At the break of Gawn

6. Salem - clearly BoG 5. Jones - very clean with the ball 4. Oliver - clearance king 3. Tyson - got better as the game went on 2. Garlett - lots of important moments 1. Watts - kicked a couple and set up a handful

Terrible thread. Can you please just close it to save yourself from embarrassment?

Don't waste your time typing Demon Jack. Some of the posters on here have got no idea. People saying Jack Watts had a poor game are delusional. Had 19 disposals, kicked 2 goals, 8 marks, 7 scoring involvements and got one massive punch in the head by Rowe. I can't recall many games pre-2016 that JW had that much of an impact on a win. Tyson was also a bit rusty but still racked up possessions and started to use the ball better in the last qtr. Both teams played really well defensively which is why it was so low scoring. Carlton actually held us up a lot better than the Saints did. The Saints were basically witches hats after qtr time last week. Anyone listening to MMM today with Paul Roos doing special comments will have a much better appreciation of today's win. Still unsure on Melksham though. Really doesn't use the ball well. Brayshaw just had a bad game - not much went his way. Nothing to worry about though.

Jones and Watts were easily the best ball users. Tyson's disposal improved in the last qtr

Good post. Somehow get the feeling though that even if McCartin just turns into just a good AFL footballer he'll never cop the same level of criticism as Watts did even though it's a very similar debate.

Wouldn't mind seeing a stat comparison between Moore and Watts for their first 3 years. Wouldn't be a whole lot different I suspect yet everyone thinks Moore will be a superstar.

Lol if it's at Gosch's paddock then it's never closed

Yep, 7 man interchange. Any of those can be selected but the named 18 are a lock.

Feels like this story is ancient history now, but thought this was a good insight into Watts' perspective on the whole training standards thing. Sounds like he had a good attitude following the wake-up call. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-03-26/i-knew-i-was-a-good-enough-player-watts

I'm at a mate's bucks party (it's a BBQ) but will probably be unsocialble so i can follow along on my phone. Hope the boys look primed.

I'm more worried about Carlisle. He's put a bit of size and feel he'd outmuscle a Weid or a Watts too easily. Even going forward he'd cause some major headaches for us.

Who matches up on Hogan you think? Brown? And Roberton/Gilbert on Watts or Carlisle?

Signed up

Frost, VdB and Harmes are not in our best 22. VdB couldn't hit the side of a barn. He lacks the finshing skills of an AFL player but good enough to be a very good VFL player. Harmes is also in that category. Terrific endeavour but lacks the necessary skills of an AFL player. The first thing Goodwin said at the WCE post match was "skill execution and turn overs hurt us". I think Roos/Goodwin have got them all as competitors now so the attention has got to be on our skill execution. I'm a fan of Bugg though as I think he's a terrific runner, but with the rise of our young midfield and the inclusion of Lewis, he's probably just outside. I think the biggest gift of an inclusion has been Weiderman. Theres's been lots of speculation about Watts selection yet I felt he showed more in his first half against WCE than Weids showed the entire JLT. I can't see a thrashing and am hopeful of a win but won't be surprised if the Etihad/Saints curse continues.

No way Pedo is in. I think Weids out could be the surprise.

Can you elaborate please? ?

Any hints on Watts?

+1

Ben is normally pretty accurate with his tweets. Seems strange to misinterpret ruck work.

"Dees rookie Joel Smith a strong chance to debut against the Saints. Jack Watts did extra ruckwork at end of training. Expect him to play." - Ben Guthrie

Agree. He's in our best 10 let alone 22. Not sure if it'll mean that big of deal if he plays round 2. I suspect that if he was left out it'd be about a punishment more than a form thing. Even Hodge isn't playing round 1 due to calling the club a few hours too late about missing a training session.

Gawn had one of his best games in rnd 21. He's very fit. I think the real challenge is either Pederson or Watts to take the backup.

I think Goodwin likes to be a bit coy with the media as it's also a vehicle for opposition clubs to gain intel. Obviously he's not going to show his cards yet. The beauty of this "in the mix" speculation is that it makes St.Kilda's planning much harder when considering our forward line. The teams are announced on Thurs night and most of the pre match planning is done before that. On the flip side, all of the Melbourne coaching staff know exactly who's going to be lining up in the saints forward line.

If we lose and Spencer + Weid add nothing just wait for all the backlash over his non selection.

Same. Can't see Weid getting a kick against the Saints back line. Surely the big forwards will have to be Hogan, Watts and Spencer.