At the break of Gawn

6 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Watts had climbed the stairs to start imposing himself on games. I dont see that he did that today, slipped a cog. Just saying

The only thing stopping him was a few inches with hus shots on goal missing. Dry weather probably would've kicked 3.

Bit harsh on Tyson. Thought he was one of our best.

Our forward line/midfield doesn't know how to handle the opposition's spare defender. They had 7 men back there the whole last half and every kick we did was to an out numbered contest. Need to be smarter with our ball use going in. Hogan may have had a down day but I can't recall too many one-on-ones where he had a genuine chance.

8 hours ago, KingDingAling said:

I've been a massive Jack Watts fan since day dot. I remember getting my whole family all hyped up for his debut against Collingwood. He got creamed, they have laughed at him ever since. It has gotten to the point where they just cannot - and will not - accept that Watts is becoming a quality footballer. I feel as though a lot of opposition fans are in the same boat. But at some stage I think they will all have to admit that Watts is a quality football player. Good signing if true.

I've also noticed this a lot. This morning Ox on SEN stated he would pick Watts over Nic Nat now and Melbourne made the right decision. No surprise, Ox was barraged with a heap of messages like 'What have you been smoking? etc".

Now I'm not saying that everyone should think Watts is a better player, but to think it's a ridiculous statement like most listeners were expressing just shows they still think of Jack Watts circa 2016 and more accurately JW Neeld era.

6 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

Interesting that T Mac was named BOG by most Demonlanders, but only got 1 vote from each coach

 

I think both coaches knew the game was won in that first qtr and Jack influenced the result the most out of anyone in that qtr.

Thought Roos and co. strategised this game really well. We spent all our energy early to set up a sizeable margin and coasted from there. Was really important that guys like Watts, Kent and Hogan kicked goals early which they did, while Gawn, Viney, Jones and Tyson dominated in the centre.

6 - Gawn. Dominated in the ruck and set us up early

5 - T Mac - was immense down back

4 - Hogan - 4 goals, 12 marks. Was dominant

3 - Viney - Willed himself to the contest and was prolific early

2 - Watts - Set up the win early with some strong marks and excellent kicking.

1 - Jones - typical captain's game and most disposals.

Apologies to: Grimes, Hunt, Tyson, Vandenberg.

Thought everyone contributed well, only quiet game was Garlett.

Can it be at least against someone else other than Port?

6 - Watts - close to his best game all year (got 149 SuperCoach points, probably his highest ever score)

5 - Jones - Tried all day, few poor disposals

4 - Hunt - Daring and dashing

3 - Garlett - dangerous as ever 

2 - Tmac - apart from a few kicking blunders his intercept marking was great

1 - Jetta - won quite a few crucial one on ones

That 3rd qtr barrage of early goals killed us. They got easy centre clearances which resulted in quick one-on-ones that their forwards won. Roos then had to play Watts as a loose man to stop the rot which also hampered our ability to kick more goals that qtr too.

3 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

To stay in the finals hunt we must win to peg a game back on the Crows, and it would also help if the Sydney beat the Doggies.

I think we're more likely to replace North if we end up making finals. They've got a tough run home.

So annoyed that the crows get a 10 day break before playing us. It'll nullify any of our freshness.They have basically received 2 byes. 

I recall Roos saying recently that Jack has always been a well liked player around the club, as in he got on with everyone and was "one of the boys", however he has started to realise that earning their respect is a different thing and by playing good football is the way to do that. 

FWIW I think Jack has the potential to be in the leadership group next year (or the year after). He seems to be showing a lot  more passion and becoming quite demonstrative out on the field which is something we haven't seen. These observations alone show the penny has finally dropped for Jack, but I just can't help but wonder why it's taken him so long to care about his football. The positive is though, it's probably an environmental thing which has fostered this change so the football club is cultivating a much better culture these days.

6 minutes ago, joeboy said:

Watts - it's not basketball

 

Was one of our cleanest all day. Rubbish comment.

Just now, DemonLad5 said:

OSCAR FOR [censored] SAKE!!!!

Dagger through the heart

The boys have the bye to look forward to though so the message has got to be, give everything that you have, and you can rest the next week.

2 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Fitness isn't an issue.

Has mentioned it in multiple interviews (2014-2015). Stated that it was one of the main reasons for his brain fades.

14 minutes ago, binman said:

I agree he is at minimum standard, assuming you mean his minimum standard, if that makes sense. As you say the way he has played most of this season is minimum required standard, particularly his competitiveness.

As someone else pointed out one of the impressive things about this season is how consistent he has been across games (but not as you have said always within games). This is super important as we can see the impact of forwards going missing in some games, in particular Kent and Gartlett.

As i have said before 40 goals is what he should have been aiming for, though i would have been happy with 30-35 (perhaps setting the bar to low).

Hard to argue that Gunston is the better player. At the moment. He has the runs on the board - though i would argue as permanent forward who's key go is marks on the lead he has benefited from one of the best mid fields ever and had Franklin, Roughie, Rioli and Bruest to keep defenders busy.

But i can see Watts being better eventually as he is as classy and with his capacity to play up the ground he has few more strings to his bow. He will also benefit from an improving midfield and a forward line that soon will not be far off the Hawks one i just mentioned. But he would need to go up a level and also put 2-3 more really good seasons together.

To go up a level he will need to keep being consistent, but also have a handful of games where he get 20 plus possessions (dragging his disposal average up above the 15 or it is at the moment) and one or two games per season where he blitzes the opposition and bags 5 or 6 goals. I think he has both of those things in him as he builds toward 150 games, his confidence keeps rising and the team around him keeps rising.

We'll see. Perhaps my call from 3 years ago that he would make AA might come true. That might be a good bet!

By the by i'm loving the avatar PD - warms my heart every time i see it and has allowed me to migrate to two of my favourite ever dees players.

Would love to have a genuine conversation about him being as good as Gunstan, but Gunstan is a 3x premiership player which will always trump Watts' achievements over the next few years (unless we're on the verge of being the next Hawthorn)

8 hours ago, ProDee said:

I don't want to sound controversial and I'm rapt with his output when one considers his previous years, but he's really only at minimum levels. 

But I am thankful and hopefully he's drawn a line for the rest of the season and for future years. 

Bit harsh saying that's minimum levels. Averaging 2 goals a game (in the top 20 of the league) and averages 15 disposals a game @ 80% efficiency. Has kicked more goals then the likes of Tom Lynch (Adelaide), same as Rioli (and gets heaps more disposals than him). If he could average the same amount of disposals as Lynch, and can kick 50 goals a year, he will become a genuine star of the competition. 

Expect next year to be even better as he continues to improve his fitness base.

Would like no change, but Roos and Jennings have both stated that we struggle with 6 day breaks due to fatigue. Wouldn't be surprised if we make 2 or 3 changes.

Pretty confident about today. With Collingwood's injuries, just can't see them kicking enough goals. Hogan, Watts, Gawn and Viney to all have impactful games. Watts on Howe will be a good matchup if that transpires on the day. Dee's to win by 40pts plus.

The game Jack Watts "dropped" himself. Was a good move in hindsight as it was a horrible game to watch and would've been worse to be a part of.

1 hour ago, joeboy said:

Watts - an irrelevant game

Was named in our best in multiple match reports. Please make your posts more relevant to the game.

11 minutes ago, Rusty Nails said:

Agree. Ppl in the press talking about us building a premiership list is just laughable.

So many go missing when the heat is on. Our forward line shows nothing in these matches with the exception of Hulk who is, i'm afraid to say, a horrible kick for goal most of the time. I will say it again and again, unless he fixes that action he will never fulfill his true potential. Reminds me very much of Earl Spalding who could have been a super forward but for his horrible kicking accuracy or lack thereof. Only turned it around with the Blues late in his career which saw him play in the 95 premiership.

Watts/Kent/Jeffy (to a lessor degree) all ineffective both in attack and defensively (i50 pressure acts) today. A few reasonable tackles from Kent up the field but that was about it.

Garland beaten soundly, critical contests he falls over far too often (one time costing us a goal in the 3rd at a critical stage of the match). Bombs the ball far too often, misses targets far too often.

Tyson, i realise first up back from a week's leave but that was bloody horrid.

Bout the only run we saw was from Harmes/Wagner and some from Hunt. A bit from Tommy once moved to HB.

Very few moves other than Vince from HF to back in the 2nd half, a bit of Watts through the middle and Tommy off Dixon to HB helped a little. Generally outcoached. Why is Vince no longer playing a role through the middle for significant patches when the game's up for grabs? Carrying an injury or just protection for age factor?

Newton, ANB, Watts, Kent, Tyson and Garland should not get a game next week on those efforts. Kent not as bad as the former lot but his disposal/finish is crap.

Dawes for Watts, Frost (or any half decent tall for Garland pls), Trenners for Tyson and someone who can finish up forward for Kent. Maybe there isn't a replacement at this stage. ANB and Newton ughh.... again do we have anyone available? As much as i liked Newton's game last week he was awful.

Even Jones/Viney/Bugg were pretty average today.

I still think we erred playing an overcooked Maxy with no back up....eg., Dawes and/or Spencil. Their 2 tall book ends in Dixon and Westhoff smashed us with too much being expected of Big M (ie., trying to stretch them a little by having to push forward quite often). Big M did ok but he looks cooked IMO and we lose a crucial game ANYWAY without him getting the much needed rest that i believe was critical to us having a decent chance of him coming back in (well rested) and having a big impact in the coming weeks.

We are still a bottom 6 club i'm afraid.

The major missing factors for me are ...

- An (effective) tall forward as 2nd string to Hulk with the ability to relieve in the ruck (Dawes in the short term if he can stay fit) and take grabs i50 and push higher up the ground and take grabs also when the heat is on. I noticed Hulk was doing this late in the 4th. He can't be the "everywhere" man plus help kick a winning score for us. He isn't Roo and guys like him only come around once in a a few decades (or more).

- An effective tall CHB that makes Tommy the 2nd string key defender rather than the first and pushes Garland out...for good. Pedo in the short term? Someone else needed though as Pedo doesn't play tall unfortunately.

- A super classy inside/outside mid who can take a game apart/find space/share the ball around through the middle (could be Tracc but he is seasons away from doing so consistently unfortunately).

Personally it's going to be super hard to fill these gaps effectively given the leagues free agency crap. In addition this match hasn't helped our "keep Jessie" cause. A few more nonsense games like that and we will probably be looking for another key forward as well.

Wow just wrong on so many points here. Jones terrible? Dawes for Watts? We're trying to win a game of football here, Dawes belongs on a building site with his  cement hands.

Only if Watts has goal kicking coach written into his contract also.