Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Nick 'the Wizard' Watson! Rising star Nom!

[rei154]

He's good for 6 shots on goal a game! Once he figures it all that, that might be closer to 10!

Scary

I reckon by the end of the season he will have had the most shots on goal of any first year player in the modern era.
Won't have the most goals, mind.

 

[Paul Kersey]

Laughing at Buckley calling him Richard Marx today.

 

[eldorado]

Laughing at Buckley calling him Richard Marx today.

 

[humid hawk]

Remember Cam McKenzies set shot routine last year? One preseason later and he's absolutely solid in front of goal.

Watson is totally raw and unrefined right now, but still producing absolute gold with his pressure and presence. The goals will come!

 

[theiaofseed]

8 score involvements only behind Newcombe for the game

 

[Cyril says]

I was up near the cheer squad and I can tell you the kid worked his butt off and is smart af.

I don’t care if his conversion rate is worse than 50% for the rest of the year - he’s gonna get a lot better and there are already things he can do that I haven’t seen anyone else do since the great former 33.

Seriously, the sky is the limit - this kid could be anything in the years to come.

 

[Roddy]

He'll turn his goalkicking around. Bank on it.

 

[The Chad and I]

I was SO wrong about Nick Watson pre-draft.

I thought he was just a top small forward prospect.
He could become one of the greatest small forwards of all time.

 

[tommyk72]

I just love watching when he’s near the ball. You know SOMETHING is going to happen, and it will be exciting!

Am so chuffed that we get to cheer him on for the next 10 years.

 

[Iceman!]

Has all the talent, has the confidence and a very healthy amount of arrogance. Still got a lot of developing to do but that is the exciting part. At the moment it is all raw talent and IQ. Let him adjust to the speed of the game and feel he belongs at AFL level and he is going to tear games apart.

 

[toomanysquibs]

Just needs to dial it back a little with his set shots, he's rushing his finishing and trying absolutely hammer every kick through.

Going to lose it when it kicks a bag of 6 sometime soon.

Is a real player already, you can see the signs that in a big final when he's one out he's going to absolutely torch a team or two.

 

[Jammer]

Very envious Hawks fans.
A redo of 23 draft he is the clear number 2 pick IMO.

His impact on a match for a half dozen
Game small forward is insane.

Countless great players have started
their careers with goal kicking yips.
He is too talented not to sort it out.

If u are old enough to remember ……Tom Hawkins

26

Tom Hawkins

Age

36

Ht

197cm

Wt

105kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.2

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.4

3star

M

5.5

5star

T

1.9

4star

G

2.1

5star

D

12.7

3star

K

8.6

3star

HB

4.1

3star

M

5.1

5star

T

2.1

3star

G

1.6

5star

D

7.8

2star

K

5.6

3star

HB

2.2

2star

M

4.2

4star

T

1.0

3star

G

2.2

5star

first season and a half is a prime example… couldn’t hit a barn door

 

[Hodginator]

Hopefully the coaches can help settle his kicking before it plays on his mind too much.

Cornes gives a good balanced view on him in The Round So Far if anyone’s interested.

 

[peetoo]

He and Chol booted 5 goals 5. That’s standard

 

[SpanishBrowne]

my god this kid has it in spades.
keep giving him games and it’s all going to click
personally i hope it happens during the cats home game.. oh that would be so delicious

 

[KermitJagger]

I'm loving most of what this kid is bringing. I'd prefer the blatant high free chasing comes out of his game, you're only ever one game away from being highlighted like Ginnivan and then not getting another one for half a season.

I also think his goal kicking will resolve itself with time but probably not as soon as some are hoping, he's on track this season to break the record for most inaccurate season of any player with more than 30 shots, one that has been held since Glenn Elliott in 1975.

 

[Minnesota Wisdom]

Has all the talent, has the confidence and a very healthy amount of arrogance. Still got a lot of developing to do but that is the exciting part. At the moment it is all raw talent and IQ. Let him adjust to the speed of the game and feel he belongs at AFL level and he is going to tear games apart.

All the ability in the world and is going to become a very good player. I think he's arrogance is over the top and I hate his body language and demeanor. I hope with age and experience he'll improve on that

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Billyc]

I wanted us to draft him last year because he’s so fun to watch. And he really is. The least boring player getting around. His energy, defensive pressure and creativity in close quarters is top rate. He’s creating and getting so many opportunities for a 6 gamer.

The goalkicking is an issue, we shouldn’t pretend it isn’t when he’s missing 3/4 of his shots. Set shots are the real issue and I think it’s mental as he was fine in juniors and at Box Hill. Should cut the snaps out and consider passing when he’s in a low percentage position. Some one on one coaching with Breust would be a good idea. He needs an easy kill against West Coast and North and a bag of 4-5 to get rolling.

I also think he should cut back looking for frees. Oppo fans are already onto him and if he keeps it up he runs the risk of ending up like Ginnivan and Wingard and never getting free kicks even when they are obviously there. Even Nash was having a laugh about the arm raise on the boundary when he milked one

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

Once he start banging them in, i am happy to see around the pesky, around the corner behaviour.

He's saving himself for finals!

 

[TazHawk15]

We need Chol to tell the Wiz to calm down and relax a bit.
The kid goes at everything 100 miles an hour when he only needs to go at 80 at times.

 

[BobHawk]

Watson brings the energy and he was absolutely explosive yesterday. The problem is that because he is physically going at 100 miles per hour his body is taking his mind along with it so he can't settle, which affects his kicking for goal. But it is worse still because he has no confidence and does silly things. This includes kicking around the corner when a drop punt is all he needs and looking for a team mate when he should snap for goal. He is in an interesting position where he is doing all the hard work climbing the mountain but just can't get to the summit. He is letting himself and the team down at the critical moment. A bit like a golfer that has a great game. Long straight driver, killer iron shots and then falls to pieces with the putter. All in the mind.

And it is a much bigger issue than it was just a few weeks ago because the season has turned and the team is now playing for a spot in the finals so those missed shots count for a lot more.

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

Yes it would be better that he doesn’t stuff up the set shots. But it will come. The hardest part is getting the opportunities and he is creating plenty.

Technique is important and he needs to stick to one that is uncomplicated and simple. He needs to train drop punts from 40m running straight rather than hooking it. He can kick it 40m he just isn’t trusting himself at present.

 

[earthworms]

I'm very glad we're the club that has him.

 

[I got the outside word]

Watching him collect, hug the boundary on the wing and put the jets on (in the first?) to deliver into 50, my lord. I don’t care about the misses as a first year player, that can be worked on, the other stuff he does that comes naturally to him is what makes me wet. Oppo supporters might focus on his misses but they should be very afraid of the rest of the work he does. He does not lack confidence at all, he still takes his shots and the goal he did kick, the ability to just turn around on a dime way before anyone else after competing in the marking contest, let’s ****ing go Wiz. You my boy Wiz!

 

[Hawk4life1990]

I was having this discussion with my nephew after the game yesterday. Watson's pressure and impact he has on a contest & his ability to hunt down a player with the ball is the best I've seen since Puopolo.

He reminds me of Poppy when he was drafted. Only Watson is 18, Poppy was 22 when we drafted him.

It's crazy to think what he can be with a pre season or two under his belt. Exciting times ahead