Senior 4. Jack Watts

Remove this Banner Ad

Re: Watts Jack Worth?

Either way he's playing next week against the cheats and that's all that matters really.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Re: Watts Jack Worth?

Wonaeamirri33 said:
Mate, he also had 12 contested possessions, as I said before - I figure that's more significant.
Click to expand...

Not saying he didn't play well but we will see if he can back it up next week against the Visy Blues.
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

The fact he had so many contested possessions playing down back makes up for the lack of tackles by far.

Earned his spot easily. Can't say that about many of the players from tonights performance. Looks like Casey is going to have a nice selection for next week.
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

Great, possessions galore - but if you can't hit a player on the chest when kicking out of the backline, i've got to say we got Joel Bowden for 1st pick.

God dammit!!
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

He hit a s**t load of them.

He missed 2.

Wtf is up with everyone and Jack Watts?? He is, by an absolute mile, the LEAST of our worries. The pathetic front running one way pea hearts Sylvia and Moloney are far more of a concern.
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

stretcharmstrong said:
He hit a s**t load of them.

He missed 2.

Wtf is up with everyone and Jack Watts?? He is, by an absolute mile, the LEAST of our worries. The pathetic front running one way pea hearts Sylvia and Moloney are far more of a concern.
Click to expand...

Well i'm glad you're glad.

Thanks for the nice words.
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

ExTasDeeMan said:
Well i'm glad you're glad.

Thanks for the nice words.
Click to expand...

Haha, I'm sorry for the personal insult.

But seriously, he's by far our best player today. Can't we just take one night off from bashing him?
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

stretcharmstrong said:
He hit a s**t load of them w***er.

He missed 2.

Wtf is up with everyone and Jack Watts?? He is, by an absolute mile, the LEAST of our worries. The pathetic front running one way pea hearts Sylvia and Moloney are far more of a concern.
Click to expand...

76% disposal efficiency says he hit 3 out of 4 and going by his 34 disposals it means he missed around 8 of them.

But let's not get tied up in the small things...

Jack Watts. :thumbsu:
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

stretcharmstrong said:
Haha, I'm sorry for the personal insult.

But seriously, he's by far our best player today. Can't we just take one night off from bashing him?
Click to expand...

No worries mate - there's nere a melbourne footballer whose safe from my wrath. I'm gutted to the point of watching Fashion Police so i don't have to think about football.
 
Re: Watts Jack Worth?

Who gives a **** how many he missed.

He was one of a very few that went out with endeavor and did what his coach asked him to do, which is more than you can say about most of the playing group.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Re: Watts Jack Worth?

ExTasDeeMan said:
No worries mate - there's nere a melbourne footballer whose safe from my wrath. I'm gutted to the point of watching Fashion Police so i don't have to think about football.
Click to expand...

I stopped watching today and instead CHOSE to write student reports. That's when I know we're awful.
 
Round 8 vs Swans.

Disposals: 34 (12/21 contested)
Marks: 11 (2 contested)
Tackles: 1
DE: 76%
DT/SC: 120/150

Rating: 8.5/10

Well, at least this is one thing we don't have to worry about... Watts bashing for one week.

Although I think the media should be just as quick to give him some credit as they are to can him.

Anyway, to the game!!!

7.jpg


Jack performed quite admirably, and despite all the media experts claiming he 'didn't have an opponent'... he did for most of the night; Walsh and Bolton were two.

It was also refreshing to have a quality distributor and decision maker handling the kick outs for a change, note that Jack didn't play on once from a kick out (IIRC).

He had an almost record 14 intercept possessions, was creative out of defense and won a fair share of his ball in a contest.

Hopefully in games we are more competitive in we can see him showcase some of his attacking flair more often.

It was without doubt a step in the right direction for Jack, we know he can play... and to be honest that kind of performance in a close loss or win would be worthy of a Brownlow vote or two.
 
Round 9 vs Blues.

Disposals: 23 (5/17 contested)
Marks: 5 (0 contested)
Tackles: 2
DE: 87%
DT/SC: 79/82

Rating: 6.5/10

This would have been another promising game if it weren't for two or three lapses in Watts' concentration and intensity; he used the ball well and in general competed well around the stoppages.

Another query I have on his game at the moment is his positioning and approach for the contest on occasion, often he's approaching a contest from an angle where he's partially blocked and often he's also going into a contest with his weight on his heels.

You need momentum going into a contest, which Jack doesn't seem to have at the moment.

Obviously he holds his spot, but he needs to be reminded that near enough isn't good enough.
 
Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

This has been on my mind for quite some time, even prior to Jack Watts being taken at #1.

I think the environment a player is coming from needs to be taken into consideration when he is drafted, not only in terms of his actual ability but also the "type" of footballer he could become.

Some may take this as a gross generalisation, and that may be the case, but there can be a downside to a kid being an absolute gun at junior level, particularly in the Private School system. A player like Watts, who was able to achieve so much "easily" as a junior may not have the desire/ability to develop the hard edge required to match it at the top level.

I don't question that there are good footballers in the Private School system who do have these traits (e.g. Chris Judd) but the standard & style of football that these competitions provides for elite players doesn't always challenge them to better themselves.

By not coming through the TAC system or SANFL/WAFL/VFL where the competition is at it's strongest a player like Watts isn't tested at the elite level on a regular basis (Teal Cup - Or whatever it's called now - excluded). This may detrimentally affect their development as a footballer. We will never know for certain whether a different developmental path may have changed some of the deficiencies in JW's game (laconic/lazy attitude, questionable attack on the football, "hardness") but the Private School football environment may have had some bearing on it.

As the title states, this is merely an opinion & I welcome others' thoughts, nor is it specifically a Jack Watts sympathy/defence/excuse thread, though he is a player that I think firmly fits into this category.

FWIW I can see JW being a pivotal player in our side, he has a great feel for the game & his decision making/skills when he does have the ball is first class. Neeld does need to settle on a position for him & play him there for the rest of the season, let him get into the grove somewhere & show the ability that he unquestionably posses.

Need to take a breath after all of that - Over to you guys :)
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

Yeah, I think it's a pretty interesting concept.

The thing is Bailey and Prendergast saw that as a reason as to why he could become even better than other player, or why he had so much 'upside'.

Bailey was all about potential.

He certainly is improving those areas he lacks in, so I think there's a lot of hope for him yet.

He played no worse a game then Gibbs on the weekend IMO.
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

I think he's our best ball-user right now.

And yeah, he's stepped up his game in contested ball and contested marks this season, to add to his work last season, which was also a substantial improvement on the previous year...
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

There's been a stack of great footballers to come out of the APS system

I think the football community are all over slagging Watts' no matter what he does

I've seen Watts' game against Sydney described as "...the worst 34 possession game ever" etc.

I've seen him kick 3 goals and people say he should've had 4 or 5

I don't think I've seen him play a game where everyone has just said "s**t Watts' had a good game"

It doesn't matter what he does, how he plays, where he plays, who he plays on etc, he will always be bagged

The kid needs bulk, size and confidence

He's ultra skilled, he reads the play will, his desire for the contest will come in time

I've said it a million times, look at Goddard. Universally bagged for being soft and a pea heart for the first 5 seasons he played, now he hits contests as hard as anyone and everyone seems to have forgotten his early softness
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

Viney said:
There's been a stack of great footballers to come out of the APS system

I think the football community are all over slagging Watts' no matter what he does

I've seen Watts' game against Sydney described as "...the worst 34 possession game ever" etc.

I've seen him kick 3 goals and people say he should've had 4 or 5

I don't think I've seen him play a game where everyone has just said "s**t Watts' had a good game"

It doesn't matter what he does, how he plays, where he plays, who he plays on etc, he will always be bagged

The kid needs bulk, size and confidence

He's ultra skilled, he reads the play will, his desire for the contest will come in time

I've said it a million times, look at Goddard. Universally bagged for being soft and a pea heart for the first 5 seasons he played, now he hits contests as hard as anyone and everyone seems to have forgotten his early softness
Click to expand...

Very well said, his reputation is largely unrelated to his actual performance imo. People have made up their mind anyways.
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

He's playing like a basketballer playing football at the moment. Looks like he tries to avoid contact instead of initiating it.

I think that could be coached out of him given time.

I don't think the private school system hurt his development because he'd be getting better coaching and development (you'd hope) at AFL level anyway.
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

Dazb86 said:
He's playing like a basketballer playing football at the moment.
Click to expand...

4th-best contested mark in our team so far this season, behind Howe, Clark, and Rivers. 6th-best in contested ball - level with Mitch.

So no.
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

Being brought up through the private school system shouldn't be in any way detrimental to a player's development. As a poster mentioned before, they have been many players brought up through APS football that have become successful AFL players. Both Wallis and Liberatore played school footy two years ago and look how they ended up.
 
Re: Jack Watts - The Schoolboy Effect??

matty lloyd the champ said:
Being brought up through the private school system shouldn't be in any way detrimental to a player's development. As a poster mentioned before, they have been many players brought up through APS football that have become successful AFL players. Both Wallis and Liberatore played school footy two years ago and look how they ended up.
Click to expand...

Not saying that there aren't players who don't fit this mould, more a general observation. Is it in a player's best interest to play school footy vs. TAC? My personal view is that kids should be given the opportunity to compete against the best in their age group. Perhaps it's just my disdain for compulsory Saturday school sport coming through but the way I see things it serves the school's purposes more than the student... I know the school programs are properly run/coached/administered but is it in the best interest of the student's football development???

This may have had no bearing whatsoever on JW (or anyone else's) footy "DNA", but I don't think the notion that it could have can be completely dismissed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top