Jack Watts

[Guest José Mourinho]

so what your saying watts is tough couragous and hard at the ball? he needs to lift his intensity to another level and throw himself to the contests and show that he means business. im sick to death of these [censored] weak excuses about about its wet weather footy, its not his style seriously what a load of crock [censored]. didn't stop tom hawkins playing in a tsunami last night. i have been a big supporter of watts but lately prencing aound getting cheap possessions and not putting ya head over the footy or even laying a [censored] tackle last night is [censored] weak and not a good enough effort.

Haha yeah, of course.

There are only absolutes in this, no shades of grey or degrees...

It's all black & white - you're either a star or a disgrace.

I'm sick to death of stupid posts.

[jumbo returns 6,510]

Haha yeah, of course.

There are only absolutes in this, no shades of grey or degrees...

It's all black & white - you're either a star or a disgrace.

I'm sick to death of stupid posts.

JM, DD36 is a passionate Dees supporter who's seen a tough era of Melbourne footballers go through and gets disappointed by Watts' efforts. The kid tip-toes to a contest and is loathe to compete - that will always be his downfall.

I hope he puts on some serious weight and muscle.

[dazzledavey36 49,000]

agree jumbo. not saying watts should be banished to casey just yet or trade at years end but needs to grow some [censored] about him and start hitting those packs hard and demanding the footy more. blokes like jonathon brown and nick riewoldt just demand the footy and will always put there head over the ball for there teamates.

[binman 38,768]

On the money....... confidence is his only hindrance, but those brickbats will just keep flying until he turns games week after week. The expectations on this kid are bizarrely disproportionate to his age and experience, and most of that comes from Melbourne supporters. The woefully stupid hyperbole such as saying he has no idea how to play the game and should be sent back to Casey until he learns, are just idiotic and desperate. And yet they keep coming.

Absolutely spot on. Yes he was poor last night and it would have been great if he had done something out of the box to snatch us a win. But he was in our best 5 players in the first 3 games and last year he was arguably our most consistent player.

Neeld put him of Fisher for the same reason he flagged he might put him on Riewoldt (even if this was in jest) - to give him a lesson in how hard you have to work to be elite. Yes he he got towelled up but the point was made none the less. He is still building his endurance and obviously his strength.

As i have said previously give him 2-3 more pre seasons and 2-3 years of Neeld football 101 tuition and he will be scary good. I look forward to returning then to the discussion about whether we should have taken him number 1

[Still Waiting 94]

If all you soothsayers reckon he needs just 3 more preseasons then you have no idea of the demands of senior AFL footy. This young fella has been given every chance to improve his work rate, his reading of the play, his confidence in attacking the pill, his 2nd efforts, his awareness, his endurance, etc. Neeld is not gunna baby him much longer!

FCS he was picked as the very best young player in the land over 3 years ago and expectations on this sort of player are simply gunna be quite high.

After all of this we get "be patient, the conditions did not suit him, bigger players take longer to develop, he is not settled in any position yet, he needs more strength and muscle, he needs more games, he was possibly in our best 6 for 3 weeks in a row, his endeavor never falters" ................................................!

Enough of this crap. He needs to do something now. He is now bordering on trade bait. He needs to take control of his own footy destiny. If he played for another club you would all be bagging the crap out of him.

Stop making excuses for his size, his age or any other pathetically weak points that have been laughably posted here.

He could actually be a top player but I reckon he reads comforting posts by weak minded, non demanding, ignorant pansies.

Get on with it Jack or get out of the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited April 29, 2012 by Still Waiting

[Clanger King 9]

Give him a break FFS he's been better than both of our skippers all year... He's never going to be a pack busting CHF, if your hanging your hat on him to be that player your more than kidding yourselves.

Why do we want every player to be inside animals when all the MFC is crying out for is a bit of class..

[leucopogon 1,472]

trade bait written all over him

[dbj1983 138]

trade bait written all over him

You have rocks in your head if you think they will trade him. The better we become as a side the better he will become. It's idiotic supporters like you that probably never player "high" level footy and don't realise that things don't happen over night. Dawes has been in the system for year and has only just started having an impact last year and look at the support he has around him. If we develop/pick up good on ballers you just watch the difference.

[Still Waiting 94]

Excuses, excuses, blind faith, etc will never win us a game. Watts unfortunately has not developed like other similar aged players have and his coach has publicly said he really needs to do a lot more! Neeld is a better judge than any of us. He really may well be used in the trade season at the end of 2012. Do not be surprised. He was warned he had to do heaps more during the preseason. Did you see the 1st qtr yesterday? His fitness is abysmal, (much like a few of his team mates). He CAN turn it around but needs to do more now, not in 2013 or 2014. By then he will be 6/7 years in the system. There are plenty of much smaller young players who hit the packs harder and more often than he does. He has to realise he is not playing against teenagers anymore. He just needs to go at it ...........................with a bit more positive thinking and be less tentative. He COULD do it but we need to see many more signs. It is all deadset above his shoulders where the problem lays.

[BIG JIM 508]

Excuses, excuses, blind faith, etc will never win us a game. Watts unfortunately has not developed like other similar aged players have and his coach has publicly said he really needs to do a lot more! Neeld is a better judge than any of us. He really may well be used in the trade season at the end of 2012. Do not be surprised. He was warned he had to do heaps more during the preseason. Did you see the 1st qtr yesterday? His fitness is abysmal, (much like a few of his team mates). He CAN turn it around but needs to do more now, not in 2013 or 2014. By then he will be 6/7 years in the system. There are plenty of much smaller young players who hit the packs harder and more often than he does. He has to realise he is not playing against teenagers anymore. He just needs to go at it ...........................with a bit more positive thinking and be less tentative. He COULD do it but we need to see many more signs. It is all deadset above his shoulders where the problem lays.

That is really the WORST post i have ever seen and you have no idea. Watts will never be traded from melbourne he is very important to the future of this club, Mark neeld loves what jack has done from rounds 1 to 4 so that is also crap about neeld saying he needs to do more he said that in September lastyear. Go ask neeld how jack has been going since he said that. He had a shocker yes but 1 game does not make a long term project that Melbourne has put years into trade bait. Just rubbish mate sorry. Jack will be a great of this club in 10 years i have no worry saying that . Mark neeld will train this boy into a man. Trade bait lol.

[jackaub 1,402]

JM, DD36 is a passionate Dees supporter who's seen a tough era of Melbourne footballers go through and gets disappointed by Watts' efforts. The kid tip-toes to a contest and is loathe to compete - that will always be his downfall.

I hope he puts on some serious weight and muscle.

I watched Jack from the members wing near the InterchangeIt looks very likely that jack is about as big as he is going to get.He will not in my opinion play at 100kgs, hasnt the frame nor the legs or gluteshe is not wide chested has skinny legs and no bum No wonder he cannot impose himself physicallyHe is no where strong enough

[Guest José Mourinho]

I watched Jack from the members wing near the InterchangeIt looks very likely that jack is about as big as he is going to get.He will not in my opinion play at 100kgs, hasnt the frame nor the legs or gluteshe is not wide chested has skinny legs and no bum No wonder he cannot impose himself physicallyHe is no where strong enough

Hhahaha couldn't be more wrong!

[Mac7 309]

Ahahaha what rubbish I am reading!!

Draft a skinny 17 year old long term prospect, then trade his before he has played 50 games because he doesn't come out and dominate straight away!!??

[Still Waiting 94]

A few of you blokes have absolutely no comprehention of what a senior AFL player is required to do these days. Pathetic responses that I actually predicted would be written. When Watts plays 2 or 3 STRONG games in a row, without being tentative or timid and having some actual effect on the game, is when your petty little responses will hold any water.

I will say it all once again and hopefully you will comprehend what I actually say here...............he MIGHT become a good player one day. He SHOULD be more consistent player by now, or at least be demanding some respect from his peers. Just ask any player or supporter of opposition teams, what they think of Watts' image, across the League. He is treated with contempt by the opposition right now. He is still NOT influencing games to any real extent. Better judges than both you (BJ) and I are saying he is nowhere near his full development potential than where he should be. Senior coaching staff have said that, or can't you read or listen enough to what has been put out there? Four years ago he was the best young player in the whole AFL talent pool. Do you want him to have another 4 or 5 years to show us something akin to being a good regular player at this level? Fair dinkum mate, you need to set your sights a bit higher and get something real out of life. Plenty of losers in this life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop accepting lack of performance and start demanding positive steps forward. Toughen up or go play soccer.

Hopefully Watts will get a wriggle on and do what he is paid to do, but right now he is badly under performing.

PS, you need to pay more attention in your English lessons. It might help you when you get a bit older and smarter. Good luck !

Edited April 30, 2012 by Still Waiting

[Bossdog 2,002]

How many years did it take for Tom Hawkins to get to this stage??? 4or 5????? and is just now coming good. All MFC want jack to come good but some people just can't wait. So what would they do??? Trade him,sack him, he"ll never make it???

Give me (and him) a break. How good was Roo Sat night??? Beaten by a 20 year old.

I hate the stupid crap that I read on here because one player did not live up to their expectations on a night that the conditions were deplorable for talls.

[old55 21,421]

... on a night that the conditions were deplorable for talls.

Watts has never played convincingly as a tall. He was woeful. That goal he kicked was for all the wrong reasons

[olisik 4,060]

love it how everyone is saying 'it was wet conditions, they arnt suitable'

look at it this way, footy is a winter sport, if he cant play in winterish conditions then the sport isnt for him.

[Bossdog 2,002]

Even his goals were bad?????????

[drdrake 3,045]

How many years did it take for Tom Hawkins to get to this stage??? 4or 5????? and is just now coming good. All MFC want jack to come good but some people just can't wait. So what would they do??? Trade him,sack him, he"ll never make it???

Give me (and him) a break. How good was Roo Sat night??? Beaten by a 20 year old.

I hate the stupid crap that I read on here because one player did not live up to their expectations on a night that the conditions were deplorable for talls.

Not only has Hawkins taken 5-6 years to show consistant form, we have to remember that Geelong has had one of the best midfields over the past 8 years, ours has been to amongst the worst and still is. On Saturday night we were hard and showed something but we still only went inside 50m 44 times compared to St Kilda's 66. SInce Jack has played up forward for the demons we have rarely won the inside 50m count, our foot skills are the worst in the AFL. Jack can't use his strenghts which is is leading because we can't kick to his advantage, the number of times, even on Saturday, that Jack should have been kicked the footy, but we chose an option in the pocket because we don't back our skills to hit him is high.

In the last half we allowed St Kilda to play lose men in defense, Ok Fisher had a bit of it in the first quarter, Jack was lost on him, but came back in the second half of that quarter and the second quarter and did his role.

Some here need to relax take a deep breath Jack will be OK, he will get better as our team gets better. We are all jumping on the Clark band wagon and he has been OK but he has only taken 4 contested marks and 7 inside 50m in the 4 games he has played, these stats are what we picked him up for, looking at stats alone this is a poor result, but take into account that our ball movement, midfield form and inside 50m stats it's not a bad return.

[jumbo returns 6,510]

I don't think it's all about statistics - I think it's about application.

I've seen the look and determination in his face to do well, but I think he's frustrated by his body size.

We're all waiting, we know he's on an individual program and such.....but at some stage, Jack has to draw a line in the sand.

[monoccular 16,281]

How about 6 or 8 weeks specifically on a HBF to gain confidence and feel for the game....and put in some KPIs related to tackles, shepherds, 1 percenters (whatever that are) then reassess where he is.

He does need to start showing, regularly and consistently, a lot more intensity that he did on Saturday night.

He also probably, like most of his team mates, another full Missen preseason to gain the endurance to run out games.

I do like the Hawkins comparison though - was it Hawk's fourth or fifth season last year - and his "breakout" was not until the last half of the last game of that year.

[jumbo returns 6,510]

How about 6 or 8 weeks specifically on a HBF to gain confidence and feel for the game....and put in some KPIs related to tackles, shepherds, 1 percenters (whatever that are) then reassess where he is.

He does need to start showing, regularly and consistently, a lot more intensity that he did on Saturday night.

He also probably, like most of his team mates, another full Missen preseason to gain the endurance to run out games.

I do like the Hawkins comparison though - was it Hawk's fourth or fifth season last year - and his "breakout" was not until the last half of the last game of that year.

Don't forget that Hawkins is not suffering the extra pressure of #1.....

I like your idea of asking him to do a disciplined act and look after a man off the HBF - lay a big tackle and harass an opponent so much that he cops a whack on the moosh (just like Jordie did on Sat night)

Jack must now help Jack.

[Dinosaur Rover 197]

Ok, I'll dumb it down for you.

Ability to win contested footy.

I wont respond to your gratuitous rudeness - play the ball its not cheap - contested footy is a category - the stats I can source show Watts in our top 7 for aggregate numbers and top 12 for average. Why is contested footy the defining category?

[Freak 100]

watts was the biggest blunder of recent draft history. Naitanui is a machine and everything that we needed...a mobile ruckman that is a tackling machine, an excitement machine and can play forward. Watts, whilst recorded a good 20m split time at draft camp covers the ground slow, is timid, doesn't tackle well and whilst given ample opportunity hasn't done anywhere near enough.

I wouldn't be disappointed if we made a statement and traded him. he is 21 now, he has trade value. As a club we should be making a statement and not put up with physically weak performances. A mitch Robinson type is what we need.

We didnt have the b@lls to pick up Jack Darling, when he was a perfect fit for our club. When are we going to make a stand and make the tough decisions. We pick players based on leadership traits which is a bad move I reckon. As good as Grimes is, and as a good of a man he is reported to be, he still butchers the ball out of defence and makes poor decisions. He cost us 2-3 goals on the weekend

[jackaub 1,402]

Ahahaha what rubbish I am reading!!

Draft a skinny 17 year old long term prospect, then trade his before he has played 50 games because he doesn't come out and dominate straight away!!??

You mate have no idea open your eyes Modern football doesnt give u time There are plenty of 17 and 18 y.ear old skinny kids who have a go in their first season unfortunately Jack isnt one of them and probably wont.Why are we drafting long term prospects when the club is on its knees Saturday night was ready made for Jack to stand tall and he didnt Right?Of course its only an opinion.