Connor Watson

[Joel-22]

I've been rewatching this year's games on Kayo and of all the positive things that stood out this guy's transition to number 13 takes the cake. He really is killing it in this role and having been an avid Mann fan (not at 5/8 but in the 17) I think it's a no-brainer that we'd take Watson over Mann if it came down to it. The one proviso is that Watson doesn't suffer any major injuries before the year is out (touchwood).
We can have a really fast middle with quick play the balls and Clifford, Phoenix, Watson, Ponga, Hodgson and Brailey taking advantage of that.
Anyway, I really think Watson could be anything at 13 if he continues to develop and maybe adds 2-3kgs more to his frame.

 

[Jono078]

I’ve always liked him, always liked the uncertainty of his play, never knew what he would come up with.

not sure if this factors into who you’d rather keep out of Mann and Watson, but Watson appears to be Kalyn’s bestie and you’d want to keep him as happy as possible.

 

[Mr_Knightside]

Watson has definitely come into his own in that hybrid no.13 role that he’s been playing this year. His strengths are his running game (including from DH) and his support play which his current role is perfectly suited to. He has even thrown some great little short passes to set up line breaks and tries which has been a great added feature.

I’m probably in the minority here but I actually think we should keep both Watson and Mann in the squad if possible because Mann seems to be one of this effort players that we wish we had more of and I’m also conscious of how many injuries we seem to get every year and Mann at least does a decent job at playing in the halves.

I’m just praying that Watson can put his injury troubles behind him and become a long term fixture in our team moving forward.

 

[NoSchitSherlock]

I'd be tempted to run Watson at FB with Ponga out.

 

[Yosh]

Watson is exactly the kind of player we need going forward. Perfectly suited for the modern game. I hope he stays fit because I want him playing longer minutes. He is always the most likely to open the game up for us. Really happy he is doing great!!

If Connor gets injured this week, it's all because Joel decided to open a thread bout him...

 

[Jono078]

I'd be tempted to run Watson at FB with Ponga out.

I wouldn't be against it, but Hoy has a lock on that one. Which also isn't a bad thing, may as well give him the chances this year to see what he can really do and if he shows improvement.

 

[Old dog]

What we get out of Hoy out ways what we lose in Watson at 14, it’s the best option