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Showing results for tags 'Not for the optomists'.
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He was lamentable yesterday. No intensity whatsoever. I read in the "optomists" thread that he's one of the positives to have come out of the year. I couldn't disagree more. We're desperate for a quality key forward, which is why Jesse Hogan is a must, and we have a former no. 1 draft pick who's 196 cm's and about to end his 4th year. Watts trained all preseason as a forward, but after a poor start ended up at Casey on a wing. Finally the club decided to send him back to play a sweeper, or intercept role. He spends his time guarding smalls. It's actually pretty embarrassing. He's a tall Bryce Gibbs. To be a quality key forward you need to have courage in the air and intensity. Watts has neither. Jeremy Howe has courage in the air. Mitch Clark has courage in the air. Watts doesn't. I don't expect Watts to split packs, as it's clear he's not that type of player, but I do expect intensity, courage in the air and a player that embraces physical contact. Watts hates physical contact. Watts will probably play 200 games and many of them will be "nice", but he's a disastrous pick one. Did I want him at pick one ? Absolutely. I was wrong. I know they'll be the cries, "but he's only 21" and "talls take time", which is all very true, but I've seen more than enough of how he plays to know that he doesn't have the competitive streak required to succeed as a key forward. I watched him play for Casey Seconds years ago and the alarm bells started ringing. Even then he would pick and choose which contests he was prepared to enter. He plays the game on his own terms and won't remove himself from a very defined comfort zone. If those in charge at Melbourne don't trade for Jesse Hogan in this year's mini draft they're nutjobs. He's 17, 193/4 cm's, and already 91 kilos. He'll be 19 for the 2014 season and will impact straight away. He has explosive pace off the mark, he splits packs, he loves physical contact, he has courage in the air, he's aggressive, he's a great mark, and his playing style is similar to Jonathan Brown. Put simply, he's everything Watts isn't. Hogan at CHF and Clark at FF will dominate backlines for years. You only had to see Walker and Tippett to see the value of two big key forwards.