Dr. Gonzo

There'll be no "he who has the last laugh - and is gifted" speeches?

Assuming this is true, the club would've approved leave and given him a rehab program to complete. If he came back and wasn't rehabbed and/or had lost fitness the club would be rightfully [censored]. Not the clubs fault he didn't comply, not their fault for approving the leave. It's Jack's fault for coming back underdone.

Why would he be making a speech? He's not getting an opportunity to speak, I call BS

At the end of the day players still need to be held accountable to club and team standards though. If a player continuously breaches the clubs/teams confidence how do you expect them to react?

I understand the angst, I think it's misplaced but I understand it. The comparison between Martin & Watts I understand isn't as players but you need to look at the difference in their behaviour too. People assume this is the first time the club has ever admonished Watts for his behaviour. He's had 4 years since Roos and then Goodwin took over and is still making the same errors at 26 years of age. How long do they have to hold his hand for until they realise it's never gonna happen?

Some players or all players? You simply can't compare Martin to Watts, it's fanciful. Martin had a 24/7 minder because otherwise he could have potentially gone down the Ben Cousins path. Jack's problem is he just doesn't get how hard he is expected and required to work. That's it. No minder is gonna fix that. He's got access to some of the best coaches and best facilities in the country. If that's not enough then he doesn't have it within himself to thrive. Scapegoat, please. Another quote from the great Ron that I read today; Can't recommend this book enough, the 40th anniversary issue just come out recently I think, pick it up and do yourself a favour.

Martin and Watts are the same age. One is now a Brownlow & Norm Smith medalist, the other is still being chided over his lack of professionalism. The penny dropped for Martin years ago, how many chances do you think Watts should get before the club has had enough? You "guarantee" many key players are [censored] off - do you "know" this or is this just conjecture?

Comparisons to Martin are laughable. Seriously. How many chances do players get? We've seen it before, most recently with Colin Sylvia. Some on here are acting like this issue with Watts is a new phenomenon and the club are kicking him to the kerb after one strike. Last pre-season and this trade period are when this issue has arisen publicly but behind closed doors these discussions would've been had long before this.

Constructive criticism = criticism I agree with Spiteful, unproductive criticism = criticism I disagree with

He obviously ran with something before confirming with the club and someone from the club has called him back pretty quickly to set the record straight.

AFL website reporting Crows have offered Motlop $600k - and they're cracking the sads because we offered $750k to Lever???

If the only moves we made this season were out Watts in Lever we're already ahead. Lever is a better player and only 21..

Swans and Cats have made their own errors. Even the Hawks signed Vickery. Swans and Cats probably think they have solid cultures in place to turn Watts around and make him see the light. At Melbourne Watts is a senior player and regardless of leadership status should be seen as setting the culture. At Swans and Cats they would be backing their leaders to mould Watts into the player they expect due to their strong cultures. They may succeed, they may fail - but any success on their part to turn Watts around is irrelevant to the decision the club is making because the fact is at Melbourne it won't happen.

I picked up "The Coach" the other day about North's 1977 season. Plenty of great quotes from Barassi and I've only just finished the section on preseason. A lot to do with people getting the best out of themselves and naturally gifted players who coast because they've never had to try to succeed but the ones that push themselves are those who become champions. This quote I've uploaded seemed quite apt. Also notable, Barassi kicked a very popular player in Kekovich out of the club to the Magpies during the 77 season for similar issues, lack of effort, lack of professionalism, thinking he could coast on talent. Obviously North went on to win the flag.

Haha fair enough - I assumed it was Daniel as he's a FA and on the move from the Cattery

He came back from 4 knee recos, would astound me if that didn't show application, desire and attitude.

A season isn't defined by one game.

I guess people are annoyed at the way it has been done and the fact it has seemingly come from left field which I can understand. Also with the comments Watts himself has made publicly can be seen to paint the club in a bad light. I can understand why some people are a bit nervous he has natural skills, something we lack; it seemed he was on the up a after his last two seasons (back half of 2017 notwithstanding); it could set a bad precedent for players in the future if trying to sell loyalty to them; you're potentially getting a player manager offside who manages other players in our team namely Petracca. I hope none of these things come to fruition but I can understand the angst. I'll back the club to make the right call but I have to say they'd want to be bloody sure of it for all the friction it's caused amongst supporters (those on social media anyway)

After the Collingwood game I thought Watts and Tyson were the 2 who had value that we may put out there to see who bites.

Wherever Jack ends up next year no doubt there will be some games where we say "we stuffed up" and some games where we say "that's why we moved him on". It is sad, a player with his natural ability is not easy to give up. It's a shame it got to this point. I don't think Jack is solely to blame, the club definitely stuffed his development, his debut was a joke. It there has to be an element of personal responsibility and responsibility to his teammates, coaches and supporters.

Agreed pick 10 is fair

Not everyone has to or is capable of being a leader, I don't hold that against him.

Wallace was discussing him on Trade Radio the other day, said he has no tank and the Bombers are worried he doesn't have the mindset to ever work hard enough to have one. Was a #6 pick from memory, that pick is cursed. Richmond did well to trade it for Prestia last year.

They're acting like a dumped ex, lashing out because they're so hurt at being rejected by what is obviously a young talent

He's not the only player and were not the only club that happens with. Every club has players/supporters like that, OMac is another who cops it like that. Grundy was like that for the Pies in 2016 their supporters were slagging him off before the game started. Same people who yell "just kick it!.....argh who was that to?" and other classics like "don't go backwards"