Play him forward.

Anyone that listens to Damien Barrett needs to think again. Just as someone else said a muckraker who got his chance on Ch9 dredging up gossip. Never has something constructive to say and is now on the same level as Greg Denham, Patrick Smith and CW. I cant stand Tony Shaw but at least he tries to be constructive.

I am not an apologist for Jack but Jack has a football brain, is a fantastic kick but like 19 others (Mitch and JV aside) lacks any confidence. He doesn't lack social confidence but confidence in his ability to play the style of game that everyone expects of him. I watched him listening to Neil Craig before the game last Sunday and he looked him in the eye and listened. Dont ever believe he doesn't go out and try his hardest. It is just that at the moment he knows that the football world and Melbourne supporters are focusing on him as they have done for all of his career. He needs mentoring. I wish Malthouse was still able to.

Watts wouldn't be enjoying his time under Neeld.

Hopefully Watts doesn't have to wait too long and Neeld gets the boot.

Watts wouldn't be enjoying his time under Neeld.

Hopefully Watts doesn't have to wait too long and Neeld gets the boot.

Ah, Neeld is your next target.

Damien Barrett is a sleezy "ambulance chasing" Gutter Journalist !! Nothing more, nothing less. He is your typical Sensationalising "Nerd" Reporter who wouldn't know one F...NG thing about what it takes to be an AFL player or a REAL man for that matter...

I suspect Mark Robinson would share that opinion

Id play Watts this week in the back line tell him i dont care how many times u stuff up just want to see second and third efforts all day. He looks scared hes ganna stuff up. Just play on instict and get fired up!!

If he cant have a influance agaist Gws then its back to Casey for a month.

Those two concepts are antithetical.

Neeld and Craig to go - Watts to stay - we have already unnecessarily lost enough players with potential under this regime!

Its not skill that is the problem it is effort, intensity at the contest and desire to win the ball.

Sadly he doesn't have the last three.

Its not skill that is the problem it is effort, intensity at the contest and desire to win the ball.

Sadly he doesn't have the last three.

We don't really know the answer to that question - let's get a good coach and see how Watts performs - when we lose players to other clubs and the players fit in well or improve, it's time to look in our own backyard.

keep watts, play him forward every week and don't sub him, we gotta develop him

I wasnt at that game. Are you serious they actually announced him. That is awful. At the time I didnt think there was anything wrong playing im but looking back now it was a horrible thing to do. I think Neeldy felt the same way because he said last year Watts was virtually set up to fail as soon as he was taken number 1.

Look at how essnedon have managed Daniher. they havent thrown him out there. Jack was still a raw kid doing year 12. I think it was a desperate stunt to get people at the game and it was stupid to debut him int hat game.

In saying that Watts is in his 5th season. he cant coast through now. He actually has to perform. Id like to see him stay and neeldy work it through with him.

Good post. In retrospect it was stupid. BUT...please remember that at the time Jimmy was getting people to to donate to get us out of BIG debt. The talk at the time was that that QB game was going to be taken from us if we didnt get x amount of people.

It was a desperate decision, made at a desperate time, by people with the survival of the club in mind. Its true it wasnt a "purely football" decision but we havent been in the position to make a lot of those decisions lately have we. We play home games in Darwin for the same reason....we train up there in summer instead of OS at high altitude for the same reasons. We go out to Casey once or twice a week. We played JW early. We're a struggler in this comp doing whatever we can to get a member and a dollar.

I wish things were different and that we held jack back and that somehow had made him a star today.... but we played him then because imo we felt we had to. And Im really not sure we can look back and say thats why he hasnt made it yet.

If anyone's interested: http://backpagelead.com.au/afl/9163-watts-with-all-the-attention#

If anyone's interested: http://backpagelead.com.au/afl/9163-watts-with-all-the-attention#

Good piece. Is this you William?

Good piece. Is this you William?

It is indeed. I am actually writing a weekly column for BPL this year.

Given my allegiance, and the fact the club is continuously a topic of interest, I dare say there will be a few more Demon pieces.

Cheers

A Jack Watts opinion piece is fast becoming the footy media's solution to a slow news day*.

Nailed it in the first line!

Ah, Neeld is your next target.

Yeah, my first target was demonlands favorite in Liam Jurrah for his off field exploits.

Now I have turned my attention to Mark Neeld for his inability to handle and manage players and get them up to win games of football.

The buck stops at the coach.

As far as Jack Watts goes, I feel pity for Jack Watts and our poor handling of this kid recently.

If I was Jack, I'd leave, he deserves better than this treatment of him.

He has been a poster boy for failure and the club just hang him out to dry, shame on them.

Yeah, my first target was demonlands favorite in Liam Jurrah for his off field exploits.

Now I have turned my attention to Mark Neeld for his inability to handle and manage players and get them up to win games of football.

The buck stops at the coach.

As far as Jack Watts goes, I feel pity for Jack Watts and our poor handling of this kid recently.

If I was Jack, I'd leave, he deserves better than this treatment of him.

He has been a poster boy for failure and the club just hang him out to dry, shame on them.

Simplistic summation of a difficult situation.

Jack has his limitations on the footy field and I'm not talking about his skills.

I suppose then, in your world, blaming the coach is a an easy fix without delving into the deeper issues of poor culture that have plagued the club.

Shame on him.

Yeah, my first target was demonlands favorite in Liam Jurrah for his off field exploits.

Now I have turned my attention to Mark Neeld for his inability to handle and manage players and get them up to win games of football.

The buck stops at the coach.

As far as Jack Watts goes, I feel pity for Jack Watts and our poor handling of this kid recently.

If I was Jack, I'd leave, he deserves better than this treatment of him.

He has been a poster boy for failure and the club just hang him out to dry, shame on them.

in my view, the poor handling was in his early days. I remain convinced that Jack has only had two proper preseasons (ie, under Neeld/Craig/Misson) and is still undersized and probably still below required fitness. He needs another 5kg before he's got the weight needed to perform the role we all want. Until then, he'll always struggle as he'll get too easily pushed off the ball.

Watts should be played as tall back - not on dwarfs. He needs to compete in the air (he has the physical attributes - height, pace, leap to do so) and then exploit on the ground. He should have been played on Darling last week - yeah he would've been soundly beaten but it would be a proper learning path for him. Chip on Kennedy and Tommy on the ruckman, Garland on a dwarf, Sellar forward as marking target until Dawes gets fit. Neeld is totally mis-managing Watts - what's new?

Watts should be played as tall back - not on dwarfs. He needs to compete in the air (he has the physical attributes - height, pace, leap to do so) and then exploit on the ground. He should have been played on Darling last week - yeah he would've been soundly beaten but it would be a proper learning path for him. Chip on Kennedy and Tommy on the ruckman, Garland on a dwarf, Sellar forward as marking target until Dawes gets fit. Neeld is totally mis-managing Watts - what's new?

Agree on where to playe Watts. It's as if the Port Adelaide game scared the hell out of them, then the Essendon game they pulled the pin on him.....must keep persisting with him. He's not going to learn from the best playing on smalls or sitting on the pine with a red vest.

Chip had to go to Kennedy.