JACK Watts has decided to stay at Melbourne and has re-signed with the club for three years.

The 2008 No.1 draft pick is now tied to the club until the end of 2016.

Watts had looked like leaving the Demons midway through the season as he became frustrated with the direction of the club.

He made no secret of the fact he didn't think his coach Mark Neeld was able to get the best out of him and decided to wait for the club's direction to become clearer before signing.

"For me, it was just about seeing what was taking place at the club and I don't think anyone can argue with me for that," Watts said. 

"Ever since [Melbourne CEO] Peter Jackson has come to the club, he's filled me with a lot of confidence and he just kept pulling aces out of the sleeve.

"I love the club and I’m just so happy to be able to stay there."

The club's hopes of retaining him received a major boost when it appointed Paul Roos as coach. Roos immediately declared Watts a required player.

"It was pretty big [in my decision]," Watts said.

"To have someone of his stature and even just to be able to talk to him for five minutes and see his vision of where we're going and what kind of person he is – that made the decision a lot easier."

Watts admits his first discussions with Roos had been "encouraging".

"It's been really encouraging. He sees me as a bit of midfielder and a bigger body and I feel like I can get my hands on the ball a bit more than I have, I can have a lot more impact on my game."

"That was pretty exciting to hear that from him.

"Now it's up to me to hold up my end of the bargain and come back in good nick and really attack the pre-season and get into next year." 

Watts has played 73 games since making his debut in round 11, 2009 against Collingwood.

He was much hyped on debut and admits now he was probably less ready to play than he thought he was at the time.

Maligned at times, Watts has shown regular glimpses of his talent in the past two seasons and looks to be growing as aplayer.

The 22-year-old has kicked 60 goals and scored three Brownlow votes in Monday night's count.