With the lack of firstgrade halves at the moment, Connor Watson has a massive opportunity with Pearce out.
If he puts together 3 or 4 great games as a running 5/8, he will jump from a 200k a year player to a 600k a year player and will have to employ a secretary to field all the calls he'll get.
There are signs in the first month of the comp that he has worked hard on the skills he needs to be a running 5/8, and if he puts it all together he'll suddenly be the most underpaid player in the comp - considering the big paycut he took for this year.
I haven’t given up on him as a spine player, he has that X factor & instincts you can’t teach. He also brings a lot of enthusiasm and intensity, is always backing up after a break etc. Attributes you want on the field for as much time as possible, I just never particularly liked the fit with Pearce in the halves as Mitch also likes to take on the line a lot (too much IMO but that’s a rant for another time).
There’s obviously been holes in his game, his decision making with time and space can be poor, and when he goes to the line and passes he used to crowd out his line runners a lot, didn’t time things right etc, and he’s obviously not a great kicker. But training in this sort of modern ball playing lock/extra half role could be the making of him. He’s at his best mixing up hard direct running with his mazy probing ones, has lovely late footwork, and does great work buzzing around looking for offloads, supporting through the middle etc, and focusing in on what he does best rather than trying to do stuff which isn’t really a big part of his game is paying dividends so far. Keen to see how he fits at 6 with Blake, who’s a more traditional half and not a big runner of the ball. I don’t think it’s a fait accompli that Bailey Hodgo becomes the next fullback & KP moves to the halves, and Clifford is a pretty similar player to Greeny...
One thing I noticed this year is a bit of playmaking intelligence I don’t think he had before and which I don’t think Mann has really developed at all. A bit more deception at the line, but also twice he’s contributed to important tries by simply getting the ball to strike players already in time and space, staring down a good 1-on-1 matchup (Best on Hiku, Tex on Luke Brooks). I think a lot of our other playmakers get a bit too caught up in taking it to the line and passing almost every single time: sometimes you just want to get it and shift it nice and quickly to the right man, especially late on in a tense contest. I heard him say on Barry Toohey’s podcast that he wanted to use the injury layoff to think about his game and what kind of player he wants to be, and I think we’re seeing signs of that for sure.
Also he successfully executed a draw and pass after a line break the other day after fluffing those time and time again over the years so I’m quite high on him atm hahaha.