Rate a player - Jobe Watson

[Dry Rot]

IIRC he's now the skipper of the Bombers and darling of some TV commentators, but I have never seen what the fuss is about. He looks a plodder to me, albeit a tough one.

How do you rate him?

[comrade]

IIRC he's now the skipper of the Bombers and darling of some TV commentators, but I have never seen what the fuss is about. He looks a plodder to me, albeit a tough one.

How do you rate him?

He's probably the Essendon version of Crossy. He relishes the contested work, but I don't think Watson has quite the same maniacal work rate and reckless abandon.

He seems to have developed more of an attacking element to his game over the past 12 months, which makes him more influential. Before that he was a bit of a plodder - pretty good at the clearances, but didn't offer much else.

A good player, but I'd prefer Cross.

[The Coon Dog]

His major strength is his ability to win the ball in tight from a stoppage & dish off by hand.

What helps him is that the Bombers have some speedy players who sit off the back off the contest & sprint into space to accept the ball from him. To guard against that somewhat opposition teams spread a bit to cover the space, this in turn creates gaps.

His disposal by foot is better than it was, but you would still prefer to see him kick if you were opposed to him. Tends to kick floaters.

[Remi Moses]

Good player didn't think he'd make it to be honest. Similar to cross without having that reckless attack on the ball,not as good overhead as Daniel but forging a good career. he needs help as the Bombres don't have many inside players

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Probably stronger than Cross and a better kick. They're pretty even on most levels though. I'd have Cross as a better endurance runner and a better overhead mark. Watson's clearance work is similar to Boyd's.

I'd take either player in a heart beat if I was building a squad. Watson in a better team would be a better player, too.

[Mantis]

I see him more as 'our Boyd', but probably plays a bigger role due to the differences in the quality of the respective midfields.

He must be admired with how he has gone from a 'plodder' to a genuinely good player. His clearance work is very good, but he doesn't really have the cattle around him to best use his ball winning abilities... Imagine he having the luxury of having a player akin to Cooney or Griffen ghosting by him at the clearances.

It will be interesting to see if he can improve again and to do this he has to start hurting the opposition with his feet....I guess there must be doubts to if this can occur, but 3 or 4 years ago it was probably thought that he would be already out of the system so I guess it's possible.

[Mofra]

He's ahead of Cross & Boyd IMO.

Never mind the fact he had a shocking kick on him just a couple of years ago, he is one of the top 4-5 inside midfielders in the game (even that may be playing him down a bit), and doesn't have the luxury of dishing it out to an A-Grade mid/outside type, which just makes his role tougher.
I actually think if you stop Watson, Essendon's midfield is shut down completely. The Saints' reliance of Riewoldt makes them the closest thing to a one-player team, but Watson is almost as important to Essendon.

[Sockeye Salmon]

He's ahead of Cross & Boyd IMO.

Never mind the fact he had a shocking kick on him just a couple of years ago, he is one of the top 4-5 inside midfielders in the game (even that may be playing him down a bit), and doesn't have the luxury of dishing it out to an A-Grade mid/outside type, which just makes his role tougher.
I actually think if you stop Watson, Essendon's midfield is shut down completely. The Saints' reliance of Riewoldt makes them the closest thing to a one-player team, but Watson is almost as important to Essendon.

That's just wrong.