Lord Travis

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?

He's been better than Hunt. He's definitely in the 22 and Goodwin will definitely play him. Everyone on her needs to get used to it and stop hating. He's a decent player and is better than some others running round out there tonight.

Disappointed not to see Trenners given a go to prove himself. Still excited for any footy though so Go Dees!

Tried out the alternate method and it works. I think it's a lower resolution stream this year though. Thanks for the heads up!

They have disabled the airplay feature so you now can't stream from iPhone/iPad to Apple TV! Tried on both devices, mirrored my whole screen, but when you click the play button on video in the AFL Live app it says it is not available until you turn off airplay. Really annoying as it's the only way I can watch a lot of Melbourne games due to work and not having money to burn to pay ludicrous amounts for foxtel!

Cripps is not far behind. Bont gets the nod as he stood up and lead when the heat was on in finals and was a key part of a premiership. I hope Oliver becomes our big match winner and helps us win a premiership. Or Petracca. Or Brayshaw. Or Viney. Or Hogan. Or Hunt. Or Salem. The talent is there, just need it to develop and click at the right time!

Based on 2000 form both Bruce and Green came into the side and were instrumental in winning finals and getting us into a Grand Final. As talented as he may be, Petracca has achieved nothing yet and isn't a patch on any of the players listed.

Our current team have achieved nothing yet. Haven't made finals, haven't even had a positive win loss ratio. It's utterly disrespectful to even compare them to a team that made a grand final and provided some of the best wins we've had in decades, as well as some brilliant individual performances (e.g. Woe winning a Brownlow, Farmer kicking 76 goals and tearing games apart). That 2000 team was great. Our current team have a ways to go before even being considered anything more than average.

Good to hear Bradshaw performing well. He's a super talent who was restricted a lot last year due to knee injury then concussions. If he gets a good run at it he will definitely help us move up the ladder. He's a natural footballer and is versatile as well. I think he'd give good drive if required to play half back, he's obviously good through the midfield and decent up forward as well. He's one of the most exciting reasons to watch us this year.

It's already been on the website for a few hours. Captains: Jones and Viney Leadership group: Lewis, T McDonald, Gawn and Vince. Don't like them pushing Viney into the role so soon. Seems a bit of a slap in the face to Jones. Would've preferred Jones stay sole captain for another 2 years with Viney as Vice and then taking over. Congrats to Viney anyway, he's a legend.