Matthew LLoyd: Four per cent of players reach 200 games, there would have been a fair bit of doubt early on that you'd reach this milestone.

Jobe Watson: (Laughter) I think 10 games was doubtful. I never thought about how many games I'd like to play. I always just thought I'd like to play well in the ones that I did. I was never the type to say that I wanted to play 100 games or I want to play 150, 200, 300; the number was inconsequential. It was more about the quality.

ML: After your first three years at the club, you'd had 13 games to your name. What happened over that off-season which, in my opinion, is the biggest transformation I've ever seen in a player?

JW: Yeah, it was probably a transformation physically and mentally as well and I had a lot of people to thank and to credit for it. You know, the boxing training that I did, but also the mental training I did with Ray Giles. He just taught me about pushing myself and taking ownership of my career and how it was always going to be your mind that gave away before your body and how you can train your mind to take you to places that you've never been. I think the biggest benefit for me was I trained my mind even as much as my body.

ML: Could it have happened earlier?

JW: Well, I probably wasn't ready.Probably I was a bit immature with it. The game sort of had come easily to me as a youngster and then I probably faced the adversity about having something taken away from me that I loved, which was playing. That was, I think, the motivation for me: pride of performance and also knowing that this was going to be it if I didn't make a change.

ML: Do you believe you were ever close to be delisted by Kevin Sheedy?

JW: I think if I requested to go somewhere else he probably would have allowed it. Whether or not there would have been another suitor out there, I'm not sure. [Laughs] But I think that certainly I just hadn't got to the level that was required to be an AFL player. You know, 10 to 15 years ago you probably were given three or four years to develop on the list, now they can draw lines through you pretty quickly.

ML: Did he give you an ultimatum?

JW: No, but one of the things I still think about with Sheeds is he always said to me: "If you don't have speed and you're not great at some of the things, you need to be really skilful, really hard and really smart." And he was right.

ML: Has there been one game of your 199 to date that sticks out as your favourite or most satisfying?

JW: I was thinking about it the other day. It was a game we lost in Adelaide towards the end of 2012, it was my 150th. We had half a team. Adelaide I think finished third that year and we had all sorts of injuries. It was Jason Winderlich's 100th game and we ended up losing by three points and it was just one of those games where you shouldn't have even been in the game at all but it was just desire, it was the will, it was fun.. When you're playing those games you just see that people are just giving everything they have to win. They are the best games to play in.

ML: What about that game in Perth against Fremantle where you were jeered and you got over the line?

JW: It was emotionally taxing because of the build-up surrounding a television interview I did during the week. I remember thinking about halfway through the third quarter and we were down by around 30 points and I felt to myself that I'm going to be the reason that we lose this game because of what's happened during the week. So I thought, 'don't do something about it on Monday or Tuesday, do something now and see if you can just play and just try and enjoy the game'. In the end, it wasn't really a feeling of joy, it was more relief.

ML: What were your thoughts and emotions when you heard WADA announce they would appeal the non-guilty verdict.

JW: I suppose it was a little bit of disbelief ... the regard in which the people on this tribunal are held, I think that gives you a lot of confidence. So I just felt that it was time to move on for everyone and I felt that we probably all deserved to be able to move on.

ML: How exhausting mentally has the past two years been for you considering the captaincy is a tough job as it is?

JW: I think parts of it affect you on field and off-field. You try and compartmentalise as much as you can, but it's something I think that affects you. In terms of leadership and being the captain, to be a captain of any club at the moment I think is a very difficult job, one that requires a lot of responsibility, and I see people having to go through all kinds of different things all the time that affect them. I think you have to be aware that it's not a glamorous job, it's a full-time responsibility to your teammates.

ML: What did you make of the Sam Mitchell gesture towards Michael Hibberd last weekend?

JW: I think that people do things that they regret, and whatever it is, it happens all the time. He called Michael and apologised and I think that's where it is and you leave it at that.

ML: So you didn't feel the need to have to call Sam Mitchell yourself?

JW: No, I didn't. Luke Hodge rang me and I spoke to him but I didn't feel the need to call Sam.

ML: What about opposition in general, how much have you been sledged by the opposition over the past few years?

JW: We haven't received a lot of sledging at all.

ML:  You're four wins and eight losses. Where does the improvement have to come from to have a greater second half of the season?

JW: I think our leaders have to play better, and when you get an improvement out of those guys, then the rest of the group comes along with you. So, myself as captain, the other guys in the leadership group, if we can improve our performance and consistency, the rest of the guys are very coachable, they're great teammates, they're willing to get better and improve. There's some things from the game style that we're tinkering with, which I think will make a difference.

ML: Do you speak to James HIrd about his own pressures or are your discussions purely on footy matters?

JW: We talk as a player and coach on footy matters and then we talk as friends. I've pretty much known Hirdy my whole life. I think that's the beauty of clubs, they're relationship-based and that's why people enjoy playing in teams because there's genuine care for each other.

ML: There has been speculation that you may consider walking away from the game at the end of the season, is there any truth to that ?

JW: I'm committed to playing with my teammates and seeing out my contract which has two years remaining. Obviously there are times which have been more enjoyable than others but that is the game. It's full of challanges.

ML: On the captaincy, is Dyson Heppell your eventual successor?

JW:  I think there's multiple guys who could do it. The one lesson that I learnt early on is that I wished you had played on for a couple more years, because I think that to be ready to be a captain, you need to be able to be a bit older. I think 26-27 is the right age to become a captain because of the pressures that are associated with the job, and I think it just makes you more rounded and more prepared. I think you're better prepared when you've had more time in the game.

ML: Do you see yourself in the role for a few more years to allow those guys to be ready?

JW: Yeah, I think there's guys who are in leadership positions now who could take over - David Myers, Cale Hooker, and even Michael Hurley has become a really strong leader in recent times and BJ (Brendon Goddard) could take over. Those guys are a bit older now and they would all be capable.

ML:  Who was the best midfielder you've played on over your 200 games?

JW: The best midfielder was Simon Black probably because I have an appreciation for guys who perhaps aren't athletically as gifted as others. Simon Black for me was an incredible competitor, brilliant, and I've always valued guys who made their teammates better through their vision, smarts - all that sort of thing. For me he had all of those.

ML: Is there a player you admire who you didn't play on but always respected?

JW: I always had huge respect for Matthew Scarlett. I know talking to you about how difficult he was to play on and even Corey Enright, just the ability to read the game and make the right decisions. I still think one of the most undervalued skills is people who can make better decisions than everyone else around them.

ML: What about outside of football, what are you up to?

JW: I've been in buyer's advocacy for over 12 months with Infolio Property Group and I'm really enjoying that. It gives me something else to think about and to focus on.

ML: In retirement do you see yourself staying in football?

JW:  I think I'd like to step away from football. I guess you always speak to people and they get drawn back into football because they miss it so much and perhaps that will happen with me as well. But I'd love to have the challenge of a different environment and take myself out of my comfort zone and into another area. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing at the moment though.

ML: Do you think you'll live overseas when you finish footy?

JW: I'd like to. I like the idea of taking some time off and living in another country and experiencing a different culture.

ML: Jobe, you've been an absolute champion and a class act over a 10-year period of footy.  Congratulations on your 200th and good luck.