I havent read the article but I assume from the OP that there were two opinions voiced.

If Ox is saying that Jack could get more mongrel and urgency then this is an opinion that can be argued and most would agree.

If Ox went on to say that he hasnt developed at all in the last 12 months and is exactly where he was at this time last year then he must have shut his eyes all of last year.

Edited March 14, 201213 yr by nutbean

Gotzy, should heed your own advice.

Ox is just voicing his opinion. No right or wrong. Only difference of opinion. Its a subjective topic. Your measure of progress is different to Ox's and different to mine. He doesn't lose credibility. He gains it for having the confidence to state his view and by doing so, also bear the risk of certain criticisms.

So D4L basically you're saying that in the media you can say whatever you like no matter how far off the mark or outlandish it may be and you lose no credibility whatsoever? So Jason Akermanis never lost credibility he only gained it for his opinions on gay footballers etc? And Sam Newman gained credibility the day he was suspended from his radio role for saying hodge and Mitchell were the two worst players on the ground when they both had 40+ disposals?? I am interested to hear your response

"If it bleeds it leads" bad news is easy journalism. You cant manufacture mongrel. You cant do a Grinter DNA download.

Just someone else lining up to have a kick at an easy target. Groupthink.

But surely people reading it won't take it seriously..... he made huge strides last year.To say he hasn't improved at all in the last year,come on the Ox must be on drugs.

Just read an article on superfooty where David Schwarz urged Jack Watts to get some 'mongrel' in him and basically joined the chorus of media personalities who have been criticising Jack over the last 2-3 weeks.

The Ox then went on to contend that Wattsy has not improved at all in the last 12 months and is at the same point in his development that he was this time last year. I don't think anyone could be more wrong about something.I concede that Wattsys pre season form hasn't been great but I feel he made some great strides last year and really came of age. Wattsy had a consistent season and played at least 5 outstanding games:

-Kangaroos 20 disposals 1 Goal

-St Kilda 25 disposals 2 Goals

- Freo 24 disposals 3 goals

- Richmond 19 disposals 3 goals

- WB 18 disposals 2 goals in a heavy loss

- Carlton 21 disposals 2 goals in a heavy loss

Now if that's not progress and improvement from the year before then I don't know what is. I'm not sure Jack will ever be a big key position forward but rather a tall wing/half forward type player who needs to work hard and contribute to the teams performance. I believe he is well on the way towards achieving that.

David Schwarz I have always loved you but when you make ridiculous statements that are just plain wrong you lose all credibility.My advice to David........ just shut up.

Intensity ! Passion!

Forget the Stats, he Could be starting to tear it apart. Like he wanted to.

Another Sitting on his hands. Just like Jamie Bennell did & does. GET INVOLVED YOU BLOKES! TAKE IT ON!

It's like they're going to their 9 - 5 office job..... Not like they're going into a Gunfight!

.

Jack is well behind NikNat at the moment, see the Herald top 50 players for confirmation. Ox's criticism and disappointment may be uninformed, or over the top, but it is warranted.

We are all hopeful and protective of Jack, but he needs to lift significantly this year to get where he should be, and where the club needs and expects him to be.

get used to the Watts bashing because it wont go away until/if he is an AA CHF....

Jack is well behind NikNat at the moment, see the Herald top 50 players for confirmation. Ox's criticism and disappointment may be uninformed, or over the top, but it is warranted.

We are all hopeful and protective of Jack, but he needs to lift significantly this year to get where he should be, and where the club needs and expects him to be.

The Herald top 50 is hardly confirmation

Denying reality won't make Jack a better player.

Gambling is a drug of dependance affecting the same part of the brain as cigarettes, grog and heroin etc.

Are you an authority in this field ?

As for Schwarz ? There's no doubt that Watts improved a lot last year on his previous showings. My concern stems more from what I've seen this preseason. Watts has never had the appetite for the contest that I believe all great key forwards should have. If you watch Cloke, or Jack Riewoldt they are manic in their efforts to get to a pack to take a contested mark. They look like their life depends on it. Jack half heartedly puts one arm in the air knowing that he's no real chance, but he knows he has to make a token effort. It's not his body that's the issue, it's his mindset. It needs to change.

I saw Watts in the intra-club and I was really disappointed. I saw him in pouring rain in QLD, so didn't worry too much, and then I saw him against Hawthorn and thought he was hopeless. There's no doubt he's learning a new role. The coach wants him to play as a key forward, but right now he's not a key forward. If you put Watts on a wing, or down back he'll have some games that will make supporters salivate, but shunt him down into the forward line and ask him to stand under a high ball and he won't stand up.

So yes, he made good inroads last year and it's silly of Schwarz to suggest otherwise, but he's really struggling this preseason in the role in which the club recruited him. Three quarters of the club's supporters will jump to his defence as though they're on autopilot, but in my opinion he's been a poor choice as pick one and it's up to him to show he can contribute to the MFC's next premiership. It's not his fault he was the first player chosen in 2008, but he's on the list, he's 196cms, he's about to enter his 4th year, and he needs to show why he should be a key forward in the best 22. I'll watch this year with interest.

And Billy, you really said that to your wife ? I must be from a bygone era.

Jack is well behind NikNat at the moment, see the Herald top 50 players for confirmation. Ox's criticism and disappointment may be uninformed, or over the top, but it is warranted.

We are all hopeful and protective of Jack, but he needs to lift significantly this year to get where he should be, and where the club needs and expects him to be.

Very well said PaulRB. Yes I do believe the criticism is warranted in some way and he does need to lift significantly from his pre season form but to say he hasn't improved in the last 12 months is just way off the mark.

Jack is well behind NikNat at the moment, see the Herald top 50 players for confirmation. Ox's criticism and disappointment may be uninformed, or over the top, but it is warranted.

We are all hopeful and protective of Jack, but he needs to lift significantly this year to get where he should be, and where the club needs and expects him to be.

I don't disgree with your sentiments but I would very careful of using that HS top 50 a measuring stick. It is one mans assessment/bias and IMO has been based in the past more on a prediction of where players and their teams are going. If Nick Nat is in it that would be an exampe because he is not in the top 50 players right now either.

On Jack and what's been written/said I think any supporter who wants to consistently leap to his defence needs to take off the rose coloured glasses. The murmurs are turning into a roar. A No. 1 pick is a substantial investment and it needs ot pay off or it will reflect poorly not only on Jack W but the whole club.

Agree the Jack was better in 2011 than 2010. This year he gets the benefit of having Clark as the Number 1 key forward and as a result has no excuses.

Big year for our Jack, he'll be fine, just need to develop a taste for inflicting pain and humiliation on his opponents. Given the amount of flack he receives he'll develop an angry streak or perish.

Edited March 15, 201213 yr by PaulRB

Are you an authority in this field ?

Multiple sources available buddy. You should try Google before smoking crack and gobbing off...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117423&page=1#.T2EySTb9Nv0

...

And Billy, you really said that to your wife ? I must be from a bygone era.

Really BH, Reeeally? Yawn.

BH, I love how you make a judgement over something you have absolutely no idea about. But, to keep your mind at ease, I did pre-warn her that I will use a naughty word, and it's a word that I don't use around women in general conversation. My comment about what Jack needed was to give her an idea of what goes on inside the changerooms of a football club (country football at least). Explaining to her tha tJack needs to harden up wasn't what I believe needed to be said.

And for the record, my wife is well aware of the potential for anything to be said and?or broken in a 2 hour period each week, otherwise known as during a Melbourne match. I can't help it, and if it offended her, she knows not to enter the room during this time.

Maybe you need to do the opposite to what I want Jack to do.

Recovering gambler Ox takes 150k per year from Bruce Matheison and Woolies (who own 4 Zillion pokies) to support problem gamblers.

Gambling is a drug of dependance affecting the same part of the brain as cigarettes, grog and heroin etc.

Imagine the Coffin Cheeters paying Ben Cousins to talk to meth heads.

The world is bizarre.

It's called Peer Support. A very common strategy used in services that deal people who have an addiction. It's also common knowledge that gambling services fund organisations like GA. Ox is an ambassador and a good example how someone can lose everything and overcome addiction.

Multiple sources available buddy. You should try Google before smoking crack and gobbing off...

http://abcnews.go.co...=1#.T2EySTb9Nv0

Take a deep breath, Turbo.

You were asked a simple question, which you're yet to answer. But I've kind of guessed.

So D4L basically you're saying that in the media you can say whatever you like no matter how far off the mark or outlandish it may be and you lose no credibility whatsoever? So Jason Akermanis never lost credibility he only gained it for his opinions on gay footballers etc? And Sam Newman gained credibility the day he was suspended from his radio role for saying hodge and Mitchell were the two worst players on the ground when they both had 40+ disposals?? I am interested to hear your response

Isn't that what media do all the time? They say what they want, and often they are way off the mark. But at the same time, they can often report accurate things.

I'm actually on your side, in the fact I didn't agree with part of what Ox said. All I'm really saying is, he may have different standards and a different view. Whether he is right or wrong, is completely immeasurable and you could enter into an argument all day about it.

Just enjoy the moment when Watts flicks the switch and he can shove it up all the commentators.

Oh and I do have respect for Newman and Aker. They can be tossers a lot of the time, but they call a spade a spade. Better than sitting on the fence and just regurgitating what other people say. Whether its appropriate is a different issue.

Edited March 15, 201213 yr by demon-4-life

It's called Peer Support. A very common strategy used in services that deal people who have an addiction. It's also common knowledge that gambling services fund organisations like GA. Ox is an ambassador and a good example how someone can lose everything and overcome addiction.

Ummmm.. Who is the 'peer' here, the Ox, the people paying him, or the AFL who allow gambling ads everywhere?

Love the sentence: "Ox is an ambassador and a good example how someone can lose everything and overcome addiction."

A small amount of people do overcome such addictions but by GOD anybody with half a brain would look at this arrangement with some suspicion, unless of course their mind was square-rooted by drug (cocaine, cigarette, booze, gambling) addiction.

Gambling has been destroying families for decades in Australia, but because the 'punt' is so addictive, infested with crooks and has been given a false 'prestige' by the media, we all accept it as normal, when in actual fact it's as dirty as a smackie's needle or the back of the toilet seat someone's daughter is snorting coke off every Sunday morning about 4am.

Edited March 15, 201213 yr by Burnsy

But, to keep your mind at ease, I did pre-warn her that I will use a naughty word, and it's a word that I don't use around women in general conversation. My comment about what Jack needed was to give her an idea of what goes on inside the changerooms of a football club (country football at least). Explaining to her tha tJack needs to harden up wasn't what I believe needed to be said.

And for the record, my wife is well aware of the potential for anything to be said and?or broken in a 2 hour period each week, otherwise known as during a Melbourne match. I can't help it, and if it offended her, she knows not to enter the room during this time.

Nice story, Hansel.

Nice story, Hansel.

Does that mean "I'm so hot right now" (Zoolander reference).

Other than that, your post is a nothing post, and I would appreciate it if you returned the 1.2 seconds of my life wasted for reading it, and the 30-odd seconds for feeling the need to reply.

I agree with the Ox. Jack can be a lot better, it's up to him.

To say he didn't improve last year is ridiculous though. He was named in the bests (by us, the fans, and by neutral adjudicators such as the AFL website) many, many times over the season, including in many of our bad losses where he was one of few who could hold their heads high.

There are other players his age/size/height/frame who went in the first round of past drafts that have played less than him. People just love to bag him.

@SammyHeraldSun: Can't knock Jack Watts' sense of humour. On the phone as he drives past yelling: "You talking crap about me again?" #goodbloke