After Milne was charged with four counts of rape on Tuesday, Watters conceded there was a degree of uncertainty when it came to the head-space of his players, and Saturday's comfortable win over Melbourne reflected well on the group.
"You're never certain on that because it's very difficult to measure," Watters said, after the 35-point victory at the MCG.
Milne was present to watch close mates Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santoplay their 250th games and defender Sean Dempster his 150th, but stayedout of public view.
Watters said "not much had changed" since Friday's press conference whenhe said he hoped Milne would be available to play again soon.
He reiterated it was important Milne was "looked after from a duty ofcare point of view" and it was hard to put a definitive timeline on hisreturn.
"We'd be hopeful that within three to four weeks he's back playing but we'll monitor that as we go," he said.
"I'd be hopeful that he's back.
"If we don't say that, we'd probably have to say 'indefinite' and that scares everyone.
"The main thing is [we] just assess it week by week. He needs to look afterhis family right at this point. Footy is secondary but I know howresilient he is and at the right time, when we think he's right to go,we'll bring him back.
"It's a guesstimate, three to four weeks, and we'll assess it week by week."
As for the game, and the milestones that were heralded by club presidentGreg Westaway at the pre-match function and in the rooms afterwards,Watters walked away pleased with the result despite the ugly nature ofthe game.
He said the leaders stood up when they needed to and delivered the faststart he demanded after challenging lead-ins for both clubs.
In regards to the milestone players, he said some of Dempster's work had been "sensational" and Dal Santo stepped up when needed to.
Watters said Riewoldt "was everything you want in a captain" both during the week and during Saturday's game.
"What I knew was they trained very well this week and certainly you could sense their commitment to making sure this was a game where our players playing in a milestone were respected.
"We had some champions of the club tonight [play] significant milestones, so that was a really good focus for us pre-game.
"You're never 100 per cent certain but I knew they'd give everything they had."
Midfielder Farren Ray, who had 29 disposals and kicked two goals, said he had been inspired by something Riewoldt said during the week regarding how the captain would remember this significant game.
"It's always good winning in milestones," Ray told AFL.com.au
"'Rooey' made the comment during the week he remembered playing in Robert Harvey's 250th and 'Harvs' said he always remembers who plays well in his milestone games.
"It really stuck in my mind."
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
