Tim Watson

Infobox afl player


firstname = Tim
lastname = Watson


| birthdate = Birth date and age|1961|7|13|df=y
birthplace =
originalteam = Dimboola
dead = alive
deathdate =
deathplace =
debutdate = Round 7, 14 May 1977
debutteam = Essendon
debutopponent = Richmond
debutstadium = Waverley Park
playingteams = Essendon (1977-1991, 1993-1994)

307 games, 335 goals
coach = coach
coachingteams = St Kilda Football Club (1999-2000)44 matches: 12 wins, 31 losses, 1 draw
statsend = 2005
careerhighlights =

*Leigh Matthews Trophy 1989
*Essendon Best and Fairest 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989
*Team of the Year 1983, 1989
*Essendon premiership team 1984, 1985, 1993
*Captain of Essendon Football Club (1989-1991)

Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, sports journalist and media personality.

He is most notable for his long career at the Essendon Football Club as a player where he participated in several premiership teams. He was the second youngest player ever to play in the VFL/AFL competition and made a comeback after retirement which included another premiership.

Currently Watson is a prominent sports journalist and media personality. On television he regularly appears on the Seven Network, where he does the sports reports for the Melbourne news and provides guest commentary at Australian Football matches. He is also a radio personality where he can be heard on SEN 1116 and writes columns for The Age.

Football career

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.

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".

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.

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. Indeed, in the 2000 season St Kilda won just two games for the entire season and Watson was sacked in 2000 .

Personal life

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. Tim called his son's first game of AFL.

References

External links

*
* [http://essendonfc.com.au/champions/profile.asp?ID=57 Tim Watson - Champions of Essendon]
* [http://www.sen.com.au/index.php?sectionID=4239&pageID=4259 Tim Watson - SEN Profile]
* [http://www.saxton.com.au/default.asp?sd8=1651 Tim Watson - Saxton Speakers Bureau]
* [http://seven.com.au/news/profile_040131_timwatson Tim Watson - 7news Profile]