Past #36: Shannon Watt - drafted at #14 in '97 ND - 155 games - 0 Brownlow votes - original whipping boy

[hurricane]

I think he is a natural forward, but very few agree.
As a lead-up type forward across hf, no backman would keep up with him over 40m.

I think he has a pretty good kicking style as well... think he would be a pretty good set shot.

 

[Z_K]

Have to work with his strengths. Quick in a straight line, improved his spoiling technique, half damaging with the ball with space in front of him to move into.

Forward have to be smart. Absolute must. They have to read the footy, time leads, understand teamates and be quick from hand to foot. Not a forward. Not a wingman either. And we know he isn't a FB.

I think he will be used on genuinely athletic HF types. But to be honest, if there is not a match up that suits him and the back half continues it's form (Pratt on the small, Spud on whoever, Petrie on the tall etc etc), there shouldn't be a spot. Because like speedy, I don't like him on the wing. Having him dragged there means we are wasting a purely attacking posiition IMO, and we will have options who are far more suited.

I think we all like the idea of a wingman who stands 6'4, 100kg's and who runs like he does, but if he doesn't get it enough and wastes it when he does, we are losing out.

 

[B-Rock]

He was drafted as a full forward.

 

[Whippet1]

He was poor on Sunday I thought. Decision making lets him down time and time again. I thought he was a logical matchup on Pavlich but Laidley went with Firrito and to his credit did a fantastic job. Watt needs the right matchup but the opposition will exploit him if they can and if that means him ending up our loose player in defence then that's a win for the opposition. The boy can run like a gazelle and is as brave as they come but lacks polish. Although he's tall I reckon he could be a run with type player if his engine is big enough.

 

[Event Horizon]

I agree that it's becoming harder to find a position for Watt. He is a third tall IMO. But the role Gibson is playing at the moment seems to be exactly that.

Watt is faster, but lacks the defensive urgerncy that Gibson has.

This will be a critical year for Shannon, but in saying that, I doubt that we can afford to drop him with our undersized backline.

 

[mark73]

He was poor on Sunday I thought.

I didn't. Played on Ryan Murphy who caused us all sorts at Subiaco last year and held him to 6 possessions and 2 goals, one of which was just a junk time goal. Was never going to influence the result. Watt is never going to be a world beater. But he's 6'4", fast, has a good kick on him and runs in straight lines. He won't be going out of the side.

 

[Zondor]

Well he should be playing for North Ballarat.

 

[Shinboners]

I think we all like the idea of a wingman who stands 6'4, 100kg's and who runs like he does, but if he doesn't get it enough and wastes it when he does, we are losing out.

Watt on one wing and Moran on the other would cause a few headaches for the opposition. The only problem is that it'd probably cause just as many headaches for us.

Still, on the issue of wasting the ball, it might be less of an issue now that we seem to have unearthed a few crumbers. In recent years, if our tall forwards didn't mark the ball, the opposition would walk out of the backline with it. But if one of the crumbers steps up, and if he has a good defensive side to his game, then Watt on the wing might not be such a unrealistic idea.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Watts' on second.
Who's on first?

 

[mark73]

Watts' on second.
Who's on first?

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

 

[Pykie]

he's keeping JWS position warm for him, JWS would suit the role Dean has for Watt perfectly.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

I dunno.
Third base!!

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

I think he is a natural forward, but very few agree.

Well, he sure isn't a defender.

 

[Devil Fish]

Maybe he might get a gig up forward. I would like to see that.

I'm tipping your favourite movie was Shocking Asia.

 

[Devil Fish]

I agree that it's becoming harder to find a position for Watt.

Yep, it's becoming almost impossible to hide him at the moment. Watt has several deficiencies which have hindered his career & to his credit, to play 100+ games with these deficiencies has been a great effort.
1. Absence of evasive skills.
2. Inability to read the play.
3. Poor in marking contests.
4. Panics under pressure/Lacks presence of mind.

 

[Devil Fish]

The bottom line is, Watt has played 100+ games over nearly 10 years & I would say 10 of those games have been good, 20 have been just OK & the other 70-odd have been flat-out poor. Does this justify the patience shown by NMFC with this clown? Should've cut our losses 3-4 years ago & traded him.

 

[Moti]

Watt has been our best KP defender over the past 3 years so he has actually got form behind him.

Last year he beat the likes of Johnson and Pavlich and was rarely beaten if at all. He does make a few mistakes here and there but if you get rid of him, the Captain goes also because they have about the same effect on a game.

Watt was drafted as a CHF and should be tried there if the Hale / Brown experiment doesn't work. His body work has improved each year and he was able to take good contested marks last year against good opponents.

We have 1 genuine KP defender at the moment in Petrie, but I am not banking on him yet because he played half a year in 03 at CHF and look where that got him. He sure looks better suited in the back line but until we get into the season and see him properly, I am not going to be convinced.

Gibson looks better this year but I would take a guy with 5 years senior experience over an undersized handful gamer any day who has looked out of place during the real stuff against the better forwards.

He is a good footballer, he has size, pace and he has shown himself to be good defender. Look what happened when we played Gibson on Kingsley. We were begging for Watt that day.

He has played the KP defender's role in what is close to the worst defensive minded side for quite a while and has come up trumps more than not.

 

[Moti]

The bottom line is, Watt has played 100+ games over nearly 10 years & I would say 10 of those games have been good, 20 have been just OK & the other 70-odd have been flat-out poor. Does this justify the patience shown by NMFC with this clown? Should've cut our losses 3-4 years ago & traded him.

Absolute crap.

 

[Zondor]

Absolute crap.

Now that comment is absolute crap.

 

[Zondor]

Watt has been our best KP defender over the past 3 years so he has actually got form behind him.

Is that because Colbert retired, Arch plays more up the ground and Petrie has only played half a season at CHB.

Last year he beat the likes of Johnson and Pavlich and was rarely beaten if at all.

He beat Johnson last year but beat Pavlich the year before. That's great. 2 outstanding efforts in 2 years. Keep up the good work Shannon. I'll admit that Watt has improved over the journey but why has the club found the need to swing the likes of Brown to full back first, recruit Hay, swing Petrie to CHB, play Gibson, have Watt dropped in the first part of last year when he was rarely getting beaten?

Watt was drafted as a CHF and should be tried there if the Hale / Brown experiment doesn't work. His body work has improved each year and he was able to take good contested marks last year against good opponents.

Well he actually took a good contested mark. Yep only had one of those last year.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

The bottom line is, Watt has played 100+ games over nearly 10 years & I would say 10 of those games have been good, 20 have been just OK & the other 70-odd have been flat-out poor. Does this justify the patience shown by NMFC with this clown? Should've cut our losses 3-4 years ago & traded him.

Total agreement here. I'm not sure about there being 10 good games, but maybe.

 

[Moti]

Is that because Colbert retired, Arch plays more up the ground and Petrie has only played half a season at CHB.

No, was more effective than either of them, Arch excluded as he isn't KP.

He beat Johnson last year but beat Pavlich the year before. That's great. 2 outstanding efforts in 2 years. Keep up the good work Shannon. I'll admit that Watt has improved over the journey but why has the club found the need to swing the likes of Brown to full back first, recruit Hay, swing Petrie to CHB, play Gibson, have Watt dropped in the first part of last year when he was rarely getting beaten?

Name a recent effort where he was beaten badly. BTW, he missed the Cats game because he was ill, not dropped and due to a good pre season by Gibson and the need to try Hay, he was left out of the team until round 8 (I think). It is also worth noting that going on the last 4 years of coaching, a Dean Laidley coaching move rarely qualifies as justification of anything.

Well he actually took a good contested mark. Yep only had one of those last year.

No, he consistently outmarked players last year including Whitnall a couple of times in one match, which is pretty good in an uncontested dominated football game

 

[ArjenTheGreat]

Is that because Colbert retired, Arch plays more up the ground and Petrie has only played half a season at CHB.

He beat Johnson last year but beat Pavlich the year before. That's great. 2 outstanding efforts in 2 years. Keep up the good work Shannon. I'll admit that Watt has improved over the journey but why has the club found the need to swing the likes of Brown to full back first, recruit Hay, swing Petrie to CHB, play Gibson, have Watt dropped in the first part of last year when he was rarely getting beaten?

Well he actually took a good contested mark. Yep only had one of those last year.

He definately has his moments but overall he's a solid contributor.
We don't have enough defenders in reserve to drop him at the moment anyway.

 

[Devil Fish]

He definately has his moments but overall he's a solid contributor.
.

I strongly disagree.

 

[B-Rock]

If we are fair dinkum this year, he cannot start round 1. He plays no role for us at all and turns the ball over constantly. He's not even playing fullback now.. what is the point of him!?!