"Heart of all good things": Watson credits amazing Blue recruit

Carlton made a number of list changes ahead of the 2026 season, and now that the club has found its on-field groove, Tim Watson has given a standout recruit his flowers.

Joining the Blues as a sweetener in the Swans exchange for Charlie Curnow, Will Hayward has excelled in his new colours, particularly under the reign of Josh Fraser.

Within Carlton’s 9-2 run over the last 11 weeks, Hayward has averaged over 17 disposals, six marks and a goal per game, flourishing since his move up the ground.

After mounting a career-high 22 disposals in the Blues’ loss to Brisbane in Round 10, Hayward trumped his career-high once more with 23 in their upset win over the same opposition last weekend.

However, it’s not just his numbers that have caught the eye of Watson.

“I just wanted to mention this guy because I don’t think anybody has really spoken about him in great detail,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.

“He is not the best player in the competition – he is not even the best player at Carlton. But he has been an amazing recruit for Carlton.

“It didn’t start off great - it was a little bit bumpy at the beginning – but Will Hayward (has been excellent).

“Do you know what I love about Will Hayward? He leaves everything out there on the field. He empties out.

“The other thing that I find great about him too – and I’ve been watching him really closely – he is one of the great teammates you can possibly have in an AFL club.

“I think he’d be the same whether he played suburban football or country football. He rejoices in the accomplishments of everybody around him.

“He plays with this joy; he is jumping around; he is genuinely excited and authentic in the way that he celebrates his teammates out there.

“Sometimes you can recruit talent, sometimes experienced characters – he has all of those things, and it is great.

“He is not ever going to win the best and fairest there at Carlton, but in terms of somebody who has only been there a short time, for him to have inserted himself into a football club and play with what appears to be a love for a football club as though he has been there for 10 years, I think it just goes to the heart of all the things that are good at Carlton at the moment.”

Hayward and the Blues face off against St Kilda this Sunday afternoon in a bid to maintain their spot in the top 10.