Port Adelaide rules out drawing line through Jack Watts to take a second player in mid-season rookie draft

Port Adelaide is refusing to draw a line through Jack Watts to take a second player in mid-season rookie draft, despite the fact he is ‘more unlikely than likely’ to play again this season.

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Port Adelaide will not draw a line through injured Jack Watts to create space for a second selection at Monday’s contentious AFL mid-season rookie draft.

While the Power already has one available pick following a season-ending knee injury to the untried Jake Patmore, football general manager Chris Davies said it would not rule tall utility Watts out for the year, despite the fact he is “more unlikely than likely” to play again this season.

Jack Watts grabs his broken ankle after a clash with Dale Thomas in Round 2. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“We won’t (place Watts on the long-term injury list) do that,” Davies said.

“Right now, we want to make sure Jack is given as much time as he possibly can to potentially get back.

“It’s probably looking more unlikely than likely, but at the same time, we won’t be making that call right now.

“We want to keep our options open for as long as we can.”

Several clubs have in the past few days created list space to take players in Monday’s mid-season draft through retirements or by placing them on the long-term injury list.

Essendon can now technically take three players in the draft, subject to its salary cap, after ruling three injured players out for the season — key forward Joe Daniher, midfielder Devon Smith and rookie-listed ruckman Sam Draper.

Watts — Melbourne’s No. 1 draft pick in 2008 — hasn’t played since he suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle against Carlton in round two.

Port Adelaide has put injured Jake Patmore on its long-term injury list. Picture: MARK BRAKE (AAP).

Davies said the Power had yet to decide whether it would select a player in the mid-season draft.

“We approach it with an open mind,” Davies said.

“We've got a spot available with Patmore being placed on the injury list for the year but our recruiting guys are still working through whether we want to have a selection or not.

“We’ve got to weigh that up with the number of players we’ve got coming back (from injury).

“We have had a significant injury list and we were mindful for a while there of having enough bodies available.

“That seems to be something that we can take off the table now but we also want to make sure that we position ourselves as well as we can at AFL level.

“We think our list is pretty balanced but if we think there is someone that can potentially help us, then we will look at it.’’

Davies said clubs were likely to “balance’’ their selections between experienced, ready-made replacements who could play a role this season and talented youngsters they could groom for the future.

“We’ll take into account the idea of taking a young player but at the same time we’ll also contemplate if there is someone that we believe can help us out right now,’’ he said.

“I think across the competition there will be more younger players taken but that will be an interesting thing to see because the mid-season draft is a new part of the competition (for the first time since 1993).’’

Davies — a former SANFL general manager of football and Woodville-West Torrens chief executive — said he felt for SANFL clubs that could lose key players halfway through the season.

But he noted that AFL clubs would “do whatever they think is in their best interests at the time’’.

Davies also supported AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s suggestion that the league could introduce a mid-year trade period, as well as the mid-season draft.

“I think it’s a natural thing to look at because most sports have a window in the middle of the season where players can change clubs,’’ he said.