Tim Watson

Tim Watson
Watson with Channel 7 in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Timothy Michael Watson
Nickname(s)	Watto, Whispers, The Whisp
Date of birth	(1961-07-13) 13 July 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth	Dimboola, Victoria, Australia
Original team(s)	Dimboola
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	96 kg (212 lb)
Position(s)	Half-forward flank, ruck-rover
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1977–1991	Essendon	282 (307)
1992	West Coast	0 (0)
1993–1994	Essendon	25 (28)
Total		307 (335)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1983–1991	Victoria	12 76
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1999–2000	St Kilda	44 (12–31–1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1994. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 1985. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2000.
Career highlights
3× VFL/AFL Premiership: 1984, 1985, 1993 VFLPA MVP (Leigh Matthews Trophy): 1989 4× Essendon Best & Fairest: 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989 2 x VFL Team of the Year: 1983, 1989 Essendon captain: 1989–1991 AFC Night Series Premiership 1981, 1984 Australian Football Hall of Fame Essendon Team of the Century (Ruck Rover) Champions of Essendon: #6
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former AFL player for Essendon and current broadcaster for more than 30 years, with the Seven Network since 1992 & 1116 SEN radio.

After retiring from the game, he also continued working in the Australian football industry as a coach.

Watson was the fourth-youngest player ever to play in the VFL/AFL competition and made a comeback after retirement which included another premiership.^[1]

Watson is a prominent and popular sports journalist and media personality. On television he regularly appears on the Seven Network, where he presents the sport on the network's 6:00 pm Melbourne news bulletin and has a special comments role on the station's AFL football coverage.

Watson made his VFL debut in 1977 for Essendon at the age of fifteen years and 305 days, the fourth-youngest player in the history of the League.^[2]

Watson won the Essendon best-and-fairest award four times (1980, 1985, 1988 and 1989). In 1989, he won the AFL Players Association MVP award, now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy.^[3]

Watson played the ruck-rover in Essendon's 1984 and 1985 grand final victories. He was made captain in 1989 and held that position until 1991, before retiring from the game due to the injury problems that had plagued the later part of his career.^[4] In the 1992 pre-season draft, Watson was recruited by the West Coast Eagles even though he had signalled his intention to retire. He never played a game for the club, instead continuing a commentary role with the Seven Network for 1992, which included working as a boundary rider in that year's grand final, which the Eagles won.^[5][6]

Early in the 1993 season, Essendon senior coach Kevin Sheedy lured Watson out of retirement. Although Watson was not as fit as he had once been, and was never able to recapture his top form, he played a vital role in the forward line, kicking some important goals throughout the year. His experience in what was a very young team was instrumental in helping Essendon win an unexpected premiership that year.^[7][8]

After the 1994 season, Watson retired for good as a player, having played 307 games and kicked 335 goals for Essendon. He was also a member of Essendon's 1984, 1985 and 1993 premiership teams. ^[9][10]

Since his retirement, Watson was named the sixth-greatest player to ever play for Essendon in the "Champions of Essendon" list, and he was named ruck-rover in their "Team of the Century".^[11]

Watson became senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club, when he replaced Stan Alves, after Alves was sacked at the end of the 1998 season. Watson was then the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the 1999 season and the 2000 season. His success was limited, with the side winning only 12 of the 44 matches they played while he was in charge, including drawing once and losing 31, bringing the winning percentage to 27 percent. In the 1999 season, St Kilda finished tenth on the ladder with ten wins and twelve losses. In the 2000 season, St Kilda won only two games for the entire season, with one draw and 19 losses, where they finished 16th (last on the ladder) for the wooden spoon, and Watson resigned during the middle of the 2000 season, where he would step down at season's end, forgoing the final year of his three-year contract.^[12] Watson was then replaced by Malcolm Blight as St Kilda Football Club senior coach.

^[13]

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Like many past players, Watson has become a media personality, serving as a sports presenter on Seven News in Melbourne as well as having a special comments role on Seven's AFL coverage.

He has also appeared on many football-related TV shows: as a sports columnist in The Age newspaper, and from 2004 until 2013 as a co-host on the Morning Glory show with Andrew Maher on Melbourne radio station 1116 SEN.

In November 2013, Watson resigned from 1116 SEN to spend more time at the Seven Network; it was later announced that he would replace Sandy Roberts as weeknight sport presenter on Seven News in Melbourne. In 2015, Watson returned to the breakfast shift at 1116 SEN.

In November 2024, Watson announced his retirement from the Seven Network.^[15] Rebecca Maddern has been confirmed as his replacement.

During the late 1970s, Watson's older brother Larry also played at Essendon as well as Fitzroy before moving to Adelaide to play with West Adelaide in 1981, going on to win the SANFL premiership with Wests in 1983.

In 1993, Watson was named 'Victorian Father of the Year'.^[16] In the 2002 National Draft, his son, Jobe Watson, was drafted by Essendon under the father–son rule. Tim and Jobe were both coached by Kevin Sheedy.^[17] Tim also has a younger brother Rick who currently lives in Tocumwal in New South Wales.

Tim is married to Susie Watson; their children include son Jobe and daughters Billie, Tess and Grace.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tim Watson.

• Tim Watson – Champions of Essendon
• Tim Watson – SEN profile
• Tim Watson – Saxton Speakers Bureau
• Tim Watson – 7news profile