AFL Career
Jobe was selected at pick 40 under the father-son rule in the 2002 AFL Draft. He was initially coached as a key forward by Kevin Sheedy, who also coached his father Tim. His poor kicking (by AFL standards) drew criticism, and it was determined he would be more suited to the midfield at Essendon. At that time his weight was criticized by the media, as he was overweight for an AFL player.
Soft tissue injuries interrupted his progression in both the 2003 and 2004 seasons, and his form did not improve during 2005.
He capped off the 2006 season with 2nd place in the Crichton Medal voting.
Watson had a career-best season in 2009, polling 10 Brownlow Medal votes and winning the Essendon Best and Fairest award, the W.S. Crichton Medal. Watson polled 335 votes in 15 of the 21 games he played in season 2009, with only one game missed due to an ankle injury. Watson was 46 votes ahead of runner-up Dustin Fletcher who polled 289 votes.
By the end of the 2009 season, Watson had gathered a reputation as one of Essendon's most important midfielders, coming first in the clubs overall clearances and improved his much criticised kicking ability to the average for an AFL player.
Watson was announced as the captain of the Essendon Football Club on the 21st of December 2009, taking over from retired champion Matthew Lloyd.
Despite the Essendon Football Club suffering a very disappointing 2010 AFL season, winning only seven games and finishing fourteenth on the AFL Ladder, Watson enjoyed a successful first year as captain. He was a consistent performer for the Bombers in an inconsistent season and, at the 2010 Brownlow Medal on 20 September 2010, polled 16 votes from a total of only 43 received by Essendon players. He finished equal seventh in the 2010 Brownlow Medal count, receiving the highest number of votes for a player from a team finishing outside the final eight. On 1 Oct 2010 Watson was once again awarded the W.S. Crichton Medal earning 291 points, which was 50 points clear of runner-up Heath Hocking.
Watson completed an outstanding 2012 season by winning his first Brownlow Medal with 30 votes. He also won his third Essendon best and fairest award, and was named in the AFL's All Australian team for the first time.
Read more about this topic: Jobe Watson
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