Scott Watters (born 25 January 1969) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. As a player, he was drafted from the South Fremantle Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) to the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1988. He later played for the Sydney Swans and Fremantle. He was a member of the 1985 Teal Cup winning side, the first year that Western Australia had won the national championships. As a coach, he started his career in 2006 with WAFL team Subiaco, followed by a stint as an assistant coach with the Collingwood Football Club from 2010 to 2011. Watters then became the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club, following Ross Lyon's departure, for two seasons from 2012 to 2013.[1]
| Scott Watters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Scott Watters | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-01-25) 25 January 1969 (age 53) | ||
| Original team(s) | South Fremantle (WAFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 5, 1988 pre-draft selection | ||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1989–1992 | West Coast | 046 (13) | |
| 1993–1994 | Sydney | 037 (11) | |
| 1995–1996 | Fremantle | 026 0(6) | |
| Total | 109 (30) | ||
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 1988–1993 | Western Australia | 6 (3) | |
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2007–2009 | Subiaco | 68 (53–15–0) | |
| 2008–2009 | Western Australia | 2 (2–0–0) | |
| 2012–2013 | St Kilda | 44 (17–27–0) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1996. 2 State and international statistics correct as of 1993. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2013. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Watters attended All Saints' College. He later helped coach the College's football teams.[2]
Watters was selected as a pre-draft selection in the 1988 VFL Draft by West Coast after he won the fairest and best award for South Fremantle in 1987. He played 46 games for the Eagles over the next four seasons, including their first ever grand final appearance in 1991. However, when he was not selected in the 1992 premiership team, he was traded to Sydney as part of a deal which gave the Eagles the Number 1 draft pick, which they used to select Drew Banfield.
The reduction in public pressure in a non-AFL city and an injury free period saw Watters play some of his best football in the 37 games for the Swans. His good form in his first season was recognised with being runner-up in the Swans' best and fairest award.[3]
With the entry of the second Western Australian team in 1995, Watters returned to join the Fremantle Dockers and was the first vice-captain of the club. Injuries, however, would take their toll and at the end of the 1996 season he retired from AFL football. He continued to play for South Fremantle until the 1998 season, when he retired with a total of 207 senior games, 109 in the AFL, 92 in the WAFL and six for Western Australia. He is a member of the West Australian Football Two Hundred Club.[4]
After retiring as a player, Watters spent time as a radio commentator with Perth radio station 6PR.
In 2006, Watters was appointed the coach of the Subiaco Football Club colts team. In November 2006 he was appointed the league coach, after Peter German accepted an assistant coaching position with the Fremantle Football Club.[5]
In late 2009, Watters signed with the Collingwood Football Club as an assistant coach for seasons 2010 and 2011.
At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Watters was appointed the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club, following the resignation of Ross Lyon.[6][7][8][9][10] In Watters's first season as senior coach of the St Kilda Football club, in the 2012 season, The Saints under Watters finished ninth with twelve wins and ten losses, but they just missed out of the finals. But the Saints under Watters endured a miserable 2013 season to finish in sixteenth (third-last) place on the ladder with only five wins.[11] Watters was sacked as St Kilda Football Club senior coach on 1 November 2013, at the end of the 2013 season.[1][12][13][14][15] Watters was then replaced by Alan Richardson as St Kilda Football Club senior coach.[16]
St Kilda Football Club President Peter Summers attributed that the club came to the decision to sack Watters, after a club review conducted by board member Andrew Thompson.[17]
Inaugural Fremantle Football Club AFL team | |
|---|---|
| Full-back | |
| Half-back | |
| Centre | |
| Half-forward | |
| Full-forward | |
| Ruck | |
| Interchange |
|
| Coach | |
Fremantle lost to Richmond 12.13 (85) to 12.18 (90), round 1, 1 April 1995 at the MCG (Reference: Footystats) | |
Coaches of the St Kilda Football Club | |
|---|---|
| VFL/AFL |
|
| AFL Women's |
|
*St Kilda did not participate in the VFL from 1916–1917 due to World War I
| |
Coaches of the Subiaco Football Club | |
|---|---|
|
Western Australian team – 1991 State of Origin | |
|---|---|
Western Australia 19.13 (127) defeated Victoria 7.9 (41), at the WACA, 16 July 1991 | |
Coach: Malthouse |
Western Australian team – 1992 State of Origin | |
|---|---|
Victoria 23.19 (157) defeated Western Australia 13.12 (90), at the MCG, 26 May 1992 | |
Coach: Malthouse |
Western Australian team – 1993 State of Origin | |
|---|---|
South Australia 19.13 (127) defeated Western Australia 14.17 (91), at Football Park, 2 June 1993, crowd: 21,487 | |
| Semi-Final vs. South Australia | |
Coach: Malthouse | |