4 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

I think Fritsch started his career in the defense? 

Luckily our coaches realized he is much better playing as a forward.

He was a forward in vfl 3rd in there Colman I think then first season for us he was forward and for some silly reason we moved him back in his second season 

If Watts was drafted now, with the club in the state it’s currently in, he’d be an absolute gun. He’s the perfect modern footballer.

 

Watts was a silky classy player. If he were in the draft pool now, we would not draft him. Not competitive for our current draft strategy/policy

1 hour ago, Queanbeyan Demon said:

Both Hunter and Grundy were highway robbery. Thanks Bevo and Eddie. 

Yes I hope Eddie enjoys our Season. I am still on Cloud 9 getting both those players in the Draft. 

49 minutes ago, BW511 said:

If Watts was drafted now, with the club in the state it’s currently in, he’d be an absolute gun. He’s the perfect modern footballer.

 

100% agreed. He was a smart Footballer, he would have been great in this team as a young player. 
don’t forget he played some good games for Port before that awful broken ankle 

We saw glimpse of Watts potential at the back end of of his career at the Dees especially where our environment and culture was on the up.

Makes you wonder what he's ceiling would have been had he arrived during this period.

The guy had enormous talent that unfortunately we never saw reach its peak.

Edited March 22, 20232 yr by dazzledavey36

5 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

We saw glimpse of Watts potential at the back end of of his career at the Dees especially where Pur environment and culture was on the up.

Makes you wonder what he's ceiling would have been had he arrived during this period.

The guy had enormous talent that unfortunately we never saw reach its peak.

Agreed. With the right guidance and coaching and leadership he could have been anything.

But it wasn’t to be and he gave us the best medium forward in the competition so 🤷‍♀️

1 hour ago, Deemac said:

He was a forward in vfl 3rd in there Colman I think then first season for us he was forward and for some silly reason we moved him back in his second season 

Yep and goody put his hand up to say that was a dumb idea

About time we had another Jack Watts thread. 

Say what you went about Watts, this is to this day in the top 5 live moments I’ve had as a Melbourne supporter:

 

 

42 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Say what you went about Watts, this is to this day in the top 5 live moments I’ve had as a Melbourne supporter:

 

 

Top Shelf Jack

54 minutes ago, Beetle said:

Say what you went about Watts, this is to this day in the top 5 live moments I’ve had as a Melbourne supporter:

 

 

Have we beaten them since? 

2 minutes ago, John Demonic said:

Have we beaten them since? 

the jack watts curse lives

1 hour ago, Beetle said:

Say what you went about Watts, this is to this day in the top 5 live moments I’ve had as a Melbourne supporter:

 

 

Totally agree Beetle, I yelled myself horse. That was quite a football moment and such sweet revenge for Watts

1 hour ago, John Demonic said:

Have we beaten them since? 

Didn't we beat them in 2020?

5 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

Didn't we beat them in 2020?

wasnt at the mcg; doesn't count

Poor old Jack. Yesterdays headline grabber and just an average Joe today. I hope he is doing well.

Looked like he finally found his preferred position as an intercept defender to start 2019 (10 marks against the Dees) but then broke his leg the following week and was never seen again.

11 hours ago, BW511 said:

If Watts was drafted now, with the club in the state it’s currently in, he’d be an absolute gun. He’s the perfect modern footballer.

 

Not so sure of that! Didn't really have the heart or desire in my view 

Watts could have been anything didn't want it enough.

 

9 hours ago, FlashInThePan said:

Totally agree Beetle, I yelled myself horse.

Losing to them again this year would be a 'mare.

17 hours ago, ElDiablo14 said:

I think Fritsch started his career in the defense? 

Luckily our coaches realized he is much better playing as a forward.

He did, and I for one spent a season screaming at whoever would listen that Fritsch is the most obvious and natural forward one could imagine (gleaned from watching him at Casey when he was a stick insect). Goody eventually owned it, happily offering up a ‘what was I thinking?’ mea culpa. 

I'm in two minds about this. Undoubtedly Jack would have been far better off in the current environment as a youngster but I also don't think his lack of success was all down to being in a basket case of a system either. He's a lovely guy, almost to a fault and never quite had that killer instinct of a Nick Riewoldt or JVR that was probably required to make it big in this league.

He had absolutely appalling treatment from media, fans and opposition fans. He didn't deserve it and it certainly didn't help his progress but when I look at the other guys who also started in that same cruddy environment eg. Jones, Viney, Tom Mcdonald it's apples and oranges. 

7 minutes ago, layzie said:

I'm in two minds about this. Undoubtedly Jack would have been far better off in the current environment as a youngster but I also don't think his lack of success was all down to being in a basket case of a system either. He's a lovely guy, almost to a fault and never quite had that killer instinct of a Nick Riewoldt or JVR that was probably required to make it big in this league.

He had absolutely appalling treatment from media, fans and opposition fans. He didn't deserve it and it certainly didn't help his progress but when I look at the other guys who also started in that same cruddy environment eg. Jones, Viney, Tom Mcdonald it's apples and oranges. 

I think some personalities do very well in tough environments and the players you mentioned fit that bill.  The key to good clubs now though is to create an environment where all personalities can thrive.  The message that comes across frequently when our players talk about our culture now is one that does that. Different personalities are not just tolerated, they are embraced and celebrated. I have no doubt in the world Watts would have been a star right now if he was drafted by us say 3 or 4 years ago.

2 minutes ago, Vipercrunch said:

I think some personalities do very well in tough environments and the players you mentioned fit that bill.  The key to good clubs now though is to create an environment where all personalities can thrive.  The message that comes across frequently when our players talk about our culture now is one that does that. Different personalities are not just tolerated, they are embraced and celebrated. I have no doubt in the world Watts would have been a star right now if he was drafted by us say 3 or 4 years ago.

See your point Viper, it's a bit of chicken and egg where if his personality was nurtured well then he could have thrived. He very well could have been brilliant but I do have reservations and personally feel it's a bit simplistic to point to the culture as the sole reason, especially after 9 years at the club. 

But I absolutely think he would have been a much better player if drafted around now, no question about it. 

23 hours ago, Deemac said:

Just a reminder we swapped Jack Watts for pick 31 and picked up Fritch with 31 who is basically what Jack watts was meant to be 

Not only this but we probably freed up approx $500k of cap space over 2 - 3 years if we consider that Watts would have commanded $400k+ per year while Fritch would have been on ~$150k for his first couple of years.