Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Nick 'the Wizard' Watson!

[I got the outside word]

Are we really blaming Sicily's handball for that miss? C'mon he was 10 metres out and had fresh legs.

No, I think we are saying the responsibility is shared. It was a s**t handball and resulted in a s**t kick. Both of them could have done a bit better.

 

[SammyC]

The effort on the wing was very cyril 2008 GF. Thats the will to compete you can't teach.

Forget the miss - he looked dangerous every time he was near it and is tougher in the contest than I thought.

 

[SSSSSS]

The effort on the wing was elite but the Wiz had a few big efforts in the last 60 seconds forcing two stoppages I50.

Came in flying like a bullet for the ground ball get in between 3 dogs. Should have copped a high free kick but he went low and hard.

Absolutely loved that.

 

[SammyC]

The effort on the wing was elite but the Wiz had a few big efforts in the last 60 seconds forcing two stoppages I50.

Came in flying like a bullet for the ground ball get in between 3 dogs. Should have copped a high free kick but he went low and hard.

Absolutely loved that.

yeah - they were right in front of me. Straight in and hard at it, loved it. There was one off the centre square in the last qtr too.

He is going to be a ripper.

 

[cryptor]

Are we really blaming Sicily's handball for that miss? C'mon he was 10 metres out and had fresh legs.

I was blaming Watson for not taking his time to straighten up, make sure he knew where the goal posts were and then execute the kick. It’s his responsibility to use the ball well as he can however he gets it.

But I was also acknowledging that Sicily did give a terrible handball that made things a lot more difficult than they should have been.

And in a hypothetical scenario where Watson did take his time that if the defender had managed to get to him to effect the kick then due to the delay caused by the errant handball then more blame could be directed at Sicily.

 

[BlueWaterHawk]

Are we really blaming Sicily's handball for that miss? C'mon he was 10 metres out and had fresh legs.

I don't think anyone is blaming Sicily for Watson's mistake, but there's things he could have definitely done better. Little stuff like that adds up over the course of a game. The lack of quality Shepard-ing these days gives me a little rage, your it adds extra pressure where there should be none.

 

[HedgeFund]

I want to agree with you, but Watson is probably capable of anything based on his highlight reels.

He may well have been able to get it to Gunners, I mean he almost kicked an insane goal running flat out while falling over the boundary.

Yep - he could have tapped it inboard to Gunners along the ground.

Didn't have to collect and then quickly choose to handball or kick.

I know what Dylan Moore would have done.

 

[Howe Amazing]

This kid will be so good. How good have last 2 drafts been. Wiz, Calsh & McCabe last year. McKenzie, Weddle & Hustwaite year before

 

[barbster]

He needs to kick goals soon, otherwise players are going to lose confidence in him. I believe he is at 2.14 if you include practice matches against the dogs. As a goal kicking specialist it should be 14.2

 

[HedgeFund]

He needs to kick goals soon, otherwise players are going to lose confidence in him. I believe he is at 2.14 if you include practice matches against the dogs. As a goal kicking specialist it should be 14.2

FWIW some bloke called Jason Dunstall kicked 1254 goals and 641 points - that's going at 66.17% - and heaps of his were set shots from close to goal.

Nick's getting to the right spots and creating lots of chances, which is often the hardest part. Conversion will follow when he settles into games 20 - 40.

Yes - he should have kicked roughly 9.7, but to suggest 14.2 is ridiculous

Frankly, any forward who goes at 60% conversion in the modern game is tracking very well.

 

[H00t]

Lewis Jetta kicked 19 behinds before kicking his first goal. Then in his third year kicked 45.17.

As long as he keeps getting shots on goal that’s the most important thing. The accuracy will come.

 

[KermitJagger]

Lewis Jetta kicked 19 behinds before kicking his first goal. Then in his third year kicked 45.17.

As long as he keeps getting shots on goal that’s the most important thing. The accuracy will come.

I'm happy so long as he keeps doing the hard stuff well, which he is.

 

[parsons nose]

He’s still a bit overawed as I see it. And he is putting a lot of pressure on himself. He’s almost, at the moment. But it will turn for him. You can’t be that good below your knees and not be impactful for long. And we haven’t seen his much vaunted aerial skills yet.

 

[Gut Runner]

Yep - he could have tapped it inboard to Gunners along the ground.

Didn't have to collect and then quickly choose to handball or kick.

I know what Dylan Moore would have done.

He should have killed it over the boundary line I thought. Dogs were all over us at this time and we needed to reset with the ball in our forward pocket.

Instead it goes coast to coast after the kick in and they get a goal.

 

[Roddy]

There's little doubt he's going to be one of the elite small forwards in the comp in 2 years, maybe less.

 

[VernonSpots]

He is going to be a good player but he was taken at Pick 5, which means expectation he becomes one of the better small forwards historically.

Some of the best small forwards in today's game were late picks / rookies (papley, breust to name a few).

I want to be wrong, but I still think we reached at Pick 5 and take a pretty high risk. Ot could work out for sure, but doesn't change the fact it was a risky pick and expectations are accordingly high.

 

[HawthornHawk]

No, I think we are saying the responsibility is shared. It was a s**t handball and resulted in a s**t kick. Both of them could have done a bit better.

I'm sure the dislocated shoulder didn't help!

 

[PenAndPaper]

He is going to be a good player but he was taken at Pick 5, which means expectation he becomes one of the better small forwards historically.

Some of the best small forwards in today's game were late picks / rookies (papley, breust to name a few).

I want to be wrong, but I still think we reached at Pick 5 and take a pretty high risk. Ot could work out for sure, but doesn't change the fact it was a risky pick and expectations are accordingly high.

I get that but the kid has had 11 scoring shots in 3 and a half games. That's a crazy good return for a first year small forward, like pretty insanely good

 

[HawthornHawk]

There's little doubt he's going to be one of the elite small forwards in the comp in 2 years, maybe less.

If he'd just kicked the really gettable goal opportunities he's had this year he would already be in that conversation imo

 

[CHUBBSS]

I get that but the kid has had 11 scoring shots in 3 and a half games. That's a crazy good return for a first year small forward, like pretty insanely good

The crazy part is I still see him ending up with 30 goals ish

 

[Dewyyyyy]

On second viewing of that miss, the Sicily handball was way worse than I thought.

If Watson had taken the time to collect the ball, straighten up and find the goals but ended up getting tackled by the defender then I think you'd have to say Sicily's handball cost the goal.

I think the fact the handball went out a bit wider and not into his path caused him to lose his bearings and perhaps the pressure of the moment caused him to rush it. Which is still on him to make sure he uses the ball as well as possible regardless of how he gets it.

In my view it's shared responsibility for them both. Plenty to learn from that moment for the future. Glad it wasn't the difference in the result.

Watson even when he picks it up was 5 metres clear and Sicily was still shepherding. He could’ve taken a few steps straighten and goaled very easily and wouldn’t have been in danger of getting tackled. Just a miscommunication, rush of blood and poor hand pass but he still needs to kick them. He’ll get there.

 

[SSSSSS]

He is going to be a good player but he was taken at Pick 5, which means expectation he becomes one of the better small forwards historically.

Some of the best small forwards in today's game were late picks / rookies (papley, breust to name a few).

I want to be wrong, but I still think we reached at Pick 5 and take a pretty high risk. Ot could work out for sure, but doesn't change the fact it was a risky pick and expectations are accordingly high.

We didn't reach at all.

The Bulldogs traded 3 first rounders in the hope they could get the Wiz. Melbourne were prepared to bite our hand off for him as well.

He was clearly the best available talent at pick 5.

 

[theiaofseed]

He is going to be a good player but he was taken at Pick 5, which means expectation he becomes one of the better small forwards historically.

Some of the best small forwards in today's game were late picks / rookies (papley, breust to name a few).

I want to be wrong, but I still think we reached at Pick 5 and take a pretty high risk. Ot could work out for sure, but doesn't change the fact it was a risky pick and expectations are accordingly high.

Yes you can get seriously good small forwards late but when there's an almost guaranteed top liner why wouldn't you take him? If Hawthorn didn't take him than Melbourne would've. Teams were lining Hawthorn up to nab Watson. Outside of Reid I haven't seen a better under 18 year old, was taking the piss with his skills for Vic Metro.

 

[TBoyleSuperstar]

He keeps getting shots at goal, and whilst not converting, his ability to get the shots is important. a small forward position in a struggling team can be a lonely island, he's getting shots.

The finishing will come when his composure improves the more he gets used to the game. He'll be fine

 

[TylerDurden]

We didn't reach at all.

The Bulldogs traded 3 first rounders in the hope they could get the Wiz. Melbourne were prepared to bite our hand off for him as well.

He was clearly the best available talent at pick 5.

100% both the Dees and Dogs wanted him.