Gut feel is he's leaning to the exit door. Hope it changes 

The biggest question is if he wants to go, why? If it’s for success Carlton or Essendon aren’t any guarantee to give it to him, the way they’ve gone the last 20 years you’d say it’s not different to staying with us...

3 hours ago, BW511 said:

He’s not our best player and no one in the comp rates our side. Would think there is 6-10 blokes that could do similar work, maybe not at his level but probably 95% which still works

You have go to be kidding, Oliver is a contested beast and only getting better, his outside game will come with experience I have no doubt he can be in the top 5 players in the comp and alongside Trac can take us all the way. 

Must keep these 2 boys 5 years +

whatever he asks for he gets. He has shown more than Petracca over a longer period of time. Multiple All-australians and multiple best and fairests. Whilst petracca has the forward craft, petracca doesn't have the clearance work that Oliver has. 

Oliver is quite possibly the best midfielder the Mfc has ever had. Can this be denied? If not, then he is definitely in the mix. On average 50% of first rounders fail. so the odds that we get a player as good as Oliver with 2 first rounders is next to zero. 

First game done we win. Oliver most possies. Absolutely fearless, copped a few hard knocks, just gets up and keeps going.

Credit to the Team and himself. I don't think i have seen one of his games where he hasn't heavily contributed.

Whatever he wants get it and give it to him. Every other one of these Basta## teams would. Thinks so far ahead it's unreal

WTF  is this topic on about???

If he hasn’t resigned by the bye he is gone. We all saw how we went without him in preseason match v dogs, we don’t have anyone to step up who could even produce even 50% of his output, give him whatever he wants 

Wouldn't be surprised if there is a huge god father offer from Carlton or Essendon..

Thinking Tom Scully/Tom Boyd deal like.

 

Edited March 21, 20214 yr by dazzledavey36

If Oliver or Trac re-sign, it would only be 2 year deals.

I have no inside info and Clarrie is notoriously media shy, so it is difficult to glean any knowledge of what he is thinking, but I will go out on a limb and say I can't see him wanting to leave Melbourne. Call it a feeling or whatever. 

I saw an interview with him recently where he said he didn't enjoy being in the hub in 2020 because he missed his girlfriend and simple things, like sleeping in his own bed. He gave me the impression of someone who doesn't like change. 

Every time I've seen him with his team mates he is very animated and clearly enjoying their company. At the game yesterday after Trac kicked a goal from a pass by Oliver, Clarrie ran down to give Trac a hug and a peck on the cheek!

No, can't see him leaving. Call me a romantic, but sometimes money doesn't drive everyone.

56 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Wouldn't be surprised if there is a huge god father offer from Carlton or Essendon..

Thinking Tom Scully/Tom Boyd deal like.

 

How could they afford it?

I think Oliver and Trac are fabulous and we should pay plenty to keep both. 
I notice when one of them passes successfully to the other, they smile, seeming to want the other to star as well.  Good selfless camaraderie influences players to stay. 
Conversely I'd notice Viney seem to fight Clarry for the ball. (Maybe less last year?)
Great to keep Oliver and Trac playing together and to always generally promote team first play. 

Edited March 21, 20214 yr by Rob Mac......

My thing with Oliver is he doesn't drive standards. He's a follower, and Melbourne will never win a premiership with followers because our history dictates we need everyone to drive us in the right direction or else our culture won't change enough to deliver a flag.

35 minutes ago, Chook said:

My thing with Oliver is he doesn't drive standards. He's a follower, and Melbourne will never win a premiership with followers because our history dictates we need everyone to drive us in the right direction or else our culture won't change enough to deliver a flag.

the club will never win a flag with a multiple AA midfielder under 25. sound logic mate. Not everyone is a leader mate, hence the term leader. 

My problem isn't necessarily Oliver leaving it's replacing him.

We all see the issues with our midfield, not short on talent, it's just unbalanced. 

The super unrealistic ideal world is you off load Harmes for early 2nd, late first. Combo picks together and go after a Dunkley, McGrath etc. We should have cap space when you consider Jones/Hibbo/T. Mac/Jetta are closing in on the end and potentially trading a Harmes to cover the budget for both Clarry and another star mid.

Real world scenario is we will probably end up losing Clarry, tying down the lesser inside mids like Brayshaw and Harmes and then going to the draft and getting two kids who probably won't even fill what we need.

Lots of pressure on club this year.

Pressure on Goodwin.

Pressure on Pert, Bartlett and co to justify decisions and mitigate potential disaster.

If they don't sign Clayton we'll be losing our best midfielder since our last flag winning team.

Anyway even remotely suggesting he is.not a huge loss is absolutely kidding themselves. 

Losing Oliver will set us back years. 

Richmond, Hawthorn, Geelong never let young guns in their prime walk. They kept the core in tact. Oliver would be leaving before his prime and he's already amazing.

Needs to be signed up asap.

 

Once in a generation midfielder. Thankfully we have two of them at present. Must keep.

11 hours ago, BW511 said:

He’s a very good player and still young, but he’s replaceable.

 

You are kidding yourself.

 

6 hours ago, MurDoc516 said:

My problem isn't necessarily Oliver leaving it's replacing him.

Yes MurDoc, I understand. That's just like,

My problem isn't necessarily falling out of the 4th floor window, it's the sudden stop when I hit the ground. 

Edited March 21, 20214 yr by Rob Mac......

I don’t like 5 year contracts even for exceptional talents like Oliver. Contracts don't make clubs successful.

Give him 2-3 years on top dollar. Let him test the market if needs be. I’ve no problem players securing the best deal for themselves. I would do the same.

If he wants to be involved in a successful team then he has to be a catalyst, an agent for change, driving standards’ play his role in creating a successful culture and environment. He needs to invest and commit. Likewise the club have to deliver the best possible coaching and development team. I think coaching deficiencies have been addressed this off season with Chocco and the Ooze. Burgo is the best in the business. The head coach is the last piece that’s missing at the moment imv (I hope to be proven wrong).

Commit for 2-3 more years Clarrie. If you work your nuts off to help the team be successful I don’t think anyone would begrudge a move away.

7 hours ago, Chook said:

My thing with Oliver is he doesn't drive standards. He's a follower, and Melbourne will never win a premiership with followers because our history dictates we need everyone to drive us in the right direction or else our culture won't change enough to deliver a flag.

My thing with Oliver is that he’s an elite footballer and we will never win a flag without him, or a direct replacement for him. 
Martin doesn’t drive standards either. 

Make no mistake, lose Oliver and our midfield drops from good to bloody average. 

1 hour ago, Clint Bizkit said:

You are kidding yourself.

 

Happy to disagree, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy him as a player.

I think if he were to walk we have others that could cover him (Viney, Sparrow, Gus, Harmes etc) and the currency we would get in return would net us the equivalent player in a position which would better balance our side. If he's as good and irreplaceable as many believe, then we could get almost anyone in the league in - think about that side of the equation

 

Oliver plays his 100th game. Has 34 touches at 80% efficiency and Tim Watson not only doesn't acknowledge it but then proceeds to bang on about how he doesn't do enough???

Tim Watson has lost the plot.. Who's the nobody Essendon went with after Oliver? Francis.. Gee I bet they would swap them in a heart beat now!

8 hours ago, Chook said:

My thing with Oliver is he doesn't drive standards. He's a follower, and Melbourne will never win a premiership with followers because our history dictates we need everyone to drive us in the right direction or else our culture won't change enough to deliver a flag.

Eh ?? A follower? Who is he following. Can't agree with this at all Chook!

1 hour ago, BW511 said:

Happy to disagree, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy him as a player.

I think if he were to walk we have others that could cover him (Viney, Sparrow, Gus, Harmes etc) and the currency we would get in return would net us the equivalent player in a position which would better balance our side. If he's as good and irreplaceable as many believe, then we could get almost anyone in the league in - think about that side of the equation

 

The players you have listed, all four would struggle to complete Oliver’s stats in one game.

we cannot let him walk out the door, he has a norm smith written all over him! (If we ever bloody get there....)

1 hour ago, Doug Reemer said:

Oliver plays his 100th game. Has 34 touches at 80% efficiency and Tim Watson not only doesn't acknowledge it but then proceeds to bang on about how he doesn't do enough???

Tim Watson has lost the plot.. Who's the nobody Essendon went with after Oliver? Francis.. Gee I bet they would swap them in a heart beat now!

Oliver had 25 handballs.

Using this game alone, who was more effective;

Trac - 25 (13 Kicks 11 handballs and 2.1 Goals - Including one that missed everything when he 'played on')

Oliver - 35 (10 Kicks 25 handballs)

Tim Watson is not wrong, even with the high numbers Oliver produced.

How do people feel about Tom Mitchell from Hawthorn?

He wins a mountain of footy but doesn't do any great damage from a game sense.

 

 

Edited March 21, 20214 yr by BW511