Nick Naitanui of the Eagles tackled by Brendon Lade of Port during the AFL Round 16 match between Port Adelaide Power and the West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium.
Ask any of the hierarchy at the Melbourne Football Club whether they made the right choice between Jack Watts and Nic Naitanui and they will be sure to give you the same, predictable, party-line answer: Yes, selecting Jack Watts was indeed the right decision.
Inject said hierarchy with a dose of truth serum and I’m sure they’d all give you the reverse answer: No, we should’ve selected Nic Naitanui as our number one choice.
Many football experts applauded Melbourne for their number one selection back in the 2008 AFL Draft. After all, Watts won the Larke Medal and All-Australian selection representing Vic Metro, and he had an impressive showing at the draft camp. He had champion written all over him.
Naitanui also performed well at the draft camp and won All-Australian selection in 2007 and 2008. Although possessing incredible athletic ability for a tall, Melbourne decided against selecting him due to a perceived lack of skill.
Many comments around the footy world were made that he lacked a ‘football brain’ and couldn’t read the play. However, his athleticism was enough to convince the West Coast Eagles football department to select him at number two.
Both clubs announced after the draft that their selections were ‘project players’. At his stage it seems that Naitanui is ahead of schedule and Watts is behind.
In his debut year in 2009, Naitanui showed glimpses of his talent, particularly his last quarter effort against Hawthorn where he kicked three majors and won the game. Eagles fans were salivating and the buzz began to hummer.
During that game Hawks enforcer Campbell Brown tried to rough him up but the young ruckman didn’t back down. Brown was heard to remark that it was like ‘pushing up against a tree’. It showed that Naitanui was at least physically able to play in the big time.
Watts on the other hand made his premature debut against Collingwood on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday. Melbourne needed ‘bums on seats’ after AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou threatened to take away their future participation in the fixture, so they decided the best way to attract a crowd was to parade their number one draft pick.
The young forward was soon found out. He was a skinny lost kid playing against an army of men. He just wasn’t ready. This was highlighted by the memorable gang tackle laid on him by a group of Magpie enforcers. Welcome to the AFL, son.
He didn’t play many more games for the rest of the season and was heavily criticised by many, including AFL legend Leigh Matthews who mentioned that he saw nothing in Watts to warrant his number one selection.
Last week Naitanui had his breakout game against the Bombers in the opening NAB Cup fixture. 18 touches, 8 tackles, 4 goals – a best-on-ground performance. Nic Naitanui had arrived.
Many people would say that it’s early days, but he showed enough brilliance to suggest that he is going to be a superstar.
His latest performance has forced John Worsfold to openly admit that he and his lieutenants have been forced to rethink on how best to utilise him this year.
Whilst Naitanui is being geared up for big things by his coach, by contrast Melbourne football manager Chris Connolly publicly declared that Watts is a ‘four-year player’, and is still three years off reaching his potential.
And unfortunately for Watts, his current struggle with a back injury means he won’t get a chance to display his progression in the Demons’ first NAB Cup hitout. It also seems unlikely he’ll be able to pull up for round 1 of the season proper.
Another reason Melbourne will be kicking themselves is Naitanui is a marketing dream. The Melbourne marketing department would have loved to have him printed on their posters.
So far Naitanui is in front, but it will be interesting to see how both careers pan out. With time Jack Watts is sure to become a very good player.
But will he be a superstar?
I leave Melbourne fans with one thought: Imagine Nic Naitanui rucking to Tom Scully and Jack Trengove …
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