2 minutes ago, The Chazz said:

Watts is a significant contributor to our main problem.

you made the unmistakable utterance that Jack Watts is close to the main problem at Melb.

Now he's not..only but a contributor ?? 

So Chazz..all the things listed are the problem; Jack is only "A" player in and amongst it all.

Jack could be better ? Sure.. again he has 39 or so who could join him in all of that.

In many of the games I attended or watched Watts was hardly the worst offender in the opening quarters.

The so called leadership on field ( which I beg to remind you Watts is NOT part of ) failed dismally.

Jacks far from perfect but he's not the deserving of the pillory he gets from all quarters.

keep backpedalling

42 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

you made the unmistakable utterance that Jack Watts is close to the main problem at Melb.

Now he's not..only but a contributor ?? 

So Chazz..all the things listed are the problem; Jack is only "A" player in and amongst it all.

Jack could be better ? Sure.. again he has 39 or so who could join him in all of that.

In many of the games I attended or watched Watts was hardly the worst offender in the opening quarters.

The so called leadership on field ( which I beg to remind you Watts is NOT part of ) failed dismally.

Jacks far from perfect but he's not the deserving of the pillory he gets from all quarters.

keep backpedalling

Agreed. The problems come from higher up the chain than J Watts...

standards on the grounds are not high enough, that falls into the domain of Jones, N. who is great at motivational talk but goes missing himself when the game is on the line (early) far too often...

1 hour ago, beelzebub said:

you made the unmistakable utterance that Jack Watts is close to the main problem at Melb.

Now he's not..only but a contributor ?? 

So Chazz..all the things listed are the problem; Jack is only "A" player in and amongst it all.

Jack could be better ? Sure.. again he has 39 or so who could join him in all of that.

In many of the games I attended or watched Watts was hardly the worst offender in the opening quarters.

The so called leadership on field ( which I beg to remind you Watts is NOT part of ) failed dismally.

Jacks far from perfect but he's not the deserving of the pillory he gets from all quarters.

keep backpedalling

Backpedalling?  You goose.

Our main problem (from reading between the lines), is how we prepare for games.  Watts has been whacked publicly, by those at the club, about his preparation.  He is a senior player - has been on the list for 8/9 years.  It's unacceptable.  Of all our listed players, Watts is by far the closest to what our main problem is.

Yes, all players on our list can be better.  That's not the issue.  The issue is that, as proven by Oliver this year, with the right commitment, mindset and preparation, you can take significant steps forward.  We want players on our list that are cut from that cloth.  We especially don't want players that are of over 150 games of experience, that clearly can be match winners, not working their ass off.

And you talk of infield leadership.  Take a look at Jetta and Hibberd.  Are they part of it?  Not by title, but does that stop them from stepping up and putting it on the line when it counts?

Saw watts on 7 news tonight.  Said he wants to stay and be part of us being successful. Said his highlight of the year was kicking the winning goal on QB.

Also said he and Goodwin have no issues and he said he wishes he was taken pick 72in a rookie draft and just play footy without the attention. 

On footy classified they mentioned if the right trade came along watts could go. Mentioned the pies are after him. If he goes to collingwood I will be disgusted.  

With Jack having apparently visited PA to view the facilities it's looking increasingly like he's out the door  and I must confess to feeling disappointed 

I hope that we win in the trade rather than simply farewelling him with no adequate recompense and that list management with a view to improvement is the motivator as against a see-you-later decision which will probably see the new club do way better than with the Sylvia deal ( trade coup of the decade?).

 One thing Jack can do is deliver a precision kick in the arms of, for example,  Jesse Hogan and this is a skill our team does not have a lot of  -  we have great ballgetters in Viney, Jones but it doesn't seem like laces out is on their resume.

 The injury he had this year was likely related to the fact that we played him as a ruckman when Max went down, and he did his best and uncomplainingly. 

Hopefully we won't have the same sort of injury list next year and unless we get real good compensation I am in the one year extension camp.

But the die is cast it seems and the question will be asked ultimately: how could Jack have been managed more effectively?

 

I reckon one of our greatest problems  at Melbourne is poor kicking efficiency.

I think  Jack Watts is the most efficient kick in our team.

It seems foolhardy not to keep him.

Hoges has said he licks his lips when Jack has the ball. Most  unfortunately, Jack has rarely had Hoges as a target due to Jesse's frequent absences.

One of the reasons Jack is so proficient at pinpointing team mates and setting up attacks is because he does not rush. This apparent lack of urgency is misinterpreted by many observers as a lack of endeavour.

It appears to me Jack Watts is popular with his team mates , and a significant part of the heart and soul of Melbourne.

Please keep him, list managers.

On 13/09/2017 at 5:16 PM, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

For anyone who questions Jacks intestinal fortitude, there were a few games this year that demonstrated to me that he has what it takes:

Rds 3 and 5 Vs Geelong and Richmond, where Jack almost single handedly rucked out the games against far bigger opponents.  By the end of both games he was absolutely shattered, but kept on trying;

Rd 12 Vs Collingwood - stood up and delivered when it counted.  His 3 goals 2 behinds and 5 tackles played a pretty big part of the win that day.

Rd 13 Vs the Bulldogs he was pretty good from memory, but then again, so was most of the team that day.

 

Rest of the season was a bit of a write off through injury and poor form, but that would also apply to many of the team, not just Wattsy.

Ditto. Some questioned his ‘consistency’ and then character and then courage and then performance. Ultimately we will miss his versatility, class, skills and goal kicking.  Plenty of 6’5 agile types. Never going to be a contested bull like Oliver, Viney or Jones. A team is made up of many types. 

2017 JW review in summary ... not enough to withstand Goodwins bite.