Past Matthew Watson

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10. Matthew Watson

watson_matthew_o.png


DOB: 16/7/1992

Height: 195cm

Weight: 100kg

Draft History: Pick 18 (Carlton), 2010 National Draft

Recruited From: Pascoe Vale/Calder U18

Debut: Round 2, 2011 vs Gold Coast

Career Highlights: Video to be provided

2013 Forecast:

2013 Statistics

Round 1 vs Werribee Tigers (VFL)
Kicks - 11 (9 effective, 2 ineffective)
Handballs - 2 (1 effective, 1 ineffective)
Disposals - 13 (10 effective, 3 ineffective)
Handball Receives - 4
Marks - 3 (0 contested, 3 uncontested)
Tackles - 0
Goals - 1
Behinds - 0
Best - N/A

Round 2 vs Bendigo Gold (VFL)
Kicks - 13 (11 effective, 2 ineffective)
Handballs - 5 (5 effective, 0 ineffective)
Disposals - 18 (16 effective, 2 ineffective)
Handball Receives - 5
Marks - 5 (0 contested, 5 uncontested)
Tackles - 1
Goals - 0
Behinds - 0
Best - N/A

Round 3 vs Coburg Tigers (VFL)
Kicks - 6 (5 effective, 1 ineffective)
Handballs - 2 (2 effective, 0 ineffective)
Disposals - 8 (7 effective, 1 ineffective)
Handball Receives - 4
Marks - 2 (0 contested, 2 uncontested)
Tackles - 0
Goals - 0
Behinds - 0
Best - N/A

Round 4 vs Port Melbourne (VFL)
Kicks - 9 (5 effective, 4 ineffective)
Handballs - 2 (2 effective, 0 ineffective)
Disposals - 11 (7 effective, 4 ineffective)
Handball Receives - 5
Marks - 2 (0 contested, 2 uncontested)
Tackles - 0
Goals - 0
Behinds - 0
Best - N/A
 

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Re: Matthew Watson

Snoop Dog said:
Selection # 18 (CARLTON)
Matthew Watson – Calder / 193cm / 91kg

Profile : Terrific player who isn’t dissimilar to Hurley but probably doesn’t have the pace and acceleration Hurley does. Plays as a KPB and reads the game really well. Has a weapon in that left boot and setting play up from the back half. Was waiting to see his results because I thought he might slide as his pace and closing speed sometimes don’t look great but his results were better than expected.
Why Carlton: These blokes definitely need a key back and the beauty of Watson is that he can potentially go in sooner than later. Real skill is reading the play and setting the counter attack up. Hawks will be hoping he falls I suspect!
Similar to: Taller Shane Morwood for those that remember him.....bit of class, effortless and nice kick but just not quick.
Draft Range: 15 - 40
Roughie: Wonder if they would take Darling if still here if he was available.
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beowulf said:
Pick 18: Carlton
Matthew Watson Calder Cannons
Height: 194cm, Weight: 99kg, DOB: 16/07/1992

Now this data is fairly old. At the Draft Camp he was measured at 195 cm and his weight has fluctuated over a few kg, but...
This was a straight forward pick, which suggests that WH won't go near it when it is time for the real ND. WH ALWAYS goes with the best available with his first pick and usually goes with an interstater. However, as Carlton need Gorilla Killer Defender and have for some time, and that Watson is probably the best available in this draft, I can pick him with the knowledge that the Carlton boards won't crucify me for 'ignoring the obvious'.
Watson has some real strengths:
[1] his body is quite mature and most of it is real muscle, not puppy fat.
[2] he judges the ball extremely well and takes a nice pack mark. He even gets off the ground to take it (although the guys underneath him are certain to know who is on top).
[3] He has a kick like an ICBM. he favours his left foot, but he can get decent distance on his right as well.
[4] He can play forward as well as back and is dangerous a long way from goal. He kicked a couple of bags late in the season and was actually named at FF for the Cannons' Premiership team.
[5] he appears to have a fair bit of confidence in himself for a young lad. That sort of self belief and commitment could be a real strength down the line.

He also has some weaknesses:
[1] For a guy his size he isn't really that much of a body player. For example, Darling managed to outbody him a few times in the game against WA earlier this year.
[2] he isn't hugely quick and probably isn't going to be.
Of the two, the body issue worries me less. Not many players are body on body guys at U18 level. It takes training for most and most get it done well enough. I expect Watson to manage that, although I also expect him to use his judgement as his primary tool.
His pace would be an issue against a quick, leading forward. However, Carlton have Jamo to go after leading forwards. Jamo is not suited to big body players, but manages against leading types about as well as anyone going around.

Stylistically, Watson plays a bit like Brian Lake. As such he should be a pretty good pickup.

He certainly isn't the only guy available.
One guy I considered very carefully was Sebastian Tape of Glenelg. I really like the way he plays, even though he was seriously friendless in the firist Bigfooty Draft a few weeks ago. Tape, at 191 cm, is probably not QUITE tall enough for the job on the monster forwards, but he has grown at least 2 cm in the last year and could manage a little more. If he makes it to 193 cm, then he starts to get into the range where taming gorillas is a reasonable possibility.
His other advantage is his pace; he has great closing speed and manages to get his hand in well.
At this point he isn't a huge body player either, but, as I mentioned earlier, few are.

Lucas Cook is the other one that I stewed over. He can play just about any tall role available. At 194 cm he is a nice size and he does have a little more pace than Watson. He is also proudest of his tackling and chasing. I certainly saw him manage that a bit when North Ballarat pounded the Pioneers at QEO. He took some nice marks and really put on a lot of defensive pressure that day.

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Quigley said:
Pick 13 Gold Coast

This pick might surprise some with me having taken McCarthy earlier. The thing is though that this is Gold Coast’s big chance to set themselves up for the future and they need to build structurally and not just take the best available player. They have Bock who will command a KPD spot for a few years and Coad who may or may not work out at AFL level but apart from that they don’t have much by way of KPD. They therefore need to address that in this draft and with two clear cut top defenders I would have no hesitation to snap them both up. This is especially the case with Watson who I rate as the best long kick in the draft. With he and Toy down back for the GC they will be hard to contain in the press zones because both can simply kick over the zones with great accuracy. Watson is a weapon going forward and coaches will be salivating about how they could use him.

Matthew Watson
DOB 16/7/92 Ht 195 Wt 102

For fans of Roy and HG meet the Brick with Eyes mark II. He is a big solid boy who already moves like a rugby league front rower. Unlike most U18 prospects when they go into the AFL he is someone who is going to have to try and keep weight off rather than bulk up. I can see a lot of diets, pilates and core strength work in his future. That is not to say he is fat its just that he is built like a block of flats. Despite his build though he does not play a physically domineering game but rather relies on superior ability to read the play and the ball in flight. He judges the situation very well and usually positions himself well with the ball coming in.

What sets Watson apart from all other talls in this draft and 95% of the smalls is his kicking. In my opinion he is the best kick in this draft. He has a weapon of a left foot that coaches will be drooling over. He has superb penetration, excellent accuracy and fantastic weight on his kicks. He is a zone buster and that gives him a lot of value given the current game style. His kicking makes him a difference maker at the back and someone other teams have to shut down. When you are playing FB that makes an interesting problem for opposition coaches as FFs traditionally are not the most keen shut down defenders. If an opposition does not go to him he will pick them apart. When the ball is with his teammates he gets to space well and is a good decision maker with the ball in hand. Admittedly he does need to work on his handballing but mostly you want him to be kicking the ball like you do with Drummond or Hurn two guys with similar kicks.

He sees himself as a CHB but realistically at AFL level he is a fullback and the team that gets him will try and mould him into a Brian Lake clone. He is not as good yet as Lake in the air but he there is plenty there to work on and like Lake he likes to back himself to mark the ball coming in. He is probably going to need to spoil more in the AFL but with his judgment he is going to mark plenty. Defensively he uses his body well in the contest and protects the drop zone well. At under 18 level if he sets up position his opposition is not going to move him. At the next level he will get into more wrestling matches against guys as strong as he is and it might take some adjustment. On the lead he has pretty good straight line speed (he went under 3 sec in the 20m at Combine) but I think some of the more clever FFs could give him trouble. Changing direction quickly is always going to be his problem I think with his bulk.

His endurance is another area which will definitely need to improve at the next level and an area which he really performed poorly at the Combine. At the moment he is getting by but wide ranging players or guys who put in a lot of repeat efforts can find him out. At present he uses his superior game reading play to cheat on the angles. With better kicks and smarter forwards he might have some issues in the future. With that said his technique very much suits a tough zone style defense. He fancies himself as a line breaker but I am not seeing that much myself. He may get up and gallop a little but mostly he just runs to the lines and kicks over the defense. I have absolutely no problem with that when you kick like him.

Overall Watson is a great kick but he is also more than that. He is a very nice defensive player who needs to work on a few things but he could be a great player for whoever picks him up.
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Knightmare said:
#18 (Carlton) – Matt Watson (VIC)[/B]
Height: 195cm, Weight: 101kg, DOB: 16/07/1992
Recruited from: Calder Cannons
Style: Michael Hurley/ Brian Lake
Likely destinations: 18-31
Why: Reads the play well. Strong mark overhead, has a thumping left foot and is a big readymade key position defender who can also play forward. Good enough to contribute from season one. Might get a little exposed on the lead with his slight lack of leg speed but otherwise I like Watson allot. In style really reminds me of Brian Lake with the way he provides good rebound from defence though that is a very generous comparison and it will be allot harder to dominate players physically as he did at U18 level. He will get every opportunity to have the near immediate impact that Michael Hurley did for Essendon a couple of years ago. Might play a couple of games in season one but expect from probably season two for Watson to really push for a position in this side.
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foj1 said:
Pick 18 Carlton Matthew Watson Vic Metro
Strong developed key position defender who has a devastating left foot. Watson had an outstanding National Championships where he gained All Australian honours and he followed that up with a superb TAC finals series. Watson is the nephew of Steve and Anthony Alessio and has good football genes. My one query with Watson is his agility to go with slick AFL forwards and his dangerous tendency to play a little loose as a defender and play off his opponent. However a strong long kicking defender is exactly what the blues need.
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......

Draft watch thread
 
Matthew Watson

Picks of the draft: Matthew Watson
His running right foot jump (73cm) was better than his left (57cm) and his 2.98 second sprint time suggested he's not as sluggish as some have thought. Watson did a level 12.11 beep test, 11.14 minutes for the three-kilometre time trial and his repeat sprint time of 24.78 seconds (for six 30-metre sprints) put him inside the top 40 players tested. He had the third biggest handspan at the combine (25.2cm).
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Picks of the draft: Matthew Watson

The golden boys
Big, bulky backman who is the most powerful defender in the pool and the one most likely to play genuinely at centre half-back. His key feature, though, is his kicking — he picks where the ball's going, spoils, gets it back and thumps it to centre half-forward. There's no need for a midfield when he's at his best.
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The golden boys
 
Matthew Watson

Offsider said:
Here is the write up for Matthew Watson

Pick 13: Matthew Watson
DOB: 16/07/1992, Height: 194cm, Weight: 99kg
Club: Calder Cannons

GC need another tall defensive option IMO and I decided that I would pick up a more bigger bodied defender who can play on the gorrilla forwards, and Matthew Watson is that type of player. He is one of the best KPD's in the draft IMO and provides good drive coming out of defence through that wonderful left foot of his. I can see him being a ready made player and I think he will have an impact next year, I see him as a similar type of player to Michael Hurley from the Bombers in that ready made KP prospect, although Watson is probably only going to be a defender at this stage. He reads the play well and is very strong in the contest and good at getting in a fist, he is also quite good defensively on the lead but may struggle against the atheltic players with pace off the mark. Another issue IMO is how ready made he is, very similar to Darling and whether he has been dominating due to his size, and whether this will translate to AFL, but IMO I think there is enough ability there to make sure it does.

Skills wise Watson is very good, he has a lovely long left foot, that is powerful accurate and will hit most targets, he will provide a lot of drive from defence and zones will be easier to pick out. He also is very strong in the contests and rarely gets pushed off the ball, and he reads the play very well. He is also quite clean below his knees and is able to compete well when the ball is on the ground and is very competitive and tackles strongly. Athletically I have a few question marks on Watson, Draft Camp will be important. He appears to have reasonable pace, but may struggle with fast lead up players, and he has also got above average agility and a solid vertical leap. He is not got standout qualities like Patrick McCarthy but he does have a good slid base and no real weakness, I would like to see him improve his endurance. All in all he is very good prospect who is good defensively and also provides great rebound, there were a couple of others considered here but none had the all round package of Watson and he compliments McCarthy nicely.
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Great call...
 
Re: Matthew Watson

Very happy with getting Watson at pick 18, I expect him to play the first 10 games in the Ants, and then begin to push for a spot later on in the season. It'll be interesting to see whether or not he will kick out if he gets a game this year. I expect nothing from him this year, however, i would love to see him be the guy to mind the monster forwards in a few years time, which will free up Jamo and Bower more.
 
Matthew Watson

AFL Draft Info Profile
Selling points are his reading of the play and ball flight, left foot kicking depth, accuracy and reliability, vision/decision making with the ball, bodywork and strength, overhead and pack marking ability

Clean hands at ground level, very handy makeshift ruckman in defensive 50, spoiling technique is sound. I envisage him becoming at least a good key defender and quite possibly one of the competitions leading tall defenders that will require his opponent to be more defensively conscious, however he will need to improve his defensive game if he is to reach that sort of level.
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AFL Draft Info Profile
 
Re: Matthew Watson

Number 10 - Matthew Watson
Premierships: 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972

Premiership Players: Paddy O'Brien, Jim Francis, Clinton Wines, Fred Stafford, Adrian Gallagher

Best and Fairests: Jim Francis - 1935, 1940, John James - 1955, 1960, 1961, Adrian Gallagher - 1970

100-Game Players: Paddy O'Brien, Jim Francis, Fred Stafford, John James, Adrian Gallagher
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Well done! :thumbsu:
 
Kreuzer on track
The draftees, including first-round pick Matthew Watson and second-rounder Patrick McCarthy, were excused from the bike ride, but Jamison has been impressed with what he's seen from his new backline teammates.

"Hopefully they can give us a hand down back. They are big boys. I think they breed them bigger every year," he said.

"Big Matty and Patrick are both out training with us already and looking pretty good. Once they learn the ropes around the club I'm sure they'll go well.

"It's only early obviously, they've only come in this week and are pretty modified so far, but Matty doesn't look out of place. He's kicking the ball pretty well and making good decisions, which is what you look for in a new kid.

"He's obviously got the size, so once he gets his fitness up a little bit, he's a good chance [to play early]."
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Kreuzer on track
 

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From Talking Carlton

bondiblue said:
He looked good at training on the 6th of Jan.
he seemed to be working on his right foot kicking which looked awkward but nevertheless, accurate.
He didn't look out of place, and looks to have fitted in nicley.

I couldn't help notice the size of his head...and it's not the bowl haircut that makes it look big; it is big.

I can't wait to see what he'll look like and be like when the rest of his body is in proportion with the head.
You know, like a puppy's foot size being an indicator of the potential size of the dog when it matures.
He'll be huge...I mean really huge.

I didn't see anything to suggest he is ahead of Austin or even ready to take on a role in the first 22, just that he's big enough for a KP role.
Lets not forget he's only 19yo, and with that in mind, we have a beauty for the future.
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C4[2]Yo`DooR said:
I seriously can't get over the fact that he isn't a Yugoslav.

I'm going to add him to the Yugoslav looking (yet non-Yugo) players list:

1. Daniel Bradshaw
2. Matthew Watson.
3. Jeff Garlett
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Pretty sure.
 
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