Training - Friday 19th December, 2014

[WERRIDEE 5,572]

That's interesting, was having a chat with a couple of the coaches, they thought a front 6 of Hogan, Dawes, Fitzy/Pedo/Gawn, Garlett, JKH and Kent would be a top line up, obviously have a different opinion of Kent than you, think I prefer theirs

Where does Watts fit? I thought he would be ahead of Fitzy, Gawn and Pedo for a spot in the front 6.

[rjay 25,305]

Where does Watts fit? I thought he would be ahead of Fitzy, Gawn and Pedo for a spot in the front 6.

If he can hold down the ruck for a few minutes a Q then he should be.

[WERRIDEE 5,572]

If he can hold down the ruck for a few minutes a Q then he should be.

I'm thinking Dawes might be able to do that.

[rjay 25,305]

I'm thinking Dawes might be able to do that.

He's proven at Collingwood that he can't. It's one of the reasons they traded him out.

[rpfc 28,906]

He's proven at Collingwood that he can't. It's one of the reasons they traded him out.

Not only that, he hated doing it.

It's not popular but Hogan should be given some technique work with Stafford - he would eat up those 25 minutes a game and love it on the ball.

[tappysquads 618]

Not only that, he hated doing it.

It's not popular but Hogan should be given some technique work with Stafford - he would eat up those 25 minutes a game and love it on the ball.

Could be our Roughead..... Id be very nervous seeing him ruck though. Too valuable to us. But if hogan could be anything like roughy I'd be over the moon, as the last few years I've had him as the MVP of the league

[DeeSpencer 26,273]

Where does Watts fit? I thought he would be ahead of Fitzy, Gawn and Pedo for a spot in the front 6.

Watts is a midfielder/half forward. Treat him as a 185cm player because he rarely uses his height. It should be in competition with JKH, Kent and the midfielders, not for the 2nd ruck spot.

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

The value of Kent is that he knows how to kick a goal - so many midfielders don't.

Especially important for the game style that Roos is trying to have us play. We need players that can break away from stoppages and kick goals, and Kent is one of them.

Teams that win flags all have goalkicking midfielders, something that we have lacked for a long time.

[Ron Burgundy 8,587]

Watts is a midfielder/half forward. Treat him as a 185cm player because he rarely uses his height. It should be in competition with JKH, Kent and the midfielders, not for the 2nd ruck spot.

But harsh. Watts foot skills and vision are also very valuable in terms of setting up play.

It may be that Roos sees his value in a quarter back type role off half back/wing.

[jnrmac 20,276]

Watts is a midfielder/half forward. Treat him as a 185cm player because he rarely uses his height. It should be in competition with JKH, Kent and the midfielders, not for the 2nd ruck spot.

No he's not. Watts is simply a very good player with the ball in his hand and we shouldn't expect anything else of him. He is no good at getting it or competing one on one. He never will be. He doesn't have the appetite for a contest. He is an outside distributor and almost always delivers the ball to someone in a better position down the field. The question is whether you can afford to have him in the team with those limited attributes.

[rjay 25,305]

Interesting to watch Roos preseason update.

Seems different to last year, I'm not sure what it is or how to express it but maybe he seems more invested, a part of the club now whereas before he seemed like a consultant or something like that. There was a real steely resolve in his presentation.

[dpositive 1,818]

No he's not. Watts is simply a very good player with the ball in his hand and we shouldn't expect anything else of him. He is no good at getting it or competing one on one. He never will be. He doesn't have the appetite for a contest. He is an outside distributor and almost always delivers the ball to someone in a better position down the field. The question is whether you can afford to have him in the team with those limited attributes.

He really doesn't have to contest as he makes space and as has been stated in many other threads he does repeated leads which are too often ignored. As you say when he gets it he almost always delivers to someone in a better position and often receives it only to have no one in that better position. While it is easy to blame Watts if he is used correctly he will be our elite player who will help win us the flag. Every premiership winning team has someone with limited attributes who performs on the big occasion. We havent had enough of them to be certain but he outperforms many.

[boydie 655]

He really doesn't have to contest as he makes space and as has been stated in many other threads he does repeated leads which are too often ignored. As you say when he gets it he almost always delivers to someone in a better position and often receives it only to have no one in that better position. While it is easy to blame Watts if he is used correctly he will be our elite player who will help win us the flag. Every premiership winning team has someone with limited attributes who performs on the big occasion. We havent had enough of them to be certain but he outperforms many.

Funny how we now label Watts as player with limited attributes who may perform on the big stage. I could accept that term for a Matt Jones or Rohan Bail, players who are indeed limited and were values picks late in the draft due to said limitations. But to put Watts, a former number 1 pick who is over 6 foot in the same bracket as them, he is not limited, he just doesn't want it as much as those limited players previously mentioned.

[Ron Burgundy 8,587]

Interesting to watch Roos preseason update.

Seems different to last year, I'm not sure what it is or how to express it but maybe he seems more invested, a part of the club now whereas before he seemed like a consultant or something like that. There was a real steely resolve in his presentation.

Perhaps it's because it's his club/list now.

[jumbo returns 6,741]

What a sensational debate!

I'm so excited that we have Dean Kent on our list and we're arguing his best position!

I have always loved fleet footed, nuggety WA left footers - hard as nails.

HFF is his best posse, in my opinion...

[FarNorthernD 5,861]

Perhaps it's because it's his club/list now.

Absolutely. Last year he inherited someone else's list now he is building his own legacy

[McQueen 17,867]

Interesting to watch Roos preseason update.

Seems different to last year, I'm not sure what it is or how to express it but maybe he seems more invested, a part of the club now whereas before he seemed like a consultant or something like that. There was a real steely resolve in his presentation.

Perhaps it's because it's his club/list now.

Surely this is just natural for a lot of coaches but I do tend to agree with Ron's comment.

I reckon the commitment Peter Jackson has recently shown the club, by stepping down from his role with the AFL to focus solely on the MFC, must also have some bearing on Roos commitment. They're like peas in a pod.

[dpositive 1,818]

Funny how we now label Watts as player with limited attributes who may perform on the big stage. I could accept that term for a Matt Jones or Rohan Bail, players who are indeed limited and were values picks late in the draft due to said limitations. But to put Watts, a former number 1 pick who is over 6 foot in the same bracket as them, he is not limited, he just doesn't want it as much as those limited players previously mentioned.

I didnt and dont label Watts as a player with limited attributes as a negative but was merely responding to some of the comments made. I was trying to emphasize that we need to use the attributes that he does have.

I dont know how much Watts "wants it" or indeed any other player.

I have seen him working hard to get into position so I think he does want it.

The fact that he committed to Melbourne would seem to indicate that he wants something. I hope it is success and I hope he gets it

[dazzledavey36 55,867]

He really doesn't have to contest as he makes space and as has been stated in many other threads he does repeated leads which are too often ignored. As you say when he gets it he almost always delivers to someone in a better position and often receives it only to have no one in that better position. While it is easy to blame Watts if he is used correctly he will be our elite player who will help win us the flag. Every premiership winning team has someone with limited attributes who performs on the big occasion. We havent had enough of them to be certain but he outperforms many.

Elite? Kidding yourself.

Jack Watts needs to get that competitive streak into him. He is as soft as they come and until he starts hitting contest harder then he simply will get pushed out of the side. He has been a major disappointment as a number 1 draft pick and next year he really needs to take his game to another level.

Big year for Jack and based on his pre season being in rehab he is not in my round 1 team.

[jazza 1,323]

Elite? Kidding yourself.

Jack Watts needs to get that competitive streak into him. He is as soft as they come and until he starts hitting contest harder then he simply will get pushed out of the side. He has been a major disappointment as a number 1 draft pick and next year he really needs to take his game to another level.

Big year for Jack and based on his pre season being in rehab he is not in my round 1 team.

Ive never seen a player develop "competitive edge".You either have it or dont.

JWs output will be judged on other players doing his hard work and giving him the pill for good use.

Based on the fact he has been given 100{roughly}games to get this right,my judgement is .transfer needed for both entities.

[Macca 17,113]

Funny how we now label Watts as player with limited attributes who may perform on the big stage. I could accept that term for a Matt Jones or Rohan Bail, players who are indeed limited and were values picks late in the draft due to said limitations. But to put Watts, a former number 1 pick who is over 6 foot in the same bracket as them, he is not limited, he just doesn't want it as much as those limited players previously mentioned.

There are some who regard the draft as flawed to a large extent ... these kids are 17/18 years old when evaluated and I would argue that at that age, it's impossible to evaluate these kids with any sort of real accuracy ... if we went through any draft prior to 2007 we'd find that the true order bears no resemblance to the original order decided upon by the recruiters.

I'm by no means excusing Watts as a footballer but if we didn't have a draft, there's no way he would attract the criticism that he does. Judging a footballer (a kid) because of his draft number is unfair in my opinion. Judging Watts as just another recruit is perfectly acceptable ... the trouble is that it's difficult for people here to ignore the draft number when appraising any player.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Macca

[jumbo returns 6,741]

He really doesn't have to contest as he makes space and as has been stated in many other threads he does repeated leads which are too often ignored. As you say when he gets it he almost always delivers to someone in a better position and often receives it only to have no one in that better position. While it is easy to blame Watts if he is used correctly he will be our elite player who will help win us the flag. Every premiership winning team has someone with limited attributes who performs on the big occasion. We havent had enough of them to be certain but he outperforms many.

Completely agree - he will be our finisher.

[Machsy 2,858]

Funny how Watts gets harshly criticised, but there's very little difference between him and guys like Mackie & Birchall who have premiership medallions.

Both vastly overrated players, but very valuable to teams at the precipice.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Funny how Watts gets harshly criticised, but there's very little difference between him and guys like Mackie & Birchall who have premiership medallions.

Both vastly overrated players, but very valuable to teams at the precipice.

I couldn't disagree more.

[CBDees 3,167]

Demonlanders are an interesting lot. There will always be a group that maintain that we should have picked Natanui (9th in the West Coast B&F for 2014) rather than Watts (10th in the Demons B&F for 2014). Similarly there are those that say we should have picked Wines (a Jack Viney clone) rather than Toumpas (an elite outside playmaker). When Roos gets us cranked up both these players will play valuable outside roles, particularly now that we have Brayshaw and Petracca coming on stream in the midfield. Have faith in Roos!

Edited December 29, 2014 by CBDees