ChewyOnMyBoot

Me. If Jack goes, and i get permission, perhaps we meet for a coffee or a froffy. But i doubt I'll get permission.

Work it out yourself Dr Gonzo.

A

You will be surprised how little clear communication there was with Jack throughout the year. Can assure you Watts was blindsided. Very poor.

I can categorically confirm that it is true. It was Paul Connors that heard the whispers (some time after the exit interview) and then approached Goodwin to check them out.

So by a good time do you mean that he's extroverted and likes to go out and enjoy himself or does it mean that he gets on the pi55 during the season? Any time I have seen and talked with Jack while he's out 'partying' during the season he is drinking water.

Actually the problem was a bulging disc injury that he sustained in the first quarter of the Collingwood game. He goes up in a pack and shortly after hobbles off. The hamstring issue became a result of this injury because when he played the following week (and maybe the one after that?). It's thought that the disc issue caused a slight change in his 'gait' and as a result this caused the hamstring injury . So in fact, the hamstring injury was the result of something else and they had to wait for his bulging disc to settle down.

And so what would that mean in terms of $?

Geez. How quickly life can change. Best wishes Robbie. I don't recall Hogan requiring chemo. So I assume that means that it is a worse diagnosis.

And that surprises you? One point I forgot to state was that a notable characteristic of 'criticisers' is that they are easily insulted i.e. they can give it out but can't take it. I should make it clear, I don't have any problem with there being critics/criticism of Watts. When it's constructive and reasoned (I have some criticisms of him myself). But when it crosses to spiteful, unproductive criticism it loses any purpose and really is only a reflection on the person giving it.

This is just an amazing thread. I find the depth and breadth of criticism of Watts fascinating. How is it that some DLers seem to have a level of spitefulness towards Watts (certainly visible in the words that they write) that to me is virtually a hatred of Watts. Not just a dissatisfaction. Is it only me that wonders what it takes to be the kind of person that does that? Maybe Oscar Wilde's comment on it contains some level of truth: “Criticism is the only reliable form of autobiography" indicating that it tells us more about the psychology of the critic than the people he or she is criticising. Hows that for a psychological assessment? Free of charge. I'd suggest some of you particularly spiteful contributors get some help! Hahahahahahaha. And, I wonder if the snipers would have so much bravado if they were face to face with him. On their own. Pretty sure I know the answer to that.

No. He won't be going to Collingwood.

Jack loved Goodwin at the end of last year. And was excited about him taking over as coach. I believe assistant coach Neeld got on well with the players at the Filth too before he came to MFC with his hard nosed game plan and antiquated player management methods.

Awwww. You so funny. You make me laugh. Maybe you find another brain cell to go with the one you already got!

One day all may be revealed. Particularly if he leaves. I would be really surprised if PJ hasn't forced the parties into mediation of some sort. Or at least got the coaching panel in and said "This s#*t has to stop. Sort it out". Because if Jack does decide to go it could get pretty ugly on any number of fronts. And that can ill be afforded by a second year coach who has been handed the duck that has the potential to lay the golden egg. Nor the club so soon after it seems to have been put back on track. It wouldn't surprise me if Jack tells us he's staying at the B & F. That he's met with Goodwin and it's all patched up. Everything is understood and they are on the same page.

Ok. I said before I wasn't going to add anything else here and I have been trying to wean myself off this thread.....BUT......the smell keeps getting worse and worse around here (and I don't think its coming from Mrs Chewy). What I don't understand is that if Jack came back, in what has been put publicly out to everybody, in such a "poor" condition (although I've heard he did a PB in his 3km time trial), how is it that he was able to get himself back up into good enough condition to play the first round? Would that be physically possible? And, if his condition was so poor, how hard would he have had to have worked to have got the nod to play the first game. Particularly because they clearly (correctly) have the intention of not ever wanting to "gift" him (or any player for that matter) games. And, if he had in fact turned up in as poor a condition as what has been suggested (though I have my doubts) I wouldn't have thought it possible for him to 'recover' the required level of fitness as quickly as he did - fit enough to go straight into the ones without any playing time in the JLT or in the 2's. Add to this the inconsistent, changing explanations coming out of the club since this first came out, and there's pieces that just don't fit together. Also, given that he did play in the first round, I assume that he must have worked his backside off to get to the level of fitness required and 'made amends' for whatever his indiscretions, if any, may have been. What a fantastic example to the younger players that must have been to show that if "you do the crime you do your time and you work your f***i%ng backside off to make amends". But it's Jack, so of course we don't put the positives out into the public about him. We whip him harder. And, Jack is a pretty bright kid. So when he says he was shocked by coach Simon Goodwin’s desire to put him on the trade table, does anybody else other that me wonder whether Goodwin had been performance "managing" him through the season at all? Surely it would be in the Coaching 101 manual that a player should always be aware of how he is performing related to expectations. I know that's how it is in the business world anyway. You know, continual feedback. I would have thought it would be even more fundamental in elite sporting organisations. Particularly given MFC has been working with Leading Teams which is all about blunt and open honesty. So it disturbs me greatly that Jack was shocked. If he knew it was coming I have no doubt that he would have put his hand up and said that they had discussed it through the year. Watch how Jack handles himself tomorrow at the B&F if you have any doubts about that. He is certainly a young man of integrity. Just stinks!! And stinks of a place where we've already been.

Yep. He'll be there.

Fair enough. IMO it would have got us closer to the aim of the exercise.

And that's what I don't understand about how the club has handled this. If, in the very first instance, they had come out and said something along the lines of: "We have suggested to Jack that he look at his other options because regardless of any player's talent and skill we demand that every player commits to and meets the standards we have set. Unfortunately, although we have had several discussions with him around these matters before and during the season we haven't seen any change in his application. Jack is a wonderful young man and has from time to time shown exactly what he is capable of. We recognise that he has been under a high level of scrutiny since the day he walked into the club and although we wish today that his beginning could have be handled very differently, who, apart from Jack, really knows how this may have affected a talented player during his development years. We believe we are doing the best thing by Jack by encouraging him to search out other opportunities." I doubt any supporters would have objected to what they are doing if that was the way it was presented from day 1. I know it is very easy to see this in hindsight but it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to predict that it was going to be an extremely sensitive issue given history (at least 7 or 8 years) has constantly shown the extreme emotion and polarisation of opinion around Jack. P.S. On reflection (after 'living' with this post for the last 10 minutes or so) I think my emotions are getting in the way now. What I am wanting is perfection in the handling of this matter. And rarely is anything perfect. And as Mazer Rackham suggests in the next comment - the way has to be forward now. No more from me on this. I promise. I think. Hahahahaha

Maybe Goodwin has it in for Jack because: 1. He wasn't included on Jack's Christmas list last year when he was handing out shorts as presents......OR 2. He was included on the list but when he put on a pair of Jack's shorts everybody laughed at him!?

Absolutely. Some emotional supporters do make silly conclusions from afar. I have no problem accepting I do that from time to time. Cheers!! I appreciate the nature of your response too. Reasonably balanced, informative and not emotionally charged. Offers up some things for me to think about and allay my concerns. Perhaps I need to give him a chance. I guess only time will tell.

Yep. I'm finishing my Demonland career post haste. I'm getting too caught up in this.

Well said Dr D. I'm on the fence re Jack but what I do like to read is calm, reasoned opinion - with all the emotion removed - that doesn't assassinate a character. And in your above post that's exactly what you've done. Cheers!! I can totally understand people not being a Jack fan for the reasons you say.

Hahahahaha. So sad how quickly the above post has gotten so many likes. A post like that actually makes me angry because it's one that some people will just believe without questioning anything. And it's character assassination at it's best. I had deduced from your previous posts Mr Gonzo that you had a considerable dislike for Jack (would be interested to know where it comes from) but this has just take the cake!! So many unsubstantiated statements that it's not really worth bothering. But one of them I just have to tackle...........'going out for beers 3 or 4 times a week, etc.'. Are you meaning during the season or post season? If he does it post season then I'm not sure what the problem is. If you are meaning that he does this during the season then, tell me you don't really mean this. And if you do, can you please present some facts to support it. With the spotlight having been on Jack all his career and the media all too willing to have him in the papers, you surely can't believe that he could possibly have managed to go 'out for beers 3 or 4 times a week, etc.'. without ever having been 'caught'. And then you claim that it is those bad habits that "The coaches don't want guys like Petracca, Oliver, Hogan etc falling in to" as if what you have claimed is fact. And as if that is what the club is referring to re the influence Jack is having. Really!!!!???? Having said the above I do agree with your comment that "Watts actually has had a role to play in this and he's not just the innocent victim of a bastard coach".