Jaded No More

My avatar has just gone from slightly amusing to very very wrong

71,050

I don't think anyone gets it, so here's a bigger version: I'm gonna change it to the Homer one I made before (when I should have been revising for exams ), because that expresses perfectly how I feel about J2!

I'm in the same boat. I got a thesis proposal due Tuesday and exams Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday... But I'm willing to sacrifice sleep to get it all done before Monday.

No doubt you are correct on all points. Making his debut will be a big distraction and no doubt shift his focus considerably. However, it is not our decision to make and I'm sure that if he does play, it is because his parents, teachers and the club all feel that he is capable of coping. Afterall, it is just mid-year exams and he will not have any football distractions come his final exams. (and as I previously said, if his exam is in Psychology, he really doesn't need to bother studying )

That is a completely separate issue, and one that needs to be left up to Jack and his family. On the one hand, if you're going to leave your studying till the last minute, you got little hope of passing as it is. Secondly, regardless of exams I assume he will play this week (does it matter if he plays Saturday or Monday?), and will watch the game on Monday. On the other hand, he might not want to get distracted and may wish to focus on his exams, in which case I have no issue with him not playing. But if he does choose to do that, than he shouldn't be playing at any level and given the weekend off to study.

I for one don't think anyone on our list would have issues with Jack getting a game. For one, he has performed admirably at VFL level, playing out of position and with no pre-season. Racking 20 odd possessions a game (and kicking 3 when played as a forward) is pretty reasonable form for a 196cm kid. Secondly, while there are other players deserving of a game, in particular Cheney, their ability or inability to get a game is not related to Watts whatsoever, as they are not key forwards. Besides, plenty of first year players have been given game time not on their own merits and not due to being in stellar form, but simply because the club wanted to give them a run and a taste of senior footy (think Grimes last year, Jetta and Bennell this year, Spencer, etc etc..). If Watts is physically fit and is able to run out a full match, he should play. As for Newton, he has failed at every opportunity given to him, and if he has an issue with Watts being selected ahead of him, tough luck. He should probably get used to it too.

I actually think it's important that, if Watts plays so does Miller, for a number of reasons. Firstly, because there is no doubt that Collingwood will try to test Jack out physically, and it's important for him to have a strong senior body around to help him out. Secondly, if we're going to run with a Watts-Bate-Miller combination for the next couple of years (at least), we need to start working on getting the chemistry and structure working with these three right away. Also, assuming Watts plays further up the ground, and not out of the goal square, it will enable Miller to play deeper and maybe... heaven forbid... actually kick some goals! So with that in mind: Out- PJ, Whelan (or Junior if he's injured) In- Watts, Cheney I also think that, given Monday is the closest thing to a final our club will experience in at least the next two years, that we should play as many kids as possible. We need to give the young players an opportunity to experience big games, in front of big crowds, that will really test them. It's a great opportunity to see who can lift for big matches and who can't, and the benefit of playing in such a pressure atmosphere will be phenomenal.

Yes, you do not have private ownership of J1 (or J2 for that matter). We've got shared custody! (and I am not implying that J1 and J2 are in anyway similar to two giant bananas who have an affinity for wearing grandpa pajamas)

Team performance should have nothing to do with individual performance, although in this case it obviously does. It is a lot harder to play well in a crap team when you're a kid, than to play well when you're surrounded by a bunch of great players who take a lot of the heat off you (yes, I am talking about Rich/Rioli/etc etc...) Grimes certainly deserves a Rising Star nomination. It's a good thing the entire award is completely stupid and irrelevant, or else I might actually care about how little attention our boy is getting As it stands, the less other clubs notice our kids, the better. Don't need the vultures circling and sniffing for blood at the end of the season.

What part of "restoring it to its former glory" did you fail to understand?

If that minor issue is mid-year exams, I would just like to say that: 1- I will happily tutor and/or sit his exams for him, especially if the exam is in psychology, which is a [censored] easy subject which I myself spent about 2 hours studying for 2- Suck it up Wattsy, we all have exams and you don't see us skipping the match

tsk tsk tsk... I guess being a Melbourne supporter rewards you with a lame sense of humour

Oh god that was so original, I mean I have never heard such witty and amusing snow references Opposition supporters are welcomed at Demonland, so long as they actually contribute to the discussion. Idiotic comments like the one above only makes you look like a fool, and is a sure fire way to get banned. Either post insightful thoughts, or go away. Thank you. Edit: Demonlanders, please don't take the bait!

Well now I think I'm going to die <_< We have such a rich history of duds wearing the number 4, no wonder they finally decided to give it to Jack. He is the best chance we've had in years of restoring that number to its former glory. No pressure Jack, you can add that to your list of things to do alongside completing VCE, winning the Coleman, a Brownlow, 4 B&F's, captaining 3 premierships, helping to save us from financial ruin, stopping the Swine Flu epidemic, solving the water crisis, and bringing peace to the Middle East

This is the one and only game I desperately want to win this year, and one which I would be very disappointed to lose for the following reasons; Firstly because a big crowd and free to air exposure means we need to pull ourselves together and show something decent. Secondly because we need to justify to the AFL that we deserve to keep this fixture going. Getting smashed is not going to help our cause. Thirdly, who doesn't love smashing Collingwood on the big day? And finally, I would really like for Jack and Jack to experience a win (poor Grimesy is yet to play in a win!), and indeed for every young kid in the side to feel what it's like to win on a big occasion in front of a big crowd

You're right, I feel a certain void since Dutchy retired

Do we need to start a "Jack Watts" board for this week, ala the Judd board (only with a better outcome! :angry: )? I hope people are excited for the right reasons, and not because they think Watts will kick 10 on debut and we'll win. I for one fully expect him to do little. Get a nice feel for the game, maybe kick a goal courtesy of the boys giving off a cheap kick/handball to ensure he marks and gets one early. The excitement will come from his physical presence on the field, and the possibility of the greatness he might provide us in years to come. Lets hope nobody comes on here on Monday night and starts a "Jack Watts is a dud, as if he didn't kick 10, delist him now!!!!!11" thread

I was contemplating deleting that link, but it's so funny and appropriate that I attached a warning instead That was pretty much my first reaction, which is actually quite disturbing

Hmmmm.... every single student who has exams starting the following day (like me), have just found yet another reason to justify going to the game over studying. I can feel the board going into meltdown mode regardless of whether this is true or not. Stand by mods :D

So do I, especially because he is a crap coach that was doing his absolute best to ensure Richmond steal pick 2 off us. Bastard! :angry: I tell you what I dislike even more though, is being genuinely poor for two years but missing out on picks 1 and TWO because some team that has been supposedly rebuilding for 15 years can't get it together. No way!

In: Cheney, Robbo/Newton (please be Robbo. Don't think I can handle Newton again) Out: PJ, Whelan I will probably get crucified for suggesting we drop Wheels, but to be honest he is just not accountable enough these days and I think Cheney desperately deserves a game. Miller could be under the pump as well, but in reality if you take him out we have nobody to replace him in that CHF position... unless we choose to play an undersized Sylvia. Jamar to be given the chance to ruck the entire game, with Martin helping out in the forwardline. If we could manage with PJ as lone ruckman, we can manage with Jamar too.

Why would you say that?! I hope Richmond win, it would hurt them a lot more if they win, than if they lose (and would benefit us greatly!). Lets hope that the caretaker coach wants to impress and can manufacture some wins for them as well (ala Riley :angry: :angry: ).

I agree that he should play soon, because a taste of AFL will do him a world of good. Here is what I think the issue is. If Watts was to play up forward, he will get little supply and essentially get wasted when he could have got a full running match under his belt with Casey. If you play him on the wing, he will probably tire out very quickly, which I assume is why they are playing him on the wing at Casey, they want to fast track his fitness. He probably needs a couple more weeks of hard midfield type running with Casey, and then he'll be ready to run out a full AFL game. Whether or not he is ready to dominate doesn't bother me, because I know he won't. What we need to be absolutely sure of is that he is right to play out an entire game on the wing/forward flank. We need to remember that he does not do full training during the week, and has only done 10 weeks of pre-season type program. Compare that to the countless hours our senior players spent on the track since Christmas, and you realise just how far behind he is in fitness. It's important that we don't overexert him physically and cause unnecessary injury, but it's equally as important that we reward him with game time for all the hard work he has put in. The other issue of course is that in Round 13 we play Brisbane at the Gabba, and I doubt they'll debut him interstate (or even take him on interstate trips, given he has school commitments). So assuming he doesn't play this Monday, his next opportunity is Round 12 against Essendon at Etihad, or Round 14 against West Coast at the G, which is my bet.