The MAS sat down in front of the TV on Monday afternoon to
watch the AFL match between Melbourne and Collingwood, to be played at the MCG.
While Melbourne has been a dreadful team in recent years, this game has been
played as their ‘Grand Final’, and the contest has usually been competitive, if
not enthralling. Yesterday’s edition was a ripper. There was a moment late in the
last quarter that was sublime – one of those transcendent things that happen in
sport occasionally that can give the viewer goose bumps or even bring tears.
In 2009 the Demons debuted their number 1 draft pick, Jack
Watts, in the Round 11 Queen’s Birthday match. Watts had been the subject of
the usual media hyperbole at the time of his drafting – he was a private school
educated boy, a privileged background perfect for the club that is seen more
than any other to reflect ‘privileged’ Melbourne. As a schoolboy Jack was a gun
– an outstanding talent – and it was no surprise to anybody that he would be
drafted at one. But as a 195cm 18-year-old, would he be ready for the ‘big
league’? The answer came almost as soon as he ran onto the MCG turf. No.
Now, this was not Watts’s fault. He was the personification
of the incompetence that was at that time running the club. The committee had a
history of appalling decisions: bringing in untried (and simply not good)
coaches, cutting players who had shown loyalty and talent, bizarre leadership
appointments… Jack was to be the great hope for the fans who wanted a reason to
attend games. The club should have known better.
Since that Queen’s Birthday in 2009 it has been hard to
think of another player in the AFL who has come under more scrutiny from the
media and the great unwashed masses for an apparent failure to deliver. But in
his defence, because of his prodigious talent, Watts was used by any number of
coaches and assistant coaches to fill gaps when things got tough (and there
were plenty of gaps in the Melbourne line up). He was never given the
opportunity to settle into a specific role and to develop as a player.
More than once along the way, there has been speculation and
rumour as to whether Watts would remain at the Dees or move on to another club
for a new start. He would always have been welcome at the MAS’s team. If Watts
had moved to Geelong or Hawthorn (or even Fremantle) he would be a premiership
player by now, and fans would be singing his praises. But he stayed, which could
mean a couple of things. One: someone at the club could see his talent and
potential and did not want to use him as trade bait. Two: Watts himself displayed
loyalty to the club and team-mates that is admirable.
Now, in 2017, Melbourne are an improving team. After too
many years as a joke in the competition, some investment was made in real
coaches who were given time, and the results are starting to come. Development programs
for youngsters have been dramatically improved: Christian Petracca, Jayden Hunt
and Clayton Oliver are evidence of that; players recruited from other teams are
performing; and there is a sense of purpose and excitement about the team
that hasn’t been seen since Neal Daniher
was coaching there around the turn of the century.
Yesterday’s match was important for both teams: in an
interesting and even season, the winner would be in the top eight on Monday night.
The third quarter saw a remarkable Melbourne comeback, and
while the Dees lead through all of the last quarter, Collingwood kept coming
and were never far away. With three minutes left to play (in the curious way
AFL games are timed, the players and fans at the game are generally unaware of
how much time remains, but with the 20-minute quarter having already gone for
27:30 there couldn’t be much left) Watts received the ball wide on the
half-forward line with space all around him. He ran inside the 50 metre arc,
bounced the ball once as he ran, steadied, and with ice in his veins kicked a running
goal from the acute angle to seal the game. As Craig Little wrote in the
Guardian today:
Having
played the role of Melbourne’s unlikely saviour, Watts extended his arms with
an emotion that the confines of the English language could barely do justice.
But the game wasn’t over just yet. Two minutes later, with
seconds remaining, Collingwood pressed forward again, and captain Scott
Pendlebury had a shot at goal that was touched on the line for a behind. Who
touched it? Jack Watts, that’s who.
The Dees won by 4, and are now 6th on the table
at the midway point of the season.
Jumping Jack deserves these acolades. Thanks MAS. S.
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