Dr. Gonzo

That's it in a nutshell.

Adelaide would vomit at that. Francis can't even crack a game at the Bombers and seems to have less value than Watts.

It was Daniel Wells we were talking about

So the pro-Watts posters potting all and sundry at the club know better than Goodwin, McCartney, Mahoney & Jones?

Schwarz was making the point about teammates during his era - it's a team game I was pointing out that the fact that was allowed to go on is part of the reason Schwarz has no premiership medal.

Howe was a lazy sook. And he was moved on by Roos. Glad to see the back of him. What did he do at Collingwood this year? Nothing special. Oh he was runner up for MOTY.

But the opinion of people here clearly echoes the opinions of the FD. Dangerfield doesn't know Watts and he's a potential teammate next year, of course he's going to talk him up. Let's be clear Watts obviously has some positive attributes as a footballer and more generally. If he didn't he'd be delisted and it wouldn't be worth talking to other clubs because noone would entertain a trade. I don't see it as talking down, I see it as being honest. I guess that's where we differ.

You'd take Dangerfield's opinion on Watts over Goodwin, McCartney, Mahoney & Jones? OK then See above - club says nothing and they'll get slammed. Completely ridiculous to believe that would be a better position.

Completely unrealistic. They don't say anything and then emotional supporters will start online petitions about trying to keep Watts and threatening to cancel memberships etc and they'll be bagging the club out demanding answers. It doesn't excite me at all, I'm just trying to set misconceptions of overly emotional supporters straight so they don't start haranguing the club and slagging off the coach.

How many flags did Schwarz, Wells, Jakovich & Sylvia win during their careers?

"Hard workers" is a non-negotiable. Just because someone is "skilled", has "class" or is a "matchwinner" they're allowed to bludge and not work as hard as others? Double standards creates a horrible culture and sets a poor example for the rest of the team.

What, you mean the guy who doesn't know Watts from a bar of soap?

Only one I could think of was Buckley? Maybe Richardson or Leon Cameron?

I thought it was pretty obvious the part I had bolded was subjective. What do you expect the club to say? "We think Jack is a fantastic clubman, a dedicated trainer and footballer and we will be sad to see him go" - questions will obviously then come back as to why we are trading him with 2 years left on his contract. The other clubs aren't dumb, they'll already know the stuff that is now in the public domain - it's their job to know.

Agreed it's a great interview. You touched on some of the other comments he made later in the interview that were not directly about Watts but he did drop Watts' name in there when talking about coaching offense vs defense. Roos is subtle and he's not the type to come out and slam a player but I think you can read in to those comments that there are clearly genuine reasons why the situation had got to this point due to some of Watts' behaviours.

1 - that's a cop out. Each player has different circumstances. If for instance Petracca was seen as underperforming the FD are going to manage that differently to a player of Watts' seniority Of course the rest of the issues are relevant. You may see it as the ranting of supporters but the fact is the FD has put him up for trade. There must be reasons other than just Watts being picked on. It's already been discussed but I fail to see how this could have been kept out of the public considering the media are all over these things and supporters would be demanding answers from the club if they kept silent on the issue while Watts was speaking to other clubs while still having 2 years on his contract. It's fanciful to think it could be kept under wraps in this day and age.

Who are the other under-performing players? Have they had issues with their preparation & application? How do you know they haven't been spoken to about this? How do you know Watts hasn't been spoken to about this on multiple occasions and the coaches/FD are at the end of their tether?

If that ends up being the case I won't have any issue with that at all. I doubt it will and Mahoney probably just trying to ensure we won't be dudded on a Jordan Lewis type deal but there's always a chance.

Fair enough, and thanks for answering. I differ in that I DO expect the players to be 24/7 footballers - ALL of them. They're being paid well enough to act like full time professionals. Yeah in my job I'm not expected to do that but my job is different, I sit behind a desk. Getting my body into peak physical condition isn't a requirement of my role (otherwise I'd be stuffed ). Again I can't stress enough people listen to the Dee Tales podcast with Roos, especially the second half where he talks about this kind of stuff. I want the MFC to be successful and I expect the players to make the appropriate sacrifices. I also expect those who don't to be shown the door if they won't or can't change their habits. https://www.sen.com.au/podcasts/dee-tales/ At the end of the day they are guys in their 20's and I don't expect them to act like they live in a monastery. But they do need to realise they are in a team environment and if they want to take shortcuts or not act like 24/7 professional footballers there will be repercussions by those who crave success. Jones is getting to the end, he may not think he has another couple of years to wait for the penny to drop so he can play in a flag contender (not saying that's just about Watts either but the standards across the club). There's been plenty of discussion about players swearing off the booze during the year or clubs imposing alcohol bans during rehab to understand that it can be an issue. Just because Watts hasn't behind had a leak at a barstool like Moloney or smashed up his car in the wee hours like Sylvia doesn't mean he isn't going out for drinks more frequently than he perhaps should. Not saying that that is necessarily the case but reading into the comments of Goodwin and Jones I can see it as a contributing factor along with some of the other issues you've mentioned.

Subjective

Genuine question; what do you think the coach, list manager and captains mean when they say poor preparation and their comments re: Watts?

No way they get a top 10 pick for Gaff if he leaves as a FA.

Unless they're confident of re-signing him next year they'd be pretty stupid to not even entertain possible trades. Pick 8 from Saints is better than any compo they'd get for him if he left as a FA.

There's not enough talent coming out of SA for two teams. How many were drafted last year from there, 5?

Scully? Double standards.