Dr. Gonzo

Oh I disagree wholeheartedly and obviously so too does the footy department. We can go back and forth on the rest of the post but we both have our positions which obviously aren't going to change and I've said enough on this matter so I'll leave it there.

https://www.sen.com.au/podcasts/dee-tales/ You can stream from there or download from the Dee Tales podcast feed. I recommend everyone give the WHOLE interview a listen

Listen to the whole 1 hour interview, some very interesting comments in the second half.

I understand this angst from people about losing one of our better skilled players but the fact is in modern footy you can't pick and choose and say "Jonesy does the fundamentals, Watts is there to finish off the good work" you need every singke player in the squad contributing to the fundamentals, one weak link will be picked apart by the best teams and the whole team structure will collapse. That is without even considering the main issues raised which seem to be related to his off field preparation and the example he sets for the younger guys as a senior player (whether in the leadership group or not). If he has continued to coast along despite instructions from the coaches and feedback from his peers do you think we should let him get away with it because he plays ok every other game? Colin Sylvia v2 if that's the case.

He had a career year in 2016 (not a "great" year but a good year nonetheless) Signs a 3 year contract Comes back in less than ideal condition after being content with his 2016 performance Makes amends after copping public criticism about his preparedness Has a decent 2017 recapturing his form of 2016 Gets injured A 2 week injury takes 4 weeks to return to senior footy due to his lack of preparation On return from injury he stinks it up against Port dropping chest marks, fumbling easy balls and having 9 disposals (the fewest for the MFC on the day) He has a couple more poor efforts notabky against North in Tas He gets dropped to Casey and returns for the final H&A game against the Pies where he is allegedly one of our better players (I haven't seen most of this game so can't comment) That timeline seems pretty self explanatory and that's only the last 12 months - obviously the coaches/FD thought he'd turned the corner and then cracked it when he returned to preseason training last year. There's plenty of anecdotes about him liking the footy lifestyle, going out for beers 3 or 4 times a week etc. The coaches don't want guys like Petracca, Oliver, Hogan etc falling in to those bad habits, they want them to follow the lead of Viney and Jones who push themselves to the limit to get the best out of themselves. Seriously, do people think Goodwin et al are gonna cut off their nose to spite their face just because of a perceived personality clash? Here's a novel idea maybe Watts actually has had a role to play in this and he's not just the innocent victim of a bastard coach. If Goodwin thought Watts would contribute to our rise up the ladder and our push for a flag don't you think he'd keep him around? Or do you honestly think hes that stupid that he would push him out just because he doesn't like him selling board shorts to hipsters?

It's crazy, you would think the coaches had some kind of vendetta against him the way people are carrying on. How about some accountability on jacks part? How about treating the club and your teammates with respect by doing "whatever it takes" to get the results we crave. Being "nice" doesn't always make up for disrespecting your club through lack of preparation, application etc

"Mentally soft" is more about his mental application to being a full-time professional footballer.

I doubt Richmond would do that but you never know.

A player currently with 2 years to run on his contract is spotted at Adelaide airport and is touring facilities of opposition clubs. The media are aware, all opposition clubs are aware of the circumstances and MFC says nothing and you don't think the supporters would be freaking out and demanding answers? This isn't just a rumour, it's been confirmed by Watts himself.

You never know though, remember Mitch Clark was signed, sealed and delivered to Freo before we snuck in.

Come on sue, look at how some supporters are losing their collective minds about Watts (potentially) leaving. Can you imagine the criticism the club would be copping if the media and Watts were commenting on looking at options elsewhere at the suggestion of the club and the club remained silent?

We know exactly whats happening with him. Why would you think we don't know what's happening with him? All the consternation seems to be coming from supporters, internally the club seems unified on this issue.

That's draft tampering - the only thing he can do is put a price on his head that he'll hope will turn other clubs off but as noted North and Saints have picks before ours and seemingly cap space to burn.

If Adelaide don't deal and won't budge on 2 first round picks, I'd rather take our chances with him going to the draft. In that case, I'd be fine if we missed out on him and used our picks this year and next on some pace rather than cave and give them two first rounders. We already had a pretty much nothing draft last year (Hannan, Dion Johnstone & upgraded Wagner) two years in a row of nothing drafts and 3 years in a row with no 1st round picks is not ideal.

How do they look like gooses (geese?)? Things can get a bit messy at this time of year and usually it's unavoidable considering the time delay between end of season and trade week. It was never gonna be Watts just turns up one day and he's signed with another club and even if it was the supporters would still be lambasting the club, probably even moreso.

Perception vs reality is a funny thing. In what works is Watts A-grade? It takes FAR more than being able to kick a ball to be considered an A-grade PROFESSIONAL footballer.

I doubt you'd want to hear it even if he did.

Name them

Of course they're gonna say that, they need to appease their supporter base

Adelaide List Manager Brett Burton on Trade Radio confirmed Melbourne has been nominated by Lever

If you don't get it by now, playing in an AFL team is not just about how many kicks you get or goals you kick. I guess we just have different definitions of the word "great".

http://www.afc.com.au/news/2017-10-03/statement-jake-lever Jake Lever has informed the Adelaide Football Club that he wishes to join a Victorian football club in 2018.

I disagree, it's nothing to do with individual expectations - it's the expectations of every player in the side. You are the one who said he was great in 2016, not me - if you agree he was not great and his role in the team isn't to be a superstar I don't disagree - but don't then try to argue that he was great in 2016 when he wasn't.

This is the thing, he was good not "great" in 2016 and 2017. It was good that he was able to consistently contribute for the majority of games during this period but that should be the baseline. Saying he was "great" overplays his contribution and also speaks to how low the bar has been set.

https://www.sen.com.au/podcasts/dee-tales/