WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - CLAYTON OLIVER

[What 18,810]

Just how fierce will a midfield of Viney, Brayshaw, vandenBerg, N. Jones and now Oliver be for opposition teams? That's not even factoring in Vince who doesn't mind a scrap and the raging bull Petracca who might end up in there. They will dead set crush the likes of Richmond in the wet. It won't necessarily lead to sustained success but at least the bruise-free era is long behind us!

All those big powerful mids will allow Bernie to move to an outside role... he will be so dangerous as a finisher and it should extend his career.

[rpfc 28,052]

I will never forget it, ever.

Haha.

Can I just say it was a pleasure to have the top 10 lined up and for once not see the smallest little fella in a Dees jumper...

I am always going to be interested in what Darcy Parish might be but I am very excited by what Clayton Oliver is.

[rjay 24,617]

Viney Oliver and Brayshae on the inside with Petracca roaming and feeding it out to Salem Stretch and Tyson who kick it forward to Hogan Weiderman with roaming Garlett and Kennedy.

Tyson is our best inside mid.

[Return to Glory 8,250]

Anyone see in the highlights where he ran and dodged the ball halfway down the field? Or where he went head first in, bounced off a team mate and shot a dart hand pass out of congestion to a team mate?

What about when he did a reverse pike, ball in hand, spun out of traffic twice, pirouetted, brushed his teeth and dobbed it from 70?

[RalphiusMaximus 6,012]

He looks like he has a bit of puppy fat to shed. it will be interesting to look at his body shape after his first pre season. He could be difficult to tackle as he looks to have a nice burst of speed from a standing start.

I thought that too, but he looks like he's really slimmed down in the second half of the year judging by the latest shots of him. I think it speaks very well of him that he's done that on his own before being drafted. He's coming into the club ready to train. In the SEN coverage, they said he hurt himself during the agility trial (which he killed) and had to sit out the beep test, but refused to sit out the 3km time trial because he'd put so much work into improving his running and wanted the chance to show what he could do.

I'm still worried about our side's overall poor disposal, but this kid does look like he may be a player.

[rjay 24,617]

I really enjoyed his highlights clip. A couple of things really stood out. His ability and the way he avoided tackles obviously, but also the ways he gathered the ground ball so easily, particularly the way he freed his arms and got handballs out to advantage and the number of overhead marks he took.

I'm assuming the potential knock on him is fitness i.e. endurance, and perhaps pace over 2-3 steps.

Pretty happy.

This clip gave a better view of him, as we have had a couple of bulls in Moloney and Silvia with little and no awareness his earlier highlight clips didn't show enough. The kid looks to have good awareness and is not afraid to bring teammates into the game or take it on where appropriate.

[PaulRB 6,297]

Big factor in him going so high is he can play mid and forward well. Taylor mentioned it in his summary and with the interchange caps, mids who can "rest" forward and damage a team are worth more than a pure mid, even if they may be silkier (i.e. as Parish appears to be).

So good that we are in a position to develop him properly rather than fast track him as the new saviour for Round 1.

[rpfc 28,052]

Tyson is our best inside mid.

If you say that three times Jack Viney appears and pulls your heart out...

[Return to Glory 8,250]

If he does perform, what a great combo with Petracca.

[Nasher 33,607]

Having watched the highlights, I now get the Jordie McKenzie references. Again, not a reflection of expectations or quality of player, just looks and style. He's a dead ringer I reckon.

[ILLDieADemon 804]

I like this guy.

[Alcho Dee 269]

Interesting player, good choice at this stage, much prefer him to Parish, but it's what they do at the top level. Fingers crossed

[Whispering_Jack 29,258]

I'll admit that I had Parish ahead of him all the way ... but I hope Knightmare who had him second in the overall power rankings got it right.

Clayton Oliver (VIC – MID)

Height: 187cm, Weight: 86kg, DOB: 22/07/1997

Recruited from: Murray Bushrangers

Reminds me of: Oliver Wines

Best position/role: Midfield – on the ball.

Strengths:

Stoppage work – Oliver has excellent ability to win first possession, reading the ruck taps well and being in the right positions to get it. He enjoys from gaining first possession to kick long with a quick kick into the forward 50m to gain territory and on occasion hit a target when possible. In close he has clean hands. Wins the ground ball, can feed it out by hand to targets.

Contested ball winning ability – Oliver is a dominant contested ball winner and that should translate well to AFL play. He has the hardness at the ball, cleanness at ground level but then the size and strength over the ball to win the footy in close.

Tackling ability – Oliver is a strong tackler. He records high tackle numbers most games but critically his tackles stick and he really buries guys in tackles and attacks them with real ferocity.

Aggression – Oliver has a real aggression to him. When he bumps you, tackles you or charges at the ball with the intent to win it, he is going in hard and you’ll feel it. He’ll willingly hurt guys going after the ball. It’s just the way he is.

Scoreboard impact – Averaged more than a goal a game through the TAC Cup season (20 goals from 16 games) while playing primarily on the ball. Oliver is most comfortable and by far and away best utilised through the midfield but does have the ability as required to push into the front half.

Clean hands – Oliver has clean hands both below the knees and overhead.

Ball use/decision making – Oliver in traffic makes quick but good decisions by both hand and foot is a uses it cleanly. By hand and foot he also hits his targets consistently.

Rate of improvement – Oliver has been a big improver this season. He started the season slowly through the first half due to a limited preseason and he wasn’t selected to play for Vic Country through the U18 Championships. Things changed through the second half of the season where he was dominant through the midfield for Murray and showed continued improvement from game to game.

Questionmarks:

Versatility – Oliver projects as a pure onballer. I’ve at times liked the signs he has shown up forward and also at times pushing back for some intercept marks through the second week of finals he also showed some signs that he could also push behind the ball. I’m just anticipating at AFL level that he will be best used as a pure onballer with that relatively speaking where his points of difference suggest he will at AFL level be able to play his strongest football. It’s possible he becomes a multi-positional player but my feel despite the signs of possibly being able to play other positions is that he remains a pure onballer.

Athleticism – Oliver for an inside player is an above average athlete who in game has a nice sidestep, has a small burst of speed and gets from contest to contest, and also from a testing perspective has impressed with good agility, speed and endurance testing scores.

Weaknesses:

Ability to find much outside ball – Oliver is very much an inside player through the midfield and at this stage while he finds some outside ball, he has a relatively high contested to uncontested possession rate and will need to in time work to improve that outside balance to his game.

Summary:

Oliver looks set to become one of the best and hardest onballers to come out of this draft and looks set to have a strong 250 game career. He can play as soon as season one and I anticipate will continue his strong improvement from this season.

[olisik 4,060]

2h2 hours ago

christian petracca ‏@cpetracca7

@SamWeideman my boy from Whitefriars college. Welcome to the club. Also to Clayton Oliver, can't wait to get started with you boys

[olisik 4,060]

1h1 hour ago

Angus Brayshaw ‏@angusbrayshaw_

Great work by the Dees tonight! Can't complain with the men we have got tonight - exciting future for the club!

[Lord Travis 10,493]

Don't know much about this guy as he seems to have come out of nowhere the last week or two. Very exciting to get another big bodied midfielder into the club though. We've assembled a big aggressive group of young midfielders now, if they all develop properly we will be a force in years to come. I like Olivers aggression in the highlights. Like Bradshaw, he really buries opponents when he tackles them. His kicking skills don't look great, mostly just bang it on the boot Brent Moloney style, but he seems very effective so hopefully his game translates well to elite level.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,012]

Does anyone have a link to his combine scores? I'd love to get an idea of exactly how he scores on speed and endurance. He was third for agility which is amazing for such a big guy, but you can see it in his highlights.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

Tyson is our best inside mid.

ummm. no he isn't. Jack Viney is.

[Jaded No More 67,875]

The face of a 10 year old, the body of a 30 year old who spends his weekdays pumping iron and his weekends sinking [censored].

Confusing all around.

His highlight package though is pretty phenomenal.

[BrisbaneDemon 1,559]

Check out his Instagram page, he's a lad for sure, will give CP5 a run for his money as the most entertaining social media page

[Demon Jack 6,741]

As was Tapscott

Tapscott was literally built like a brick shithouse in that he couldn't move. Oliver is built like a brick shithouse with jet engines attached to it.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

New highlights are up.. get excited

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2015-11-24/oliver-claimed-with-melbournes-first-pick

Love it. He's just got that maniacal attack on the pill and the man and he's a solid unmovable object. It's looking like when you come against him, Jones, Viney, Petracca, Brayshaw and Vandenberg in the middle.. you are going to feel it, and the phrase 'bruise-free footy' will be just a memory

[hardtack 10,426]

Judging by Knightmare's review, the midfield may well become Oliver's Army; let's hope they're here to stay.

[Gator 17,261]

Viney Oliver and Brayshae on the inside with Petracca roaming and feeding it out to Salem Stretch and Tyson who kick it forward to Hogan Weiderman with roaming Garlett and Kennedy.

That's a long username.

[What 18,810]

Judging by Knightmare's review, the midfield may well become Oliver's Army; let's hope they're here to stay.

Olivers highlight tape is one of the best Ive ever seen of any draftee ever. Ever.