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Fake News! Jack Watts is Donald Trump, that's why he didn't play against the dogs. Proof - look at the hair.

Because people might start making posts clearly intended as a joke, that others will still believe?

If this is the worst thing happening at Melbourne then I'm ecstatic.

Storm in a teacup for mine whatever the background. Unless injured, Jack will be in the side for most of the season.

Just a couple of snippets from someone who was there for 30 minutes. He didn't see Frost train. Garlett just walked laps, so one would think there's perhaps a slight query. Could that rumoured hamstring be a minor niggle ? And in better news, Tyson and Kent trained fully with the main group.

This is all over a player missing a practice match right? ?

i was told today that goody wants jack to know that one good year isn't enough, it's not enough to have a good year and get his contract renewed and then go onto autopilot, we need jack to be a match winner and this is a rocket up his bum from goody from all reports as well his training standards and attitudes have lifted quite a lot in the past month but it seems like a really clever preemptive move by the coaches to make sure jack is breathing fire for round 1

You're a very smart man.

Went down just to watch watts, jack trained like never before he was angry, at one point he and Goodwin had words, jack had a surprise look on his face, had a word to him asked how he was, said he would show Lyon up.

Absolute storm in a tea cup. Even if Wattsy got on the [censored] before the intraclub or hasn't been training hard enough, does it really matter? A player not being selected for a preseason match is not even remotely news worthy. AFL media is a joke. Hundreds of people employed and between the preseason cup and the AFLW they still cant find anything decent to write about. It's almost like they needs a Bombers drug style scandal or another tanking saga so they can write the click bait headlines and vastly bias opinion pieces. Bring on round 1, when Watts kicks 3 and gets 20 touches on a half forward flank they'll roll out the redemption card. Give me a break!

I reckon Goodwin should have, in his presser prior to the dogs game, said something like: 'We are not selecting Jack this week because although he is fit, his attitude is ok and has been ok at training he has not met some internal KPI's set for him, which remain in house. All players have nonnegotiable KPIs to meet and won't be picked for pre season or regular season game if they are not met' This would have sent the same message to jack, saved the rumor mill from going into overdrive and made tmac and gawny's job a bit easier. Of course there would have still been speculation about what the KPIs might have been but discussion would have been limited to that not speculation about wild board short related partying, cocaine and strippers (disclaimer: please note journos that last line was a joke. I have no knowledge of wild board short related partying, cocaine and strippers, at least in regard to Jack. That fella from Richmond that's another story......)

My BDSM club would be willing but, unfortunately, we're strapped for cash.

The only difference being, stu isn't clearly in DLand's best 22.

Your good Old Uncle Bitter is back!! Just in time it seems, as this off course thread appears to be well off course, of course. Yes, I did another short stretch in rehab and, as a result, have spent some time in necessary convalescence. The good Doctor Hopping Dick applied the electrodes every meal time while I was force fed fried rice. Subsequently I cant walk past a Chinese take away without twitching and sobbing uncontrollably. The whole sorry business has impacted on my private life. My aim is now unsteady and my role as chief flogger is under threat. I am appalled that the oafish Biffen is wreaking havoc in the Asian Colonies. I may have to make a mercy dash over there to restore proper relationships. For the moment be aware that I am watching and will make any necessary interventions to restore this thread to its improper level of interlectual smartness.

As an unabashed and regular defender/supporter of Jack Watts, even I can see that there is clearly something to this 'rumour'. Watts finished 5th in the B&F last year. He was the first or second forward written down on the team sheet each week. He won a couple of games off the back of his own boot. He is a versatile and experienced player now. He is absolutely a required and important player. In short, he is plainly in our best 22, fitness and attitude permitting. That he didn't play against the Bulldogs doesn't tell us that much (in itself). That his absence wasn't due to injury or being rested, and that Goodwin didn't mention him as a 'best 22 absence' after the game (despite mentioning Tyson, Kent as players who'd definitely come back in) did say a lot. This seems to have been backed up in the interviews given by Gawn and Tom McDonald. Watts is still clearly best 22 and I expect he will play round 1 against the Saints. I have however found this 'rumour' disappointing, even surprising, to read because every indication (from afar) seemed to be that he was having a really good preseason and that he was evolving into a leader around the club - and this seems not be entirely the case. Ive no doubt he'll turn it around and will have a good season, but he shouldn't need to be kicked in the arse like this at this stage of his career.

Absolutely brilliant. Up there with Round 22 1987 and the Elimination vs North and the Semi vs Sydney in 87. Never ever tire of watching those. A key link - the incomparable Tim Lane. "The G was awash with red and blue...." etc etc Fantastic! By the way, that number 4 can play a bit as well....

Just a reminder too of how brilliant Jack Watts is.

I don't think it was us who had nfi

Bit difficult if you've got a reserved seat.

Please let him get some c in him, would be fantastic

New coach, setting standards, all players treated equal, having to earn your position. These are all great ideals but we all know that it doesn't work this way. There are always rules for some and not for others. The coach has brought 2 of his mates in from the EFC, it's going to be interesting to see how he handles these guys. Hibberd is known as not a great preseason track performer, will this hold him back from getting a game? Perception is going to be key here to the playing group...

Stu's head would be spinning at 10,000rpm on this thread

Just wondering if a full transcript of TMac's interview would now be sufficient context for you to work through the scenario of what's played out here? A F sums it up very succinctly and in essence corroborates the interpretation that PD and I and several others reached a good few hours ago. The complete overreaction by the media is a separate thread to the core story which is about Simon Goodwin ruthlessly establishing and enforcing standards. A storm in a tea cup as I said but a story nonetheless, a welcome one in fact as it underscores the extremely professional approach, without exceptions, that's now being taken with this football club.

Exactly. There's enough evidence now that something happened - I was willing not to believe a Demonland rumour and media report that sounded identical to the Demonland rumour, but two senior players were given an explicit chance to pour water on it, and they didn't. I don't see how anyone could possibly draw any conclusions about what the indiscretions were though. I don't think speculating over it helps at all, all we can do now is hope it all blows over, Watts accepts the kick up the proverbial as prescribed, and can return to last year's form on the ground come round 1.

Gawn intimated that VDB and Weideman deserved the opportunity last Saturday to see whether they could edge a round 1 gig ahead of Watts. Based on both of their performances, Watts doesn't have a worry in the world.

I wont be surprised if they rest Gawn and Spencer gets the main gig.

I hope the Gawn & Spencer experiment proceeds. Could be a valuable weapon come the season proper. Apart from that i dont really care to much

This is just like the Demonland of old where every thread on the board invariably ends up in Jack Watts discussion. Incredible.

My preferred outcome would be that no one leaked the story in the first place. ...problem solved.

The MFC should have dealt with this and not put Max or Tom in the position of explaining selection. That's not their job.

Sorry about that, I didn't mean to mortify you but it was your own doing. What is really frustrating and in fact stupid about the reaction to this situation, and it's not just you McQueen, is that nobody really knows the reason for his omission. You can't come to "conclusions" when you don't have any facts beyond "he didn't play" and a few vague statements from players. You don't have a conclusion, you have a hypothesis which really means you're guessing until some more facts roll in. But in the usual "Great, lets bash Jack" you've gone the "soft" line. The whole situation is disappointing. In a week we should be enjoying a really good practice match performance we are talking about someone who didn't play. The MFC have handled the PR side of this terribly. They should clear the air and get on with it.

How sad.

Mine: Pistachio nuts that haven't fully opened.

In which case Jetta must have done something terribly wrong as well...after all, he would be one of the first picked in any team we field.

It's pre-season and the speculation about Watts is frankly insane. Up until last year I was no fan of Watts but he rose to a very good level last year and could well do so again this year. If the coaches have an issue with Watts then let them deal with it without ridiculous speculation. It is my experience that the players know exactly what the club expects of them. They get minute level detail. IF Watts was left out for a reason, he and every other player would know why. The club doesn't need to come out and make a statement about it. The fact that other players that did media like Gawn and TMac were asked about it is not like the club 'sending' them out to deal with the Watts' question. Let the coaches do their job.

Maxy didn't talk enough about Jack Viney being promoted to the role of co-captain during this interview, and I read between the lines that Nathan Jones isn't happy and it's causing lots of friction off the field to the point where they won't even go into the showers at the same time. Just my take.

Not quite sure why people keep mistaking Salem for an outside midfielder. He can clearly play inside and out, and I've never seen him shirk a contest. For a bloke who isn't incredibly built and a beautiful kick, he's very tough IMO.

Melbourne Bitter. Because I'm Melbourne. And I'm bitter.

What? An overreaction, one of many in his thread.

There's one thing that annoys me more than Jack Watts threads. And that's people referring to Avocado which has been scooped out of its shell and slightly mashed or chopped as "smashed avo." That ad with the kids eating yoghurt is pretty annoying as well actually.

haha nope. Was simply bored out of my brain, and thought, oh boy, there's something I can post about! I read it again and thought to myself, you stupid [censored], how did you miss that.

Well, I hope who ever passed on the news to your source gets cut off at the knees. I'm sure PJ is ecstatic about the leak .... Whilst it's sometimes interesting to get the inside scoop, with the addition of "Chinese Whispers" it really doesn't do the club a whole lot of good.

Failing to meet training standards can mean a vastly different thing to having a poor attitude.

After having watched T Mac's interview, it's clear that there's something he hasn't done that the coaches have asked of him. Perhaps there was something up on the camp etc that he failed to do, or a standard it seems that everyone is asked of that he didn't meet. It's only fair by Goodwin to give the guys (and there's quite a few who can play that half forward role) a chance a head of Jack to prove their worth who did everything that was asked of them. Jack doesn't get a different set of standards just because he is in our top tier of players. I don't think it was a major thing, but, if you're trying to be consistent with your playing group, then it's unfair to put jack ahead of others purely on talent. Let's all hope Jack has now taken that on board (which seems like he has based on the interviews) and can have another good season.

Under the Leading Teams model players are very accountable with each other and of course the leadership group knows what's going on with individual players and has meetings with the coaching group.

Seemingly, I'm one of the few disappointed that a player entering his ninth year, off the back of one good year where he placed top 5 in the B&F, was left out of a squad of 29 due to unsatisfactory training efforts efforts. Granted, it's a small story and I doubt it will impact his year, but it reinforces an immaturity that helps explain why he's produced very little in the first 7 years of his career and has never threatened to get near the leadership group.

The hair wasn't a good sign.

You make your own luck, and JKH had very little to none on Saturday. Having the ball ripped out of his hands was particularly unfortunate. But he was in the right spots very often and so close to being a part of it, Id definitely give him another go. I think and hope he will step up.