Lord Travis

Agreed. The more I saw of him last year the less excited I was. He's not tall enough to be a stay at home contested marking machine. Doesn't have much of a leap of him either. He's not quick or agile enough to be a lead up forward. He's not skilled or smart enough to be a third forward option like Watts or Petracca. I can't see him making it at AFL level. He's depth for 2 years and then delist material in my opinion. While lots here hate him, Watts is on his way to 250+ games and already contributes to the team. Hopefully he can reproduce his form from last yearly improve further. If he does then he's in our top 5 players yet again.

Be pleased, but also accept it as standard. We need to beat teams around and below us to make finals, and those bastards have been beating up on us for far too long! Pray we start the year off well and build momentum. We have a good run and could go 5-1 IMO

Link to the article anyone?

Misread the title as Clearance Oliver. Fitting really! Can't wait to watch him progress this season. He's my favourite player and has potential to be one of the best players in the league.

No. I'm being over the top to illustrate a point. I just don't like the way the club has treated Watts. Unless he has done something far worse than expected and this is their way of covering up. On a positive note I can't wait to see Oliver unleashed. He's been really good in the 2 JLT matches and if he has improved his tank he could be set to explode quicker than expected! Love Clarry!

So Hunt is not up to par and the team is punished, but Watts is not up to par and he gets punished individually and cops it in the media from club reps and players? Good to know the coaching staff treat players equally.

Indeed it was. Absolutely sickening. Still haven't forgiven Bomber Thompson for making a joke of out of it too in his press conference after the match. Smarmy pr*ck!

I'm assuming he'll have to do extra training and will not play for the next few matches now like Watts?

Here's my best 22 for round 1 and summary for each player. Enjoy! B: Jetta TMac Hibberd HB: Hunt OMac MelkshamC: Stretch Tyson LewisHF: Petracca Hogan Bugg F: Garlett Weideman WattsR: Gawn Jones Viney I: Oliver, Brayshaw, Vince, Salem Jetta: Small defender who can do a lock down job on the best small forwards in the game but is average offensively. Luckily we now have lots more options down back so he can concentrate on what he does best. May get squeezed out over time due to new gameplay and team structure. TMac: A lock for key defender, defends well but is hit and miss offensively. A rung below the A grade key defenders such as Rance or McGovern, but still a very good key defender. As long as he doesn't make too many stuff ups offensively that cost us turn over goals then he has potential to push for All Australian selection. Hibberd: Intercepts well and has a big kick on him. Will take a bit of time to find form but will likely become our most consistent backman as the year progresses. Hunt: Lock for a rebounding defender spot. Provides great dash, just needs to get back and defend well like he did last year and make sure he uses the options around him sometimes too instead of running himself into trouble. OMac: Lock for other key defender spot alongside his brother. He was very raw last year but he got better as time went on. He needs to improve his intensity with defending as he is sometimes weak in the contest, but offensively he is more reliable than his brother. Melksham: Lock for halfback role. The coaches love him. He reads it well, has decent pace, decent skills and is a well rounded footballer. Gets a bad wrap from people who don't have great football knowledge. Last match he was one of our best players behind Petracca setting up multiple rebounds that lead to scoring chains and beating his man time and time again. He'll be an asset for years to come due to versatility of being able to play back, mid and forward. Stretch: Had a really good developing year last year. He gets to good spots, stays calm under pressure, uses his good agility to get out of tight situations. While he is an outside player, he has built up his body more over preseason and isn't afraid to go when he needs to. Think he will be great for us long term and said so on here when he was drafted. Exciting prospect. Tyson: Hopefully he is fit for Round 1. He's still really underrated as a midfielder and is super on the inside. He has played some top shelf games the past few years, and when he hasn't been battling fitness and form due to knee concerns he has been great. His second half last season was really solid. He is great around contests and likes a sneaky goal too. Would be a lock if it weren't for injury question mark. Lewis: Lock. He can play anywhere we need him. We've seen dominate in the midfield and then also fall back into defence and save the day. He's an elite footballer with great football knowledge and leadership. We are so lucky we got him for peanuts. Super exciting to add him to the team this year and he'll help us further up the ladder. Petracca: Lock for half forward. He's ready to explode. Great offensively, getting better defensively, if his set shots are fixed up, which they appear to be so far this preseason, he'll have a huge year and have an impact up forward and rotating through the midfield. Still not sure what his ceiling is! Jet! Hogan: Lock at CHF. Looks lean and mean. Hopefully he has a better year infant of goals and helps guide young Weideman. He'll push up the ground and have an impact at stages too as we saw on the weekend. I really like him playing at CHF as he is super fit and can beat defenders in so many different ways. Could this be the year he explodes and finishes near the top of the Coleman? Hopefully! Bugg: I love Buggy. Ideally Kent would be playing half forward, but I doubt he will be ready for Round 1 due to injury. Buggy is the perfect role player. He will be in and out of the team but he is versatile, can play lock down, can win ball, can kick a few goals. He's our best depth IMO ahead of guys like Vandenberg, Harmes, JKH, ANB. Garlett: Our best small forward at present. He will hopefully kick his 40 goals again this year which is a good return. He will have more completion from below than in the past though. Weideman: A bit like Oscar last year, he's a bit raw and probably isn't the best option if Pedo is fit, but they will pump games into him as he has the talent and attributes to be great for us long term. Like Oscar he just needs to attack the contest with more intensity as he is inconsistent with this at present. Got a great leap and good skills. Watts: Should be a lock up forward. Kicked roughly 40 goals last year, setup countless others, he was superb. Suffering the storm in a teacup media bullish*t at the moment so hopefully lines up in Round 1. We are worse off without him. Only Petracca rivals him for scoring assist at present. Jack just has beautiful vision and kicking skills. Hoping he has a year as good or better than 2016. If he does he may push for All Australian. Gawn: Lock for ruck obviously. Hopefully he is as good or better than 2016 and the new rule change helps him. He's probably our most important player in our push for finals this year IMO. Jones: Lock. With more talent around him I think we'll see him running round free a bit more and doing less grunt work. That's fine by me as he's developed into a really damaging kick both around the ground and for goals. Excited for him to finally taste some success after battling manfully through years of rubbish. Viney: Lock and hoping he keeps improving and pushes for All Australian standard. He was nearly there last year. He still needs to work on his kicking, but other than that he is great around stoppages, great offensively, great defensively, and a surprisingly strong mark for someone his size. Oliver: Lock. My favourite player looks set for a big year through the midfield. He's such and exciting prospect. He's elite around stoppages, has insanely good vision and hands. he is a really good kick too so if he starts finding more space and not handballing every time he gets the ball he will become even more damaging. Love his intensity. He'll become our best player and win a Brownlow in a few years I hope! Brayshaw: Has had a good preseason and looks to have put the injury concerns of last year behind him. I don't think his ceiling is as high as Petracca or Oliver, but people may have forgotten how damaging he can be. I really like him when he is streaming forward from behind the ball setting up scoring opportunities. He's a really strong tackler as well. Vince: Can play anywhere. I prefer him midfield but he may be squeezed out over time. Looks to be helping down back but I'd love to see him up forward more. He can launch a long goal or hit passes to leading forwards. Salem: Hopefully he is past his injury and health issues. Moving to the midfield will be great for him. He's average as a defender, though obviously a decent rebounder due to great kicking skills. If he plays midfield and forward he has a great balance of inside and outside and the ability to his the scoreboard. Top 5 BnF potential this year if he stays fit.

It's just strange. The guy hasn't played a game since last year. He had a good year, kicked roughly 40 goals, was probably our best forward overall for the season, and yet somehow the club has taken away any positivity from that hard work and success and we're left with all this media negativity and these threads amongst supporters. I think they've managed the situation poorly, regardless of the outcome now, so whatever's happens happens I guess. Ugh.

He's in our best 22 so he plays. If he's down at Casey and I see plodders like Vandenberg running round against St Kilda then I'll be annoyed, especially if we lose. I don't care if he has a supposed attitude problem, if he plays and plays well then it's irrelevant.

I was one of those people. It was never about his ability, he is clearly a very talented footballer. It was because he could never get on the park. It doesn't matter if you're Chris Judd, if you play less than 10 games a year on average then you're of no use. I'm glad he's playing well and I hope he continues to play well and stay fit and healthy. He deserves a good run at it to build some form and show everyone what he can do. I like him in the midfield and forward. He's a liability down back, teams would often target his opponent for attacking forays (source: opposition coaches) as he was poor in defensive one on one contests and often caught on the wrong side of his opponent or losing body contacts at crucial times. In the midfield he is tough, fast and skilled. Love him there and resting forward as he can chip in with a few goals. He's got a great balance of inside and outside skill. If he can stay fit he'll be one of our best midfielders for years to come. Hoping he turns into a harder version of Adem Yze.

Well done you've just given the Herald Sun tomorrows headline.

This whole thread and all the media reports are hearsay Bobby

It's poor management of him either way by the club. Past history shows he does not respond well to the hard approach but rather a supportive one. To take the approach that does not work with him, and then let the media run wild laying into him, is poor management by the club. If Jack isn't doing what they asked, then that's disappointing by him. But it's also disappointing the way the club has handled this situation.

Must be injured. No way Dion Johnstone is ahead of him on form or training form. Poor by the club not to make a firm statement to the media to squash the speculation that surrounds him. It's only preseason, but given his history of copping it bad in the media it's poor manager by the club.

The moment with Watts standing up with two hanging off him, gets the kick away to Tyson, who snaps and goals!.... favourite moment of the 2016 season. Utter brilliance and deelight.

Watts will be a key part of our rise up the ladder both short and long term. He was our best forward last year IMO Had more impact than Hogan, set up heaps of goals, helped in the ruck and nearly topped the goal kicking for the club. If he continues on from last year he'll be near All Australian quality. Weiderman has the potential to play an important role long term also as a key forward paired with Hogan. He's still building up his body and learning the game at senior level. Vandenburg is delist material in a year or two. He's done great for someone off the rookie list, but he's a depth player and won't be part of our serious tilt, in a similar way to the Matt Jones and Dean Terlichs of the past. Watts has nothing to worry about if they're his competition for a spot. If I was him and the coach gave those guys games ahead of me when I was fit and ready to perform I'd ask for a trade.

Guys Sam Mitchell and Bontempelli didn't play either on the weekend... Where are the media stories about them not being starters despite not being injured?? Absolute joke this is seeing light of day. Poor handling by the club and Goodwin to not get on the front foot to squash the heresy being bandied about in the media too. Really disappointing from the club actually considering the medias history with Watts. Jack will be fine come next week or Round 1. In fact, he'll be better than fine. He'll be one of our best players as always.

Has anyone in AFL history been given such a negative ride by the media and public as Jack Watts? He misses a JLT preseason game wth his hand in a brace and now there's news articles questioning his attitude and this site's ripping into him too. It's absolutely mental! Alex Rance didn't even get this much publicity for punching him in the back of the head like a f*cking coward! Feel so sorry for the poor guy. If he is over the minor injury which had his hand in a brace on the weekend then he will play in the upcoming matches. Simple.

I thought Watts had two injuries? A hand injury and a niggling hamstring that he's been getting worried on a bit at training recently. Family Day today confirmed the hand injury as his hand/finger was in a brace.

He's the same as O Mac last year. Not physciallly ready and perhaps not the best option, but the clear long term prospect they want to pump games into to speed up develop. I expect similar development this year from him. He might look like he's not up to it or not ready at stages, but will get better as the year wears on and show he'll be a good player long term. The talent and attitude are there, just need to body to catch up and be ready.

Agreed. He's one of my favorite players but he wasn't poor today. I find it odd that people are laying into Melksham, who was playing his first game in 500 days or so and said nothing about Hunt. Melksham wasn't great, but he showed enough in his first hit out to show why we chased him and that with more game time getting back up to speed he is a lock for the 22 and an important cog to our drive. Hunt needs to learn not to try to do too much and remember that's he's a defender also. He cost us a few goals today running too far forward and completely misreading the play. Hopefully he learns from it and doesn't become too much of a front runner. His defensive efforts were outstanding last year and he needs to keep that up.

He does need to become more selfish. If you take a mark 40 meters out on a 45 degree angle you should have a shot unless there's someone on their own in tells goal square, not pass to a 50/50. When he doesn't have time to think he's really good, when he stops and has time to think he makes poor decisions.

Milkshake literally pinpointed Hogan while under pressure in the first half and setup a goal. Where are people getting these views of him from?