THE return of former co-captain Jack Grimes to the side has excited ruckman Mark Jamar, who said the players were rapt to have him back.

Grimes has been on the cusp of selection since the start of the season, having been named an emergency for three of the opening four rounds.

But with the absence of Neville Jetta (concussion) for Sunday’s clash against Fremantle at the MCG, and with Grimes performing strongly in the VFL, the defender/midfielder has gained a call-up. 

Jamar said Grimes deserved his call-up and had always remained “upbeat and positive” since missing out on selection early in the season.  

“You can’t fault him in any way – the way he goes about it. He’ll give it a red-hot crack and he’s someone we can trust and really rely on back there,” he said.

“He’s one of the hardest working guys we have at the club and that’s one of the reasons why he was co-captain – just through hard work. He holds people accountable to our standards.

“I’m really pumped for him because he’s put a lot of hard work in and I don’t think too many people would’ve thought he’d miss the first few games. But one way or another, he gets his opportunity this week.”

On Jetta, Jamar said the hard-nut defender would be monitored for round six and not rushed back – if he wasn’t ready. 

“He’s in pretty good shape, but I reckon they’ll take it pretty easy on him,” he said.

“Jeremy [Howe] kneed him in the head when he took that mark last week, so there was a bit of friendly fire there.

“You don’t want to see guys have head injuries later on down the track, so I think our club will be very, very cautious with him and take it day-by-day, and see how he’s travelling. You’ve just got to respect the head knocks.”

Meanwhile, Jamar praised forward Jack Watts, who is set to play his 100th game against Fremantle this round.

“It seems like not that long ago that he rocked up to the club,” he said.

“He’s still got the blonde hair – I think it’s natural – but he’s one of the great blokes at our club and he gets the group up each and every day.

“He’s so vibrant and so positive with the energy he gives off. We all thrive on it, so I’m sure we’ll have something in store for him later on [for his milestone] and we’ll get to see a pretty good highlights package of him at training tomorrow (Saturday).”

Jamar said it was “water off a duck’s back” in relation to the criticism Watts had had to contend with throughout his career. 

“The No.1 draft pick [tag] comes a bit with that and you’re going to be scrutinised fairly heavily and he takes it really well,” he said.

“The good thing is he’s got 43 of his mates [behind him] and 10 to 15 coaches supporting him day in, day out.

“He’s been great and his energy levels don’t change – he’s still himself, so we’re rapt for him.”