredibly low for Watts these days. He takes a couple of marks and kicks a goal and people get excited. What about the scores he drops, his timidness and his ABSOLUTE FAILURE to stick a tackle. When Watts is the tackler you're already looking ahead to see where the ball is going because it's that certain the opposition will get through. He has skills, you can see it. So what? The only game of his I would rate was the one against Freo in Perth last year. But he missed a couple of critical goals when the pressure was on and we lost what would have been an extraordinary comeback. He looks like he lacks ticker. Hopefully it's just low confidence. But he didn't do anything yesterday that excited me. His impact was minimal.

I would argue that the bar that many on this thread have set is far more realistic than the one MFC fans have had over the past couple of years.

They wanted something akin to what he is showing now from day one.

I don't care what he is doing now - along as he is competing and his attitude is good (and from all accounts it is) then all I care about is developing him for when he is 22/23 and a major cog in our attempts to become relevant again.

[Ned 156]

Fair enough rpfc. I just don't think people need to get excited when a No. 1 draft pick plays an ok game a couple of years after being drafted. And that game still has substantial deficiencies.

[QueenC 74]

Fair enough rpfc. I just don't think people need to get excited when a No. 1 draft pick plays an ok game a couple of years after being drafted. And that game still has substantial deficiencies.

How about a tall 20 year old with 25 games experience?

[Adzman 2,085]

Watts has been one of the success stories this season. He is improving, and looks like a very smart player. He will keep getting better, and I think barring injury we will really see some dominance from Jack next season.

[jabberwocky 2,301]

So where exactly do you think players will get that experience that will allow them to win contested footy if they don't play games?

Think man.

My apologies Jnr, I often take it for granted that I am posting to an educated audience and don't realise that many don't understand the workings of the club.

We have an alignment with a VFL team, the Casey Scorpions. Developing players and those who need to work on aspects of thier game will be often asked to do it in that setting.

I am old fashioned and believe that only those players with a strong desire to win the football should be promoted. In playing those that aren't fully committed to the contest you are accepting mediocrity in this area. It doesn' help the club, the culture or the player in the long term. I have been saying this for a long time.

[Ned 156]

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.

Superb post. Absolutely sums it up.

[rpfc 27,572]

It's all good and well to say "if you can't win contested footy rah rah rah" but this is modern footy.

And I am not talking about the style being played - I am saying that we have made an investment in players in the draft and it is our best interest to get them ready whichever way we deem fit.

Does it mean some kids get games as gifts?

Yeah, it does.

Edited May 15, 2011 by rpfc

[Guest watts04]

jacks lookin more comfy out there each week - good to see

we still need a decent game plan and him deep forward......

shame we cant do this and teach him more up forward as our game plan and attitude is horrid

[The Big Ticket 94]

Loved his 3rd effort in the first quarter yesterday which resulted in a goal. Showing very good signs is Wattsy.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

Loved his 3rd effort in the first quarter yesterday which resulted in a goal. Showing very good signs is Wattsy.

about the only positive thing at all that is going on at the club right now

the rest is just sad

[Guest Rajon Rondo]

about the only positive thing at all that is going on at the club right now

the rest is just sad

As if on que.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

As if on que.

except that it's a semi-positive comment so you're full of it arent you

stick to basketball you seem to know stuff all about the sport discussed on this website

bring in the debutants

[waikikkamukau 62]

My apologies Jnr, I often take it for granted that I am posting to an educated audience and don't realise that many don't understand the workings of the club.

We have an alignment with a VFL team, the Casey Scorpions. Developing players and those who need to work on aspects of thier game will be often asked to do it in that setting.

I am old fashioned and believe that only those players with a strong desire to win the football should be promoted. In playing those that aren't fully committed to the contest you are accepting mediocrity in this area. It doesn' help the club, the culture or the player in the long term. I have been saying this for a long time.

Good thinking lets drop all of those forwards for MFC that aren't performing at the AFL level back to Casey! I'll give you a tip it wouldn't leave a lot left in the senior team! Lets see how the forward line might line up now after removing all of those not committing and you'd be left with Jurrah. So now you'd have to bring in Howe and Cook! Geez who to put at centre half forward and half forward flanks? Green, Bate, Morton, Strauss, Pettard, Juice, Wonna, couple of prized hard nuts of recent weeks there to take Jacks position! Question is is JW moving forward in the seniors and the answer is clearly yes! So why would you have him move forward at Casey when he is clearly doing it at AFL! Those coming up aren't going to be any better! in the short term! Last time I looked there are no players absolutely blitzing at Casey!

[Salems Lot 2,380]

This guy has had so much scrutiny over the past few years that I thought a special mention needed to be made.

He took another huge step in his development yesterday; second efforts, the way he imposed himself around the ground and the support he offered his team mates were all on show yesterday. He is not only starting to become an excellent member of the team but he is also starting to display first rate leadership qualities. An example was on the city wing when Bate got clobbered over the boundary; Watts was the only one who went in to offer support.

Good signs

[Samsara 65]

Good call glenn, the kid is going to be something special and I am happy it is starting to work out for him, because he has had to cop a lot of attention and scrutiny since being draft. He is one of our youngest players yet I am more confident when he has the balls than many other senior players.

[ucanchoose 1,803]

Although Riewoldt had 31 possessions, I thought that Watts was just as good. Both kicked 2 goals ( not counting the 50m penalty) and Riewoldt kicked two out of bounds and one on the full. Watts just demanded the ball it the corridor so many times it was good to see.

[daisycutter 28,630]

This year we have seen real visible IMPROVEMENT week by week in Jack's game, application and intensity

Yet, people still want to complain

He aint there yet but the improvement is growing week by week, what do people want - an overnight complete makeover? Be REALISTIC and ENJOY the journey. I was critical of Jack's efforts last year but this year is a POSITIVE

If you want to complain there was much more elsewhere yesterday