The Lowdown Podcast: Power co-captain Tom Jonas praises Jack Watts and reveals players have made a pact to put phones away for an hour after games

Port Adelaide co-captain Tom Jonas praised Jack Watts’ for his honesty in his post match interviews and revealed Power players have a new rule with phones after games. Listen here.

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Port Adelaide has introduced a new rule for players and phones after games to help combat social media abuse and build connection as co-captain Tom Jonas praised teammate Jack Watts for his performance on the weekend.

With player mental health widely considered the biggest challenge in the game, Watts on Saturday revealed there were “weeks when I didn’t want to get out of bed” because of the torrent of abuse directed at him over summer following off-field scandals.

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Jonas said Power players had decided this season to put their phones away after games and focus on each other.

The group touched on it during the pre-season training camp in Noosa and have since made a rule restricting access to their phones until an hour after every game.

Previously phones would be placed at their locker after they had surrendered it pre-game in line with AFL regulations.

Tom Jonas celebrates his first official win as Port Adelaide co-captain with fans at the MCG. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

“We’ve just brought in a thing at Port Adelaide where we don’t look at our phones for an hour after the game,” Jonas told The Lowdown podcast.

“It doesn’t bar you from reading the good or bad stuff but you might be in a better emotional state when you do.

“And it also means you spend an hour connecting with the boys after what is the best time of the week if you get a good win.

“It’s on the back of everything we’ve done over summer with Vossy and Kenny and the playing group, we wanted to get more connected and this is a step in that direction.

“When we enter the changerooms under AFL regulation we have to give our phones over and they stay in the box ... they don’t get put in front of your locker like they used to when they were right in front of you and you’d need some pretty good self restraint not to pick them up.”

Jonas said he still looks at social media after games and during the week.

“I’ll have a bit of a geezer and that’s the choice we make, if we want to look at our phones and read the good stuff then we’re going to see some of the bad stuff and we have to live with that because that is the world.

“If we don’t want to see it then we don’t pick up a paper, we don’t have Twitter or Instagram.”

Jack Watts handpasses the ball under pressure against his old club Melbourne on Saturday. Picture: AAP Image/Daniel Pockett

Jonas said Watts was “absolutely genuine” in his post-game interview with Fox Footy when he fought back tears after playing arguably the best game of his career.

“Wattsy is a really emotional guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. He bounces into the club, brings the energy but then he can get down,” Jonas said.

“He’s made mistakes like we all have and been through some tough times, we knew he was doing it tough, I suppose you never really know how tough people are doing it, you can reach out and offer a shoulder or an ear but people will deal with it in their own particular way.

“What he’s done is come in and work really hard to regain the respect of the boys, he had an opportunity down back on the weekend against his old club and he was probably fired up to make amends and play some footy after a long summer.

“It was great to see his performance and also the way he opened up on national TV it was really brave.”

ALSO IN THIS EPISODE OF THE LOWDOWN:

— Greenwood’s friendship with Tom Doedee

— Pre-game haircuts and Jack Higgins-style speeches

— Connor Rozee’s bump on Clayton Oliver

— Can Greenwood force his way in to play Sydney?

— Greenwood comes clean on his SuperCoach Secret

— And the story behind pic(s) of the week (below)

Hugh Greenwood’s college basketball championship ring.

Greenwood celebrates a college basketball championship in the US.

Watts had 22 disposals across half-back in Port’s win over Melbourne and Jonas revealed he’d only been to his first defensive line meeting that week.

Adelaide’s Hugh Greenwood — who also headlines The Lowdown — said social media had its benefits but reared its ugly side far too often.

“It’s a bit of tall poppy with athletes, as soon as they make a mistake we are so quick to pounce on it and there are guys for whatever reason that always cop it,” Greenwood said.

“Jack has been a prime example from his days in Melbourne and now at Port Adelaide, so for him to come out and play the way he did was exceptional.

“But it’s unfortunate we wake up again this morning and some of our indigenous boys like Liam Ryan are copping racial abuse online, these people can hide behind anonymous names and say way they want.

“Some guys delete social media altogether, some still have it, unfortunately it’s part of the gig and it can be such a powerful tool to promote good things but unfortunately you see a lot more of the negative side of social media.”

Greenwood also said he looked at social media after games.

“You can’t help it really, you naturally do it, I don’t tweet a whole lot but I use Twitter to keep up with the world and no matter what you’re always going to see something you don’t like because people can just blatantly tag you,” he said.

“Unless you really try not to look at it, you’re going to see it, and that’s why some guys just delete social media altogether.”

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