Player Watch #13 Clayton Oliver – UNPRECEDENTED 4 x B&F, 3 x AA, 2 x AFLCA Winner and Premiership Player

[Toump Ass]

I can only assume what their functioning eyes revealed was a highly skilled, hard running 18 yo with leadership abilities (u18 captain) and with enough heart/balls/grunt to compete with and play well against men at SANFL level as a 17 yo. As was apparently the view of the majority of the functioning eyes in recruitment and draft watching nation wide, at the time.

Also, the hip issue became apparent after we drafted him I think?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing - and you’re claiming its not hindsight, that you knew before hand, which is great. Well done, you got lucky or you were just ahead of the curve in terms of the lower risk associated with drafting big bodied, contested mids vs drafting skinny, outside types early in the draft.

But even then, does that mean that you should always go for the Wines types? I’d argue no because most of the time they have a lower scope for improvement - what you see is what you get and there’s always the risk that they were beating up in kids smaller than themselves and that when competing against big hardened AFL bodies they won’t look as dominant.

"heart, balls and grunt!" "played well against MEN... in the SANFL!!!!"



You did a great job, thank you for drafting Toumpas! Consensus Number 2!

Edit:
In all seriousness, it's wrong to say Toumpas was universally acclaimed as the second best kid. Clearly GWS didn't think so given they had two chances to get him after Whitfield and didn't- and there were plenty of dissenting voices on demonland and here (mine included... if you know what to look for )

Toumpas might have been the more "skilled" or whatever but I've always valued competitiveness more because I thought this was exactly what Melbourne needed (for pretty obvious reasons). And then there was the heart-warming "best mates with Jack" story too. No way I could go past that- I'm a sentimental fool after all.

Anyway, I don't care. Toumpas is s**t, Oliver rules.

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

Y’all need to stop sooking. If we drafted Wines there’s no guarantee we get Oliver three years later, as someone else said. Can you imagine an MFC without Oliver? I certainly don’t want to.

 

[stretcharmstrong]

"heart, balls and grunt!" "played well against MEN... in the SANFL!!!!"



You did a great job, thank you for drafting Toumpas! Consensus Number 2!

Lol you’re welcome. You wouldn’t have existed had I not been such a consensus judge of u18 talent

 

[Cannon82]

I was wondering what the Michael Jackson look was about. Not sure why we're risking our best mid a few days after surgery against a potato farmers' union. Yap yap, I'm not a doctor, etc but why not give the guy a week off?

 

[Sando22]

What a star.
Sounded like missing this week was never even a consideration by him.
Good on him for getting himself up and playing the game he did.
Loooooove Clarry.

 

[markm106]

Heard Gawn on the radio speaking about him. Every time someone from the club is asked about him they go on about how hard he works. Apparently has an ice bath at the club every night at 9pm. Trains on days off to apparently.

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

Heard Gawn on the radio speaking about him. Every time someone from the club is asked about him they go on about how hard he works. Apparently has an ice bath at the club every night at 9pm. Trains on days off to apparently.

Sounds like he’s mooching off the club ice bath to me!!!

 

[stEdy]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/fr...r/news-story/e851d6ee0121dc71193c34897e04ba67

"According to one list manager, Oliver’s rise up the pecking order from early August to November was “unprecedented.”"https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/fr...r/news-story/e851d6ee0121dc71193c34897e04ba67

 

[Gysberts2Bate]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/fr...r/news-story/e851d6ee0121dc71193c34897e04ba67

"According to one list manager, Oliver’s rise up the pecking order from early August to November was “unprecedented.”"

It really was though. Like I've said before if he rises a year too late he probably gets overlook in 2015 and picked up in 2016. If he'd had a somewhat earlier or better rise, he probably goes pick 1. Did just well enough in a three month period to put him on our radar but be unconventional enough to be a risk for Carlton and Brisbane.

 

[rhaz]

Not that it means much, but he is in the top 10 of the AFL player ratings now, at the expense of Bontempelli. Not bad for 48 games...

 

[TheCount]

Not that it means much, but he is in the top 10 of the AFL player ratings now, at the expense of Bontempelli. Not bad for 48 games...

That is actually quite absurd when you consider that the ratings go off a 2 year period, and he's been playing AFL footy for 2.5 years.

 

[rhaz]

That is actually quite absurd when you consider that the ratings go off a 2 year period, and he's been playing AFL footy for 2.5 years.

Would you dare say he is the U word?

 

[Sando22]

Would you dare say he is the U word?

Umbilical?

 

[Proper Gander]

Uber driver

 

[Demonkings]

Underrated

 

[00Stinger]

Uber driver

+

Underrated

=

Uber underrated

 

[Demonkings]

+



=

Uber underrated

Let’s not go nuts

 

[Proper Gander]

Let’s not go nuts

This thread hurled itself over that threshold some while ago.

 

[Demonkings]

This thread hurled itself over that threshold some while ago.

There’s always further thresholds to cross, greater boundaries to push. I could see this thread going to far out distant places. Unprecedented places, if you will. Let there be no limits to the hyperbole a Melbourne supporter can use in relation to Clayton Oliver, his football abilities and his standing within the game. Onwards and upwards ladies and gentlemen!

 

[Topkent]

Hugely disappointing that we had a chance to win the game and Clayton Oliver decided to take a dive. Put himself out of position for the clearance.

Hope he gets fined so He can cut that s**t out.

 

[DemonJim]

Hugely disappointing that we had a chance to win the game and Clayton Oliver decided to take a dive. Put himself out of position for the clearance.

Hope he gets fined so He can cut that s**t out.

I'm sure he saw Saints getting away with it so thought why not give it a try. (I didn't see it, just saw him on the ground when I looked over that way)

 

[Topkent]

I'm sure he saw Saints getting away with it so thought why not give it a try. (I didn't see it, just saw him on the ground when I looked over that way)

Your talents are wasted on the Melbourne board, you should try the main board

 

[DemonJim]

Your talents are wasted on the Melbourne board, you should try the main board

Why make this personal? I was commenting (jokingly) about Clarry's choice of "diving" (I didn't see it but from what I hear it was a dive, perhaps similar to the hand to hand contact that made the Saints player go down in the first qtr to get a free and then a goal?)

 

[DrPowellPepper]

Oliver was getting punched in the stomach all game, regardless if he went down easy or not I thought the afl were stamping that out. The umpires ignored it.

 

[DemonJim]

Oliver was getting punched in the stomach all game, regardless if he went down easy or not I thought the afl were stamping that out. The umpires ignored it.

Really? I didn't notice it.
Good work to the umps that attempted to stop this low tactic.