JACK Watts says he was pretty confident of converting his third major – and match-winning goal – against the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG on Sunday.

Watts put Melbourne back in front by two points at the 26-minute mark of the final term to secure a nail-biting win.

Although he was delighted with the outcome, he said it wasn’t the highlight of his career.

“I knew if I just kicked through it, it would go through,” he said.

“But I’d say a few other wins have been a bit better than that. This year has been a highlight for me, as a whole, with the team and the way that we’re playing and progressing, and the way that we’re learning.

“That’s what I really enjoy and look forward to over the next few years.”

Watts said he was “pretty cooked” when he was lining up for goal.

“I just went back and took my full 30 [seconds] and tried to get my breath back,” he said.

“I knew the situation of the game, so I backed myself in and went for it.”

Although it wasn’t a game for the archives, Watts said it wasn’t the worst game in history and it was a high-pressured game.

“The game was a little bit scrappy, but they’re not always clean and you’ve got to fight those ones out,” he said.

Meanwhile, Watts said young forward Sam Weideman hadn’t put a foot wrong since joining the club and would be a fine replacement for Saturday’s clash against Hawthorn at the MCG – if Jesse Hogan’s knee didn’t come up.

“We all want to play with him, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens, if Jesse can’t get up,” he said.

Watts said he was optimistic Melbourne could give Hawthorn “more than a nudge” this round.

“When we come up against those top four sides, we’ve actually shown we’re right there, when we play our game style,” he said.

“That’s what we’ll be focusing on all week – playing our game and knowing what we know works. That’ll service us well.”