“Most of their development now will be about education and game-style learning,” Watson told NMFC.com.au.
“But the only way they’re going to learn is by giving them opportunities here and there to grow and improve.”
While Curran and Wood had injury-interrupted seasons, Watson believes the key to their future successes will depend on how much they can learn from other forwards on the list.
“It’s about making sure they work in with guys like (Aaron) Black, (Robbie) Tarrant and (Drew) Petrie, making sure they’re across everything that happens in the forward-half of the ground.
“While Drew, Robbie and Blacky were mainstays for the main part of 2013, Tom and Mason certainly have to be pushing them by playing good footy in the VFL.”
On a personal note, the shift from being North’s defensive coach is a welcome change.
“After four years in the same role the club probably thought it was time to freshen things up a little bit,” he said.
“With Fruity (Brett Allison) going, there was the opportunity for a little bit of movement. Josh Drummond had done a fantastic job in development and obviously being a fresh defender out of the game, it was a good chance to get him in as defensive coach.”
With North averaging almost 105 points a game last season, Watson is level-headed with his assessment on what needs to be done while overseeing the likes of Petrie and Lindsay Thomas.
“You don’t want to change too much in terms of what we’re doing though with our forwards and offence because it’s been a real strength.
“Fruity and Brad (Scott) have done a great job in terms of setting up when we have the footy. Sometimes with a new role, you want to go in and change everything but realistically it’s the strength of our game.”
The most invaluable resource will be the forwards themselves as Watson looks to settle in.
“While you’ve got an overview of what’s been happening in the forward line, because you haven’t been in direct contact with them the whole time, the best people to go to are the ones that have been playing there,” Watson said.
“So it might even be something like going to Drew and asking him what he thinks is working and what might need adjusting.”
At this stage it appears the work will be done by drawing on Watson’s experience as defensive coach.
“You can make little adjustments knowing what defenders are trying to do in terms of leading patterns and marking contests.”
The forwards won’t have to worry about Watson bragging about his own career as a forward as he insisted his 33-goal season in 1998 wouldn’t be brought up at any stage.
