All aboard the Oliver Express

[Gipsy Danger 1,067]

On 4 August 2016 at 8:08 PM, picket fence said:

Clarry Choo Choo is going to tear Hawks a new one! With Gus and Viney, Chunky and Dom, this game will be the closest of the Round I'm tipping an upset Win Hawks overdue for a loss.

Bugg to wear Mitchell, Our mids to run RIOT!! Go Chooch!

 

Wow, picket was exactly right. Good work

[Undeeterred 3,127]

On 8/1/2016 at 7:23 PM, iv'a worn smith said:

Oliver and Petracca are the future of this club.  We have seen what bad player management and development did to our kids in the past.  See Watts.  Thankfully he survived being bastardised in the past and is now repaying the faith.  I am confident in the way our Football Dept. is managing the kids.  Short term pain for long term gain.  We will get there

Just on that, can you imagine if Watts had rocked up to the current FD as an 18 year old? He'd be an absolute bloody star.

On 8/2/2016 at 11:32 AM, Mach5 said:

 

I'm happy for Oliver to continue getting 35+ possessions at VFL level as he irons out his weaknesses/deficiencies while there.
I don't want our young players learning that being good at one or a few things means you can get a game without having to be a rounded player that does the hard things too.
No room in this side for any more Jordan Gysberts...

Still want Oliver in the magoos? Sorry, but he is absolutely nothing like Gysberts.

2 hours ago, Stretch Johnson said:

How about the one handed pick up and give off in one motion in the last...

We haven't had a player like this before.

That was sensational. He's a beast.

2 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

23 disposals, and a team leading 11 tackles and 8 clearances.  Against Hawthorn. In a win. Turned 19 two weeks ago. 

The kid is special indeed

Some of those tackles were 2 in a row in the last, when we were a couple of goals up. It really kicked our intensity into gear. He's a leader at 19. 

[Redleg 42,051]

Well, I have to say, I love Oliver. 

[titan_uranus 25,212]

He is a gun.

A full pre-season and an increased fitness base will allow him to launch into 2017.

[old dee 24,028]

Just now, titan_uranus said:

He is a gun.

A full pre-season and an increased fitness base will allow him to launch into 2017.

I seriously doubt there is ever going to be a " we should have taken Francis" thread.

[Willmoy1947 4,222]

This bloke is special for quite a few reasons. His temperament for one. He has that look of "how did that bloke do that to me look" with humility and surprise.

another is, his recovery is phenomenal. A third amongst many is how you could tell by the amount of pummelling he was getting from Hawks on ballers that he has got it,

they know it, and they couldn't do anything about it and what's better is Petracca's got as well. 

[KingDingAling 3,758]

5 minutes ago, willmoy said:

This bloke is special for quite a few reasons. His temperament for one. He has that look of "how did that bloke do that to me look" with humility and surprise.

another is, his recovery is phenomenal. A third amongst many is how you could tell by the amount of pummelling he was getting from Hawks on ballers that he has got it,

they know it, and they couldn't do anything about it and what's better is Petracca's got as well. 

That is probably the word for it 'temperament'. I notice it in many sports. Sportsman who just don't seem to panic. It is quite noticeable in boxers. Some boxers just go about their business, they don't flinch, they don't even seem to care, they just seek and destroy (evident in Gennady Golovkin). I see the same in Clayton Oliver. He doesn't seem remotely phased by oncoming traffic, pressure, etc. He is still looking to get the hands out when other players would be having a panic attack.

[picket fence 18,068]

On 8/6/2016 at 7:53 PM, Hellfish said:

Wow, picket was exactly right. Good work

Of course I was right because 

"Fence Knows footy"

One other thing 

1 Took a hit from Rioli which should be cited , but dusted himself of and played a sensational game!

2 His precision in handball is Greg Williams like < even better!

3 Kicked more yesterday and I watched as he was going to kick LONG but squared up and hit an outside runner resulting in GOAL!

4 Was like a pirahna after a skeric of meat in a fish bowl, 

SHOULD NEVER EVER PLAY AT CASEY AGAIN

GO CLARRY CHOO CHHOOOOOOO ! Lurve it!!

[Redleg 42,051]

There was one passage of play that was nothing short of brilliant.

Last quarter on the hbf, members side of the ground, he went for the ball near the boundary, with Smith holding his right arm. Oliver bent down and picked up the ball with his left hand, on top of the ball, not scooping it, swung back getting his right arm free and handballed to a teammate and we were off to the forward line.

I have never seen that done before, let alone by a kid in his first year. 

That was special as Bruce would say, no stuff it, it was extraordinary.

His clearance work from stoppages is unbelievable.

This kid is going to be one of our best. 

[Mt. Dee-Maaan 608]

such an exciting player. love seeing him line up guys.. especially when they're wearing that yellow and brown jumper. i was cackling in the stands as he smashed blokes yesterday. and loved how he got up quick after that rioli hit and got to one knee...composing himself and then back to the middle to step it up. so good!!!

[Nasher 33,617]

19 minutes ago, Redleg said:

There was one passage of play that was nothing short of brilliant.

Last quarter on the hbf, members side of the ground, he went for the ball near the boundary, with Smith holding his right arm. Oliver bent down and picked up the ball with his left hand, on top of the ball, not scooping it, swung back getting his right arm free and handballed to a teammate and we were off to the forward line.

I have never seen that done before, let alone by a kid in his first year. 

That was special as Bruce would say, no stuff it, it was extraordinary.

His clearance work from stoppages is unbelievable.

This kid is going to be one of our best. 

With credit to Sylvia Saint:

[DeeZee 7,463]

One of a kind , hard as nails, elite hands.

My god, imagine when he and Petracca, Gawn, Hunt, Stretch,  Weideman,Brayshaw, Hogan, Kent,Gawn and Viney etc. etc. have played 100 plus games together?

I know GWS have a good young crew , but guys like Mumford, Johnson, Shaw etc are getting on in age and we may well be the best list in the comp in a couple of years.

Our Journey has just begun.

[monoccular 17,700]

19 minutes ago, Nasher said:

With credit to Sylvia Saint:

That is just an extraordinary piece of play.....from anyone, let alone a guy in his first year coming back from a stint at VFL.   

Strength

Balance

Vision

Confidence

Oe of the best individual efforts  I have ever seen

And he actually dished off a legitimate hand pass, unlike Mitchell and Hodge. 

Flabergastering!

[Demon_JB 1,389]

This kid is going to be elite. Will reach higher levels than Petracca. Mark my words. 

[Demon Disciple 12,494]

39 minutes ago, Nasher said:

 

This kid has a serious hard-on for touching the footy.

[RalphiusMaximus 6,110]

Anyone else notice how much bigger he's looking already?  This kid is going to be a monster with another pre-season in him. 

[Chook 15,023]

41 minutes ago, Nasher said:

I call this manoeuvre the Clarry-clarry choo-choo skoop-de-doo.

[faultydet 7,623]

2 hours ago, Redleg said:

There was one passage of play that was nothing short of brilliant.

Last quarter on the hbf, members side of the ground, he went for the ball near the boundary, with Smith holding his right arm. Oliver bent down and picked up the ball with his left hand, on top of the ball, not scooping it, swung back getting his right arm free and handballed to a teammate and we were off to the forward line.

I have never seen that done before, let alone by a kid in his first year. 

That was special as Bruce would say, no stuff it, it was extraordinary.

His clearance work from stoppages is unbelievable.

This kid is going to be one of our best. 

No.

He is going to be one of the best in the entire competition.

His ability to free his hands and find a teammate is something that I have never seen in my 40+ years of watching the Dees.

He has a freakish ability that I am so glad Taylor identified, and traded up for.

[DeeSpencer 26,498]

1 hour ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

Anyone else notice how much bigger he's looking already?  This kid is going to be a monster with another pre-season in him. 

Seeing him in person (ie over the fence) I'm always shocked at how tall he is. I also think he's actually lost some size over the season - both in muscle and certainly trimming down and giving him more definition. 

If he does the work and we get the balance right he should hopefully go in to next year with a body that looks like a finely tuned machine and not the big oversized slow body that some of the young bull mids from other teams have carried in recent years.

He moves so well through traffic and he tackles with fantastic desire and technique. He doesn't need to be 90+kg.

[Demon Dynasty 17,135]

You guys are all gonna put the mozz on 'Magic' Clarry if ya don't ease up! Shhhhhh .... ?

~ Spits 3 times and throws salt over shoulder 

[Cards13 9,117]

9 hours ago, monoccular said:

That is just an extraordinary piece of play.....from anyone, let alone a guy in his first year coming back from a stint at VFL.   

Strength

Balance

Vision

Confidence

Oe of the best individual efforts  I have ever seen

And he actually dished off a legitimate hand pass, unlike Mitchell and Hodge. 

Flabergastering!

Holding off a 27yr old Smith whilst doing it.

[picket fence 18,068]

On 5/10/2016 at 0:34 PM, picket fence said:

CLARRY CHOO CHOO ( PS DONT YA LOVE THE RED/ORANGE ANGULAR SEEMLESS, LINES) AND IN BREATHTAKING FASHION THE CHOO CHOO TRAIN JUST POWERS ON!  WOW!!

The Chooch with the big ENGINE!! 

[nutbean 8,838]

His handball technique will be scrutinised in the same way Dustin Martin's fend off is scrutinised.

You can try and copy it but not many have got Dustin's fend off ability and Oliver has shown in his short time that his handball technique is just natural. He continually lifts his body and his arms high above the tackle and handballs at eye level as he is drawing tackle(s). Not only does he get away precision handballs but because he is being tackled by one, sometimes two players, he takes the tacklers out of the play.  

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

10 hours ago, Nasher said:

With credit to Sylvia Saint:

It's actually like he is performing a magic trick.

[Mickey 4,757]

3 minutes ago, nutbean said:

His handball technique will be scrutinised in the same way Dustin Martin's fend off is scrutinised.

You can try and copy it but not many have got Dustin's fend off ability and Oliver has shown in his short time that his handball technique is just natural. He continually lifts his body and his arms high above the tackle and handballs at eye level as he is drawing tackle(s). Not only does he get away precision handballs but because he is being tackled by one, sometimes two players, he takes the tacklers out of the play.  

The answer to this is to corral, as opposed to tackle. Hopefully he continues to work on his kicking as well, which after his VFL stint he seems to be