Tim Watson

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Tim Watson

Personal Info
Birth	July 13, 1961,
Recruited from	Dimboola
Playing Career¹
Debut	Round 7, May 14, 1977, Essendon vs. Richmond, at Waverley Park
Team(s)	Essendon (1977-1991, 1993-1994) 307 games, 335 goals
Coaching Career¹
Team(s)	St Kilda Football Club (1999-2000) 44 matches: 12 wins, 31 losses, 1 draw
¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season
Career Highlights
Leigh Matthews Trophy 1989 Essendon Best and Fairest 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989 All-Australian 1983, 1989 Essendon premiership team 1984, 1985, 1993 Captain of Essendon Football Club (1989-1991)

Timothy Michael Watson (born July 13, 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club, a coach of the St Kilda Football Club, and now a media personality. He was the second youngest player ever to play in the VFL/AFL competition.

Contents 1 Football career 1.1 Early career 1.2 Comeback 2 Media career 3 Coaching career 4 Other information 5 External links

[edit] Football career

[edit] Early career

Watson made his VFL debut in 1977 when he made fronted up for Essendon aged just fifteen years and 305 days in 1977.

Watson was renowned for his high quality skills with both hand and foot, and also his burst of pace around the packs. He won the Essendon best-and-fairest award four times (1980, 1985, 1988 and 1989), and was the pre-count favourite to win the Brownlow Medal in both 1980 and 1989, finishing in the top five on both occasions. In 1989, he also won the AFL Players Association MVP award, now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy.

Watson played important roles in Essendon's 1984 and 1985 grand final victories, playing as a ruck-rover. He was made captain in 1989 and held that position until 1991, when he shocked Essendon fans by announcing he was retiring from the game due to the injury problems that had plagued the later part of his career.

[edit] Comeback

Early in the 1993 season Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy lured Watson out of retirement. Although Watson was not as fit as he had once been, and was never able to recapture his top form, he played a vital role in the forward line, kicking some important goals throughout the year. His experience in what was a very young team was instrumental in helping Essendon win an unexpected premiership that year.

After the 1994 season, Watson retired for good, having played 307 games and kicked 335 goals. Since his retirement, Watson was named the sixth greatest player to ever play for Essendon in the "Champions of Essendon" list, and was named ruck-rover in their "Team of the Century".

[edit] Media career

Like many past players, Watson has become a media personality, serving as the Melbourne sports news reader on Seven News. He has also appeared on many football related TV shows, as a sports columnist in The Age newspaper, and a host on the Morning Glory show on Melbourne radio station SEN 1116.

[edit] Coaching career

He was coach of the St Kilda side in 1999 and 2000, his success was limited, with the side winning only 12 of the 44 matches they played while he was in charge. Most commentators put this down to St Kilda's poor playing list at the time, rather than Watson's coaching ability, however he has not sought a senior coaching role again.

[edit] Other information

In 1993 Watson was named Victorian Father of the Year. In the 2002 National Draft, his son Jobe Watson was drafted by Essendon under the father-son rule. Jobe had failed to live up to his father's reputation, having three injury interrupted seasons, but became a good player for Essendon during the 2006 season.

[edit] External links

• Tim Watson profile on westcoasteagles.com.au
• Tim Watson - Champions of Essendon
• Tim Watson - SEN Profile
• Tim Watson - Saxton Speakers Bureau
• Tim Watson - 7news Profile

Preceded by Simon Madden	Essendon Best and Fairest winner 1980	Succeeded by Neale Daniher
Preceded by Simon Madden	Essendon Best and Fairest winner 1985	Succeeded by Glenn Hawker
Preceded by Mark Thompson	Essendon Best and Fairest winner 1988-1989	Succeeded by Mark Thompson
Preceded by Gerard Healy	Leigh Matthews Trophy 1989	Succeeded by Darren Millane
Preceded by Stan Alves	St Kilda Football Club coach 1999-2000	Succeeded by Malcolm Blight