WATSON HAS BIG SHOES TO FILL

BY KEN CASELLAS

Richly talented athletic defender Francis Watson is poised to play his first match for Claremont after five years --- and he won’t be donning the No. 32 jumper that he wore during his 19 league matches for the Tigers in 2015 and 2016.

He will be wearing the No. 2 jumper with great pride, after a special request from Keifer Yu, who retired at the end of the 2018 season after a distinguished career of 104 senior games for the Tigers.

“Keifer said he always wanted to play a hundred games for the Tigers and was anxious for someone to follow in his footsteps, and he offered me the chance to wear his No. 2 jumper,” said Watson.

“Being a Kimberley boy from the same area as Keifer made me feel really good, and to be able to wear the No. 2 jumper is a massive boot to fill and a big responsibility, so I’m going to wear it with pride. I enjoyed playing a few games with Keifer, who was a little tough nut and one of the best players from up in the Kimberleys. It’s an honour to have played alongside of him.”

The 25-year-old Watson has completed a 12-month rehabilitation and has recovered fully from a right knee reconstruction after he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament when he changed direction during a training drill with the West Coast Eagles at Lathlain Park in July 2020. 

Watson hails from Balgo, a remote community 250km south of Halls Creek, and he revealed wonderful ability as a footballer from a young age. 

“I went to school at La Salle College in Midland before finishing my education at St Mary’s in Broome,” he said. “I then started at Claremont in 2013 and played in the colts premiership side that year (under coach Ben Dyer).”

Watson was a member of the WA 18s side in 2014 and he made his league debut in the round seven match against West Perth at the Claremont Showgrounds on May 2, 2015. But in the round 18 match against West Perth at Joondalup that year he fractured the tibia and fibula in his left leg when he was sprinting and was bumped off line.

He made a remarkable comeback from his damaged leg and was able to make ten league appearances in 2016. His form was so impressive that he was recruited at the end of that year as a category B rookie by the West Coast Eagles. 

Watson remained on West Coast’s list for four years, during which time he appeared in two AFL fixtures in 2019 as a half-back flanker in the side which beat Melbourne at Optus Stadium and defeated North Melbourne in Alice Springs. While on the Eagles list Watson played 29 WAFL matches for the club’s affiliated club East Perth in 2017-18 and another 14 for the West Coast’s reserves side in the WAFL competition in 2019. 

Bad luck struck last year when he was laid low by his ACL injury at training, and at the end of the year he was delisted by the Eagles. He says that the biggest lesson he learnt in the AFL system was that it is a tough industry to be in. “You never know what can happen,” he said. “So, if you get the opportunity, make the best of it.

“After that, I was in Broome on holidays when Kepler (Claremont’s Football Operations Manager Kepler Bradley) offered me a contract. I said yes, proudly.”

Since then, Watson has been working assiduously in his rehabilitation and has been enjoying a full training schedule in recent weeks. He happily combines his football involvement with his full-time job as a heavy-duty diesel mechanic with Ausdrill. He has about 18 months to complete his apprenticeship.

“I love the attitude here at Claremont and can’t wait to get back into action,” he said.

A charming young man, Watson is one of a vast array of brilliant indigenous footballers who have shone for Claremont. Yu is the second indigenous player in the club’s history to notch a hundred league matches, following in the footsteps of dual league premiership player Kevin Mitchell (113 games).

Many other indigenous men from Claremont went on to forge marvellous reputations in VFL and AFL ranks, and they include Jim and Phil Krakouer, Derek Kickett, Dale Kickett, Michael Mitchell, Chris Lewis, Scott Chisholm, Gavin Mitchell, Shane McAdam, Marley Williams, Sam Petrevski-Seton and Jack Martin.