Tim Watson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tim Watson (born July 13 1961) was a Australian Rules footballer with the Essendon Bombers, a coach of the St Kilda Saints, and now a media personality. He was the second youngest player ever to play in the VFL/AFL competition when he made his debut aged just fifteen years, nine months in 1977.
Watson was renowed 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.
Watson played important roles in Essendon's 1984 and 1985 grand final victories, playing as a rock-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.
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".
Like many past players, Watson has become a media personality, serving as the Melbourne sports news reader on the Seven TV Network. He has also appeared on many football related TV shows, and as a sports columnist in The Age newspaper. 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.
In 1993 Watson was named "Father of the Year". In the 2002 national draft, his son Jobe Watson was drafted by Essendon under the father-son rule. Jobe has thus far failed to live up to his father's reputation, having two injury interrupted seasons, but is still considered a potential star of the future.
