Opinion Where do Gawn, Petracca, and Oliver rank in our all-time greats?

[Proper Gander]

Do you think the tome will get through security?

All sorts have gotten through before, so I’d give tome a sporting chance

 

[Proper Gander]

This place is really silly. It's great.

It’s very austere, Less - you’re just not always alive to the nuance

 

[SugarHealey]

We won a flag with two bog average key forwards.

So did Carlton in past decades.
With Mark McClure. He was very serviceable alongside Robert Walls.

They need to go when its they're turn and to straighten the side up. Contesting everything. And playing robustly.

 

[SugarHealey]

Winning a flag with a bog ruckman happens far more often than it does without a gun forward. You could argue Fritch was our FF that day also. I said FF, not KPF.

Fritsch just got on the end of others great play.

One out by himself, he's a star.

That game was won by our mids... including Tracca, Oli, Gawn, lJackson, Harmes, Rivers, Sparrow, etc.
And Brayshaw!!!

 

[PerfectFooty]

Fritsch just got on the end of others great play.

One out by himself, he's a star.

That game was one by our mids... including Tracca, Oli, Gawn, lJackson, Harmes, Rivers, Sparrow, etc.
And Brayshaw!!!

People can say where they rank brayshaw against his teammates and opposition players, and fair

His game in that Grand Final though was something special, i will always remember him for that

 

[Topkent]

Pretty sure reading this board that Oliver is a stat padding turn over merchant, Trac is meh and hasn't Gawn retired

Oh yeah and sack Goodwin, can't coach

Pretty much sums up MFC board 2023

Sounds like we basically nailed it

 

[00Stinger]

Sounds like we basically nailed it

you resorting to trolling through posts from 2 years ago these days TK?

 

[Headless]

I think a lot of us here mark these three harshly just because their standards are so high. But these three have pretty consistently been in the top ten in the competition in my eyes for several years, and that's pretty remarkable. Imagine being able to say that about three of our players some years ago.

Here is a quick overview of achievements of the three, basically just taken from their Wikipedia pages.

Max Gawn

• 189 games, 94 goals
• AFL premiership captain: 2021
• 6× All-Australian team: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (c), 2022
• Melbourne captain: 2020–
• 2× Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medallist: 2018, 2019
• AFLCA Champion Player of the Year: 2018
• Neale Daniher Trophy: 2016

Christian Petracca

• 162 games, 152 goals
• AFL premiership player: 2021
• Norm Smith Medal: 2021
• 3× All-Australian team: 2020, 2021, 2022
• Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy: 2020
• Melbourne leading goalkicker: 2019
• Neale Daniher Trophy: 2017
• Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal: 2021
• 2× 22under22 team: 2016, 2018
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2016

Clayton Oliver

• 157 games, 50 goals
• AFL premiership player: 2021
• 2x AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2021, 2022
• 3x All-Australian team: 2018, 2021, 2022
• 4× Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medallist: 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022
• 3× 22under22 team: 2017, 2018, 2019
• Harold Ball Memorial Trophy: 2017
• Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal: 2022
• Neale Daniher Trophy: 2022
• 2x Lou Richards Medal: 2021, 2022
• AFLCA Best Young Player Award: 2017
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2016
• Morrish Medal: 2015

Three grouse records, and we're lucky to have each of them running out in our colours each week. Where do they rank?

Max Gawn

• 250* games, 116* goals
• AFL premiership captain: 2021
• 8× All-Australian team: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 (c), 2022, 2024, 2025
• Melbourne captain: 2020–present
• 3× Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medallist: 2018, 2019, 2025
• AFLCA Champion Player of the Year: 2018
• Neale Daniher Trophy: 2016
• 2x Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal: 2024, 2025

Christian Petracca

• 212 games, 202 goals
• AFL premiership player: 2021
• Norm Smith Medal: 2021
• 4× All-Australian team: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• 2x Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy: 2020, 2023
• Melbourne leading goalkicker: 2019
• Neale Daniher Trophy: 2017
• Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal: 2021
• 2× 22under22 team: 2016, 2018
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2016

Clayton Oliver

• 205 games, 58 goals
• AFL premiership player: 2021
• 2x AFLCA Champion Player of the Year Award: 2021, 2022
• 3x All-Australian team: 2018, 2021, 2022
• 4× Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medallist: 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022
• 3× 22under22 team: 2017, 2018, 2019
• Harold Ball Memorial Trophy: 2017
• Frank 'Checker' Hughes Medal: 2022
• Neale Daniher Trophy: 2022
• 2x Lou Richards Medal: 2021, 2022
• AFLCA Best Young Player Award: 2017
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2016

 

[Headless]

inb4 why are we still talking about Christian Petracca

5

Christian Petracca

Age

29

Ht

187cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.4

5star

K

9.5

4star

HB

9.8

5star

M

3.5

4star

T

3.0

5star

CL

2.5

4star

D

24.4

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

14.0

5star

M

3.5

3star

T

3.6

4star

CL

3.4

4star

D

19.0

5star

K

7.8

3star

HB

11.2

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

3.8

5star

CL

2.0

4star

and Clayton Oliver

13

Clayton Oliver

Age

28

Ht

189cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

27.8

5star

K

9.5

4star

HB

18.4

5star

M

3.2

3star

T

6.3

5star

CL

6.3

5star

D

25.1

5star

K

11.1

4star

HB

14.0

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

5.6

5star

CL

5.9

5star

D

19.2

5star

K

4.6

2star

HB

14.6

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

4.4

5star

CL

3.8

5star

?

 

[Scythe]

I think Oliver is clearly the best Melbourne player ive seen.

 

[Scythe]

To be fair to Rude, that post was made mere weeks before Oliver absolutely torpedoed his career

 

[Scythe]

But to the original question, it was Gawn at the time and it's Gawn now (not particularly close).

Trac and Oliver at their peak were outstanding, but were (arguably) never the outright best current player in their position. Gawn's not only that, but is one of the greatest rucks of all-time.

 

[Scythe]

Max Gawn

• 250* games, 116* goals

247 games, isn't it?

 

[Bluelegs]

To be fair to Rude, that post was made mere weeks before Oliver absolutely torpedoed his career

Now we know who to blame.

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

If Oliver stayed on track he would have been the best but once he got a flag and got paid he decided that would do him and he could be the massive ******** he was born to be. No other player is more responsible for the downfall of this football club than him.

Farmer and Jakovich regain their status as our best two players of all time.

 

[Bluelegs]

Farmer and Jakovich regain their status as our best two players of all time.

Up goes Farmer!

 

[Theseventhhamster]

What a wild ride the last 3-4 years have been on this topic. There was a chance that both Trac and Oliver could have surpassed Gawn and now it's a laughable idea even with both having the theoretical potential of 5 more years of good footy ahead of them.

If you went purely on field, maybe Trac hasn't caught up to Oliver the last couple of years due to the big injury with Oliver's banked consistency before he went off the rails. I'm counting overall impact on the club though, so Oliver has been in reverse for three years and now sits well below both and maybe sits below May too.

Want to see the team recover and help Max to set a formidable record 10-11 AA honours. (Still in mourning from a seagull half back taking the Jimmy Stynes consecutive games record.)

 

[Headless]

247 games, isn't it?

Great - now we have to not only close the thread, but delete the entire Melbourne board.

 

[Demon Attack]

What a wild ride the last 3-4 years have been on this topic. There was a chance that both Trac and Oliver could have surpassed Gawn and now it's a laughable idea even with both having the theoretical potential of 5 more years of good footy ahead of them.

If you went purely on field, maybe Trac hasn't caught up to Oliver the last couple of years due to the big injury with Oliver's banked consistency before he went off the rails. I'm counting overall impact on the club though, so Oliver has been in reverse for three years and now sits well below both and maybe sits below May too.

Want to see the team recover and help Max to set a formidable record 10-11 AA honours. (Still in mourning from a seagull half back taking the Jimmy Stynes consecutive games record.)

And said seagull was sub in some of those games

 

[FootyBot13]

Great - now we have to not only close the thread, but delete the entire Melbourne board.

I wanna know who the all-time greats are? What standard are we putting Gawn, Petracca, Viney and Oliver up against?

Best players from the 90s, or 60s, or 30s, or 00s, a mish-mash of both?

 

[Demon Attack]

There would be half a dozen blokes from the 50s who shit all over them I reckon. Older posters like hLess might be able to name them

 

[Scythe]

Older posters like hLess

Ooft, cop that Headless

 

[Demon trucker1000]

I am not going to rank the player in terms of there playing ability, but how these players fathers are ranked in being funny, according to an inside source by one of clary's family. Trac's dad thinks he's funny, but he's not very funny, and laughs at his own jokes, and Salem's dad is the funniest dad at the MFC, this source also says trac is the dumb person he has ever met.

 

[Topkent]

That's the saddest post I've ever read up there with knowing Bartels missus publicist and claiming inside info on zorko and Petty

 

[Demon trucker1000]

That's the saddest post I've ever read up there with knowing Bartels missus publicist and claiming inside info on zorko and Petty

Well when you live in the same town where all of Oliver family live, someone you know, knows a family member of everyone., echuca only has 10000 people, and this family member is the closest to Clary, Clary see him every time he goes back home, and that he has met many players and family