IT’S been a long road to 200 SEABL games for Albury-Wodonga Bandits captain Michael Watson.
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And it’s a milestone he admits he never thought he’d reach.
The self-confessed ‘defence and hustle specialist’ has had to fight tooth-and-nail for every minute of court time since his league debut in 2004.
From Albury-Wodonga to Dandenong and Frankston and back to the Border again, and having racked up 100 games with the Bandits last year, Watson has relied on doing all the little things to ensure a lengthy playing career.
“I class myself as just a bit of a battler,” Watson said.
“So to get 200 games up, it’s a nice achievement to look back on.
“But if you’d told me in the first few years I’d get to 200, it wouldn’t have just been me saying no, there would’ve been a lot of other people as well.
“Initially I wondered if I could (play in the SEABL) but I quickly realised if I was going to make it, I wasn’t going to be a star.
“If I could do the one-percenters, a lot of guys don’t want to do that and that’s given me a role to play for 10 years now.”
Having only ever tasted post-season action with Frankston, Watson said he would love to help the Bandits return to the SEABL playoffs this year, especially with the looming likelihood it will be the 31-year-old’s final campaign.
The Bandits presently sit second in the East conference with a 6-3 record, just a half-game behind ladder leaders Geelong in what is already shaping to be a desperately tight playoff race.
“Hopefully at least playoffs,” Watson said.
“I’ve never played a playoff game with the Bandits, if this is going to be my last season, I’d really like to end it on a good note and at least make finals.
“I think at the moment, we’re probably just under the elite teams, the Mount Gambiers and the Geelongs.
“We’re right in the mix though.
“It’s very close to being my last year, I really think I’d struggle to go again.
“But you never say never.”
The Bandits head to Brisbane tomorrow for an East conference clash with the Spartans and Watson admitted the Queensland club always presented a formidable challenge on its home floor.
Despite sitting at the bottom of the standings and having lost six straight games, Brisbane pushed Geelong to the limit last weekend, falling in overtime at The Arena.
“The trip to Brisbane is always tough,” Watson said.
“They’re a high-octane team, they’ve got a great guard rotation and they shoot a lot of threes.
“We’re under no illusions they have a lot of firepower.
“We’re confident though, I think we’ve turned the corner in recent weeks and we’re right back up to where we were at the start of the year.”