I’ve learned to deal with scrutiny: Watts
Watts, who has played much of his career under an intense spotlight after being the No. 1 player selected in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, produced the best form of his career during the middle part of the 2012 season.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing this year, as he was left out of the side early in the season and suffered a nagging ankle injury in the back half. When reflecting on the season, both personally and as a team, Watts said he had “mixed feelings”.
“That was the frustrating thing for me - I thought that I started to get a bit of momentum mid-year and I was doing some good things and then I got injured,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“I felt like I lost that momentum and finished off pretty poorly, which was frustrating. I certainly won’t forget the momentum that I gained during the middle half of the year. I’ll take that into the pre-season.
“It’s certainly not the season we were hoping for, and it’s pretty frustrating coming into your fourth year in the system and it hasn’t been a really positive one. It’s certainly fuelled the fire going forward, and certainly all the boys are looking forward to this pre-season - that’s for sure.”
After playing the opening five matches of the season, Watts was left out of the side for two matches, playing with Casey in the VFL.
“The coaches were really good and just honest. They were saying how it is. When I went back and played down at Geelong in the VFL and then out at Box Hill, I think it took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” he said.
“It was a tough start to the year, and I was struggling at the time. Just being able to go back there [in the VFL] and play again and find that enjoyment was really good.
“I worked really closely with Neeldy and Jade Rawlings, going back. It gave me a lot of confidence coming in … it really helped my confidence out on the ground, especially. I certainly learned a lot this year, and I’ll take that forward.”
But Watts made strong progress after he returned to the side in round eight. From his recall against the Sydney Swans, where he was easily Melbourne’s best with 34 disposals during its dismal 101-point loss, it was a strong turning point.
“That night I feeling really confident coming off a couple of games in the VFL where I played well, and I got that fire back,” he said.
“I was really excited to get out there and play, and then play in that role down back. I started on Jude Bolton … and then they started getting on top of us, so I tried to play that sweeping role and it was coming in a fair bit, so I was able to get my hands on the footy.
“Personally, it was good for me to get that, but when you lose by 100 points, it’s never a positive night. You take what you can out of it, but it was probably a lowlight of the season, that game.”
Up until round 15, Watts was one of Melbourne’s best players, before his ankle injury struck. His shift from forward to defence reignited his passion for the game.
“I really enjoyed it. It’s an interesting one, because when you’re losing it’s never fun. It’s the worst thing in footy. We all play because we want to win and we want to play finals,” he said.
“But at the same time, you’ve got to take out what you can, and going back in that period, I think I found that enjoyment of playing footy again, certainly back.
“In the backline, you’re all on the line back there. You’ve got to defend everything you’ve got and that helped me really get into games.
“Once I got that confidence up, I was able to play some good footy.”
But after being drafted as a key forward, the question now is - will Watts play down back long term? For the man himself, he simply wants to play.
“I just want to be in the team and contribute, and if that’s down back, then I’ll absolutely love that. Certainly over the pre-season that’s where I’ll be, and I’ll do the hard yards and try and earn my stripes there and gain that respect from the players and coaches,” he said.
“It’s completely up to Neeldy, and wherever he sees me, I want to play and whether that’s up forward or down back or wherever else - I’m more than happy to try and accommodate that and give it my best shot.
“Pre-season, I would say I’d spend a fair bit of time with ‘Twig’ (Rawlings). But Browny (Leigh Brown) will also take me for marking and keep my forward development going, so I’ll have a lot to do with both of them. But pre-season, Jade will certainly be my mentor.”
But Watts said he would “absolutely” be a better forward now he has played down back.
“Just the little things you learn from playing on different forwards and the way that they move and what you hate as a defender. It’s pretty interesting playing down back at times,” he said.
“I’ve certainly learnt a lot about being a forward, playing down back.”
But his form was halted from rounds 16 to 20 when he was troubled by an ankle injury. It was a rare injury for Watts, whose durability had been a feature of his game after he played 42 consecutive matches from round eight, 2010 to round five, 2012.
“It was one of the most frustrating things I’ve had to deal with, really. I did the ankle and I was able to play out the game and I was thinking, it shouldn’t be too bad,” he said.
“Then it was an interesting little injury and it hung around and I could go at about 80 to 85 per cent. As soon as I tried to ramp up, I couldn’t move.
“Then I tried to come back and I thought it was right, but it was the last training session before the Gold Coast game, and I tweaked it again and it set me back another couple of weeks.”
Watts returned to play Melbourne’s final three matches of the season, but he conceded that it was a struggle to come back.
“It was really frustrating, and I wasn’t able to train with the boys during that time - it’s amazing how quickly you lose that fitness … you’re doing some bike and swim sessions and you’re off your legs and you’re working your arse off, but it’s just not the same,” he said.
“So it’s frustrating, and losing that momentum - you certainly learn a lot from being in rehab and I reckon I could do it differently if it happens again. Fingers crossed it won’t.”
Now, Watts is determined to recapture his mid-season form and take it into the pre-season.
“I don’t want to forget that momentum I built up mid-year,” he said.
“The last couple of games were rusty, to be honest, and I’ll take full responsibility for that. But I just want to make sure that my mindset that comes into pre-season is certainly of the player who was building momentum mid-way through the year.
“That’s when I’m confident and aggressive and playing my best footy, so I’ll certainly be making a conscious effort to think like that … and come into the pre-season ready to go and prove that I can really help this team.”
Watts added that this pre-season was “crucial” for the club and “certainly my career”.
“You get to day one pre-season ready to go with no excuses, and just improve fitness, strength and day one when I get back, I’ll be ready to go,” he said.
“Dave Misson and Neeldy and all of the guys have really good programs ready to go, so if we can stick to that, we’ll be ready to come into next year with a really strong attitude. We want to play in a winning team, so that’s what it comes down to, really.”
