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The strangest sense of deja vu everytime I open this thread... exact same people, saying the exact same thing for 221 pages.

MFC has demanded at least pick 2 and Freos first rounder next year for Jesse. This is why Freo offered Weller and 5, for The Suns' pick 2. This will then be sent to us for Hogan along with their 2018 1st pick. Freo were asked for their first rounder and Neale, but he refused to be traded, so we are in for 2 x first rounders instead, with this years being upgraded so we can get our intended target in the draft. The Lever trade has been used as the basis of our demand for 2 x first rounders, with nothing more than a fourth rounder going back to Freo. Deal essentially done and will be announced Wednesday. ( None of that is true, but someone needed to take the focus of the Jack Watts thread. My reputation is taking one for the team)

Or those who are upset at the decision are using the perception of poor handling to muddy the waters. My concern is that two or three new posters have gone further. They've introduced unsubstantiated allegations to make the club look bad because (I would assume) they're more attached to Jack than the club. I don't like how these posters have fuelled the fire so to speak and loyal supporters of this club (at an emotional time) have been manipulated.

Tim Watson is a grade A fcukwit. He showed his true colours during the Essendon doping saga.

Extract from Trade Radio: Andrew Watts is Jack's father. Expanding on 'reprobate' he says: Clearly his father is taking issue with the derogatory rumours spread about his son, largely based on comments from Goodwin, Jones, Mahoney. We may not like his father's commentary but no one is publicly standing up for Jack. Even his kind hearted video to a fan was presented as having a cheap shot at mfc and nothing was further from the truth. I really admire a father standing up for his much maligned son. It isn't good for MFC when a father needs to do that. It is exceptionally rare for a player's father to come out and defend them. I would think for Jack's family to do that involves very unusual circumstances. I do not know who or what to believe anymore. As each day passes more and more people are coming out and casting doubts on MFC's narrative on Jack's season. Posters may want to blindly tow the company line but I fear there will be some bad fallout from this. Not so much Jack leaving but moreso the way it has been handled. A very sad situation just became moreso.

Yep. After 9 years he's not even a top 200 player in the game. Should a player with his natural ability be a top 50 player ? Absolutely. He's an underachiever and the club has made a call.

Beautiful day outside.

I would never knock parents for standing up for their kids no matter what the age. It's part of the job description

Let's face it. We're hopeless, have always been hopeless, always will be hopeless, people pick on us, our kids are no hopers, our job sucks, our horses always lose, we never even pick up a division 4 in tattslotto, we're going to get sacked tomorrow, and the sky is falling. On the bright side, a giant comet may strike the earth and finish us all off before we win another wooden spoon.

Call me old fashioned but I'd prefer our club doesn't do photoshoots with players we are yet to have signed and sealed. There's a lot said for due process Whispy

Tim Watson has claimed today on SEN that Melbourne mismanaged the Lever signing Watson claims that not having Lever dressed up in a Melbourne jumper before he went overseas was a faux pas and battered the Demons' reputation, particularly when Essendon had a back page spread of their new signing Devon Smith in Essendon colours. The back page of Friday's Age which announced the trades for both Lever and Smith had photographs of both players in their new colours. No doubt, Watson missed this for some reason ... but that pales into insignificance when one thinks of his own club's reputation that was tarnished to a significantly greater dimension than a possible wardrobe failure by the Bombers' own issues over recent times which involved injecting players with unknown substances and led to 34 players receiving 12 month playing suspensions. Given Watson's involvement with the Bombers, he should be the last person to comment on the reputations of other clubs.

I trust that Dev Smith was photographed in Essendon colours with a needle hanging out of his forearm. Otherwise he might look out of place on the team photoboard. Now that would truly be an oversight of epic proportions Update: being done as we speak

Tmac's leading patterns were woeful in half of the games he was forward. It's why Roos didn't have him in there for long stints when he experimented it in 2015/16. He's a better contested marker than Jack, but to claim that he's a better forward than Jack just because he has had a 5 goal game is laughable. It's like saying Scott Cummings was a better forward than David Neitz because he kicked 10 in a game once.

I've always liked what he brought to the side, even if sometimes I was a little over the top in my defence of him (sometimes intentionally). He has been a great servant of our club, but the injury may have sealed his fate. I'll echo WJ's comments and hope that this ends well for both parties and that he can still have a role to play at the MFC. All the best, Col.

I don't see why the club cops the blame for these derogatory rumours going around. They said pretty simply what the story is, and it's others who have leapt in to expand it into character assassination and/or hints of black ops. In the space of a month, Jack has gone from an unfilfilled talent to the worst footballer in the comp. Jack has always been a media magnet and for that reason it is wise to completely disregard anything that doesn't come out of his mouth, or the club's. The most credible explanation is the simplest: club believes Jack is an underperformer, and believes they're better placed going forward without him on the list. London to a brick there's nothing more to it than that. The rest is sound and fury signifying nothing.

Now that you have claimed to be acquainted with Jack, and have since raised questions as to Todd and Jack Viney's mutual employment at the club, I'm going to go right on and conclude that these particular feelings have been expressed by Jack. And while I was ambivalent before - even a tad sad - about Jack's potential departure (while fully supportive and understanding of the reasons for it), if he's blaming white-anting from some Viney faction for where he finds himself today, then he can good and well go. I'm not even going to bother outlining the contribution of the Viney's toward our singular goal of success as compared to that of one Jack Watts, as the blame being leveled and swipes taken at anyone and everyone who isn't Jack Watts is getting utterly ridiculous.

Yes I do. They have the same yearnings as me. Maybe they're uncompromising and want to win the club's first flag in over 50 years. Have a look at Gonzo's superb attachment earlier in this thread.

Good man that Colin Garland. From the Jack Trengove school of unlucky buggers.

If true, will be a sad end for another faithful servant of the MFC. Struggled to get a game prior to the terrible ACL. Wish him all the best for the future...

No I don't believe there is. You, @beelzebub and others are jumping at shadows. The club has been transparent about the reasons for trading Jack Watts and those reasons have been telegraphed all year long. Jack doesn't show the expected commitment and preparation required and does not set a good example to the rest of the list. The membership deserves and commands a truthful explanation when such a popular player is moved on - and the club have delivered. I don't believe that has diminished Jack's trade value at all - clubs know what is what. But even if it has, the backlash from the membership to a "surprise" trade would have been far more damaging. I'll be very sorry to see Jack go, he's undeniably charismatic and seems to be a genuinely well-balanced person. But success in professional sports demands more than this. I hope Jack goes on to have success elsewhere (as long as it's not at MFC expense) and will always wish him well.

So many sentimental bleeding hearts in this thread. Jack doesn't output that which is expected of a 9 year player. The results have spoken for themselves for a long time. I love the fact the club has finally drawn a line in the sand with this bloke. His attitude doesn't fit in with the culture we are trying to create and I applaud our FD for making an unpopular call. Thanks for your service Jack, see you on the other end of the pitch next year. Lever is going to destroy Watts next year and I can't wait.

Most know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

It's been handled really poorly.

I'm not seeking to undermine the club, nor am I intending to be divisive. But this trade, the genesis of it, and the likely terms of it, have never stacked up to me. I like Jack Watts. I like this club a hell of a lot more. In short, my loyalty is absolutely to the club. But I don't want to be bullshitted by it either. It seems to me that the club has pivoted somewhat in its game style, its approach and its needs from its players, and that Watts is just not worth the dough we're paying him. I just wish they'd stop dancing with (what appears to be) the truth. It erodes trust.

While they offer a future second rounder for Wilson, who is a better player? Poor form from Freo. Quite happy to welcome back a few players who want to go home but won't accommodate those who go the other way.

I'm going to be a risk taker and make a bold prediction. I reckon we'll ,without a doubt, where Jack's going by Friday afternoon.

This thread is becoming like my mother-in-law - it just never shuts-up.

Latest Skwosh shorts design is in Teal and Black, I'm not sure if that means anything

Not sure there is much sense to that post. King was always going to get another year having shown some promise and only being one year removed from a knee reco. Filipovic is irrelevant because he is on the rookie list and not taking up a list spot relevant to the Garland situation. With Spencer being delisted, surely they will be able to play King and Filipovic in the same side anyway.

Mods, can we please have an "Ignore thread" option?? I know, i know, i could just stop clicking on it, but its like driving past a car crash..... you just HAVE to look. Are we there yet?

The AFL article mentions his girlfriend as a factor. Given that he’s only 21 and making career decisions around a girlfriend it may we’ll be that he’s a lunatic.

Why has the Club handled this terribly, posters have for ages been bemoaning a lack of culture, putting Golden Balls on the trade table sends a strong message ......9 years on a list, supposedly in the prime of his career and not selected or dropped for poor training efforts or form we shoujd be applauding their stance he is one player, yes one who could be great but isn't, no individual is bigger than the team let us compare to Hogan, could have just said fuckit and took half the year off he didn't, worked his arse off and came back in great form

Andrew Watts is spot on. Melbourne Football Club have handled this terribly. As a football fan we get a front row seat to this circus, but I would rather this circus not be MFC - but another club.

Pro Dee know him and I know what Melbourne have put up this year is rubbish . To be on honest it's actual lies. So all I can do is leave it there.

Nice! I literally choked eating my Coco Pops.

We used the Frawley compo on Brayshaw (just to be pedantic ? )

Somewhat inevitable and sad, particularly since his entire career has encompassed the hard times. I hope the club and Colin work things out and that he remains in a role at the club.

Ok, here we go, my position in full. Jack Watts doesn't quite fill any specific role in a team structure and there are particular elements of his game which are not up to scratch. That's fine if you are an extraordinary talent who can turn games, but Watts is not that much more skilled than other players. I've really thought about it and have wavered in both directions, but I'm settled now. I fully support the club's decision to move him on as it is simply not serving much purpose to keep him. When he is removed from his line about mid-level of our best 22, everyone below moves up a slot and the total loss is really very small considering the players not currently getting regular games. If nothing else, Watts leaving will likely push Pederson's career out past the 100 game line, which seems fair given that Pederson has performed much better. It will also open up space for Weideman to develop in roles targeted to his strengths. I think, in the end, it is a case of Watts value being inflated by the two very different roles he plays at the club, which is to say, player... and mascot. As for the 'mishandling', I think a certain amount of acrimony was made necessary in order to give crazy Demon supporters a chance to work through their feelings in a few hundred pages of comments in online forums!

Well done Goodwin-you proved you can make the hard decisions. Now get a flag or pack your bags.

Man most definately walked on the moon. Buzz Aldren would punch the crap out of you

Wouldn't worry about them, unless you like placebos.

Rubbish. I can’t believe that it’s got the point where the media, some supporters and now his Father have questioned the decades of combined leadership and footballing acumen in defence of a single player who’s been told to pull his socks up on numerous occasions throughout his nine underwhelming years of playing for the MFC. I for one am very much looking forward to the time where we don’t have any Jack Watts hysteria to deal with at all. It will be almost Utopian.

You'd think Jack Viney was being traded out with all the meltdowns going on.

Yep, and tried to do it to JJ and then Beveridge took over and now he's a norm Smith medalist. In the right environment, Watts will flourish. Roos had it, and hopefully for Jack's sake, Ken will be the same. 2018 is going to be a fascinating year to see how the players respond to Goody and the coaching group after what's happened over the off-season.

With respect UH there may be a bit of 'hair splitting' in the bits i've higlighted. Goodwin talks about 9 years of being in rut. Jones talks about his activities away from the club. etc etc. I haven't posted on this thread for a while as it was going round in circles but I feel hearing from Jack's father and by implication his mother, has changed things a bit. The Stringer situation looks worse because of the girlfriend's interview and WB botched the trade and didn't take pick 11. But they had one shot (Beveridge's interview) and made a clean cut of Stringer. For Jack its been like the 'death of a thousand cuts' from the various commentary since our last game. So while the Stringer situation looks worse and it could be rated 9 out of 10 bad then mfc with Jack is about 7.5 out of 10 bad. Still very bad in my book. Just for comparison. It is very well known that Kent is being heavily shopped around. But the club has been very respectful to him and handled it quietly. A far cry from what we are seeing with Jack. I fear this will not end well for anyone. I have no idea why the club chose its path. But for mine it was not a good choice.

Agree. I have had no interest in this thread other than scanning for updates. To be honest i have been hoping that there will be an update saying something has drastically changed and he is going to say. That's because i'm a huge Jack 'fanboy'. As i have said before he is in my top 10 favourite Melbourne players - and i have seen a lot of players in the more than 40 years i have passionately followed the club. But the key word is fan. i'm not a coach or member of the FD. Obviously. No really i'm not. I'm allowed to be emotionally invested and think through that lens. The coach and the FD not so much (though as Roos said in that great interview on Deetales footy is an emotional game, much more so that business, and that is why some strange decisions are sometimes made) To be honest i think it is pretty simple. Goody wants 22 warriors. And Jack isn't - and never will be - the warrior type. Now i might disagree with that be he is the coach and it is his call. Goody has made the call. And i very much doubt he has done so lightly. I support and respect his right to make that call. That said it is a big call and quite rightly he will be judged on it - and goody would expect nothing less. And i like the fact the club has allowed him to make that call. Many is a time that a head coach would have been over ruled at the demons - which is just one of the reason we have been so unsuccessful for so, so many years. this why PJ is quiet. He ha invested in the FD and like all good managers know you have to trust your key appointments. Micro management is an anathema to success. I will be totally gutted to see jack play at another club. The last time i felt this way was when Greg Wells left when i was about 11 years old. But like then i hope Wattsy gets all the success in the world. And as harsh as it sounds if we get the success we all crave the fanboys and haters will have consigned all of this palaver to the memory vault.

Give me Richmond's backline, Jack Riewoldt and 14 Jack Viney's and I think you'd win the flag in a canter. In fact if you can guarantee Oscar and Frost step up a bit give me our backline, a fully fit Hogan and 14 Jack Viney's and we'd get the job done. Hunt and pressure the opposition in to coughing up the ball then run in numbers and compete for the footy when it's their to be won is what modern footy is about. Skillful forwards with goal kicking accuracy and who can kick to a lead are nice to have but I'll take half back kicking and mids with clean hands around the packs

But thats just it. Skill and finesse is a natural talent. Without hard work that is all it is. What your saying is that Jack has skill and finesse so its ok to expect less from him in terms of hard work and dedication? What kind of example is that to our younger players?

I just want to say that Jack did not come back to pre season under done, in fact he came back in the same shape as 2016 which was good, he had a great year. His 3 k time trial was his best ever, you can check it. All his other figures were good too. He came back with blue hair which was a mistake and put him I all the papers which [censored] off Goody. He went to Byron on a Tuesday night, Wednesday was a day off, got back Wednesday night. Missed no rehab. He did extra sessions every week. It's a furphy. Jack is not like Viney, Jones or Macca, he doesn't live breath football 24/7, he is a normal person like 80 percent of the team but he loves MFC and will be sad to go but he will. I don't know how many of you would have thought we would dream of trading Jack after round 13 this year

I know his career and have watched every one of his 153 games. And they didn't lie to me.