Cripps Bontempelli Merrett Kelly - the next big 4?

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Demonic Ascent

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For the last time.

This thread is for the players that were from the 2013 draft class. Oliver is NOT in that draft class, and even if he was in this thread I'm not sure if he would crack the top 3.
Who cares when they were drafted. "The next big 4" could be from any draft and if you don't think Oliver is in the best 3 young players you're dreaming
 

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conrad_437

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Who cares when they were drafted. "The next big 4" could be from any draft and if you don't think Oliver is in the best 3 young players you're dreaming
Well this thread, if you read the opening post, is for the players who were drafted in 2013. Make your own 'best young players' thread if you really want to.

Oliver is arguably better than Cripps and it could be debated whether he is better than Merrett, but he is very far off Bont and Kelly in terms of ability and impact. These two are the two best young players in the comp, no question.
 

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Well this thread, if you read the opening post, is for the players who were drafted in 2013. Make your own 'best young players' thread if you really want to.

Oliver is arguably better than Cripps and it could be debated whether he is better than Merrett, but he is very far off Bont and Kelly in terms of ability and impact. These two are the two best young players in the comp, no question.
I disagree
 

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You can keep your one-eyed glasses then.
Not one eyed at all, Oliver outperformed Cripps, Bont and Merrett in 2017. Kelly was probably on a par, he was more damaging due to hitting the scoreboard however Oliver's creativity was probably just as beneficial to Melbourne's attack and break away from stoppages. Won a B&F in a canter in his 2nd season. He's severely underrated by the wider footy community because a lot of his work is in and under but once he starts to use his foot more, which is as lethal as his hands, he'll be considered one of the top mids in the game. And he's only into his 2nd season.
 

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Not one eyed at all, Oliver outperformed Cripps, Bont and Merrett in 2017. Kelly was probably on a par, he was more damaging due to hitting the scoreboard however Oliver's creativity was probably just as beneficial to Melbourne's attack and break away from stoppages. Won a B&F in a canter in his 2nd season. He's severely underrated by the wider footy community because a lot of his work is in and under but once he starts to use his foot more, which is as lethal as his hands, he'll be considered one of the top mids in the game. And he's only into his 2nd season.
Getting more touches doesn’t equal better performed.

Couldn’t even make the aa squad
 
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Not one eyed at all, Oliver outperformed Cripps, Bont and Merrett in 2017. Kelly was probably on a par, he was more damaging due to hitting the scoreboard however Oliver's creativity was probably just as beneficial to Melbourne's attack and break away from stoppages. Won a B&F in a canter in his 2nd season. He's severely underrated by the wider footy community because a lot of his work is in and under but once he starts to use his foot more, which is as lethal as his hands, he'll be considered one of the top mids in the game. And he's only into his 2nd season.
Mmm
I get Oliver is a real talent, and was used mostly inside last year which makes comparisons difficult. Kelly was hitting the scoreboard because we used him inside as a variation and when we were injury depleted. Mostly he played outside and kicking running goals and crumbing was very much his job.
Too early in both their careers to know who's better, Oliver has the size to be a target as well as crumber in the Bontempelli mode so it will be interesting to see.
 

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conrad_437

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Not one eyed at all, Oliver outperformed Cripps, Bont and Merrett in 2017. Kelly was probably on a par, he was more damaging due to hitting the scoreboard however Oliver's creativity was probably just as beneficial to Melbourne's attack and break away from stoppages. Won a B&F in a canter in his 2nd season. He's severely underrated by the wider footy community because a lot of his work is in and under but once he starts to use his foot more, which is as lethal as his hands, he'll be considered one of the top mids in the game. And he's only into his 2nd season.
As MOC said, more possessions does not equal more impact. Oliver averaged 8.1 kicks per game. Drew Petrie averaged more than that.

He's a gun inside player. But at the moment, that's all he is, he doesn't do any work on the outside and as a result the actual impact he has on the game is limited. He has a lot of potential, and I can see him being a top 10 player of the game IF he improves his outside game substantially. Kelly was NOT on par with Oliver, he had far and away a bigger impact than him. Bont had a bigger impact on games this year, however he was more inconsistent than Oliver and what he has been previously.
AA squad is just a popularity contest, who cares? 7th in AFLCA awards plus AFLCA best young player in 2017.
AA is far from a popularity contest. When you don't make the squad with the numbers that Oliver put up this year, it shows that his impact is lower than his peers.
 

ManOfClay

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AA squad is just a popularity contest, who cares? 7th in AFLCA awards plus AFLCA best young player in 2017.

By your metric Merrett was better then. Despite your earlier protestations.

But of course even the coaches award has its flaws. Players performing a role may be favoured over genuine stars. Or brad Scott might refuse to give votes out of spite
 
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Not one eyed at all, Oliver outperformed Cripps, Bont and Merrett in 2017. Kelly was probably on a par, he was more damaging due to hitting the scoreboard however Oliver's creativity was probably just as beneficial to Melbourne's attack and break away from stoppages. Won a B&F in a canter in his 2nd season. He's severely underrated by the wider footy community because a lot of his work is in and under but once he starts to use his foot more, which is as lethal as his hands, he'll be considered one of the top mids in the game. And he's only into his 2nd season.
yep, and let's not forget, none of the other softcock players issued death threats to spectators either. Do Champion Data measure that one?
 

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Oliver is a fine young player just like to see him kick more, If he averages 30 possessions 22 are handballs , Makes him nowhere near as damaging as a Martin or Dangerfield
I think he started to kick more in the back end of the season. He was literally looking for the handball every time he got the footy early on. It seemed very instinctive. He’s very creative by hand but also a lovely kick. I think we’ll see him kick a bit more next season.
 

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