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Clayton Oliver Contract negotiations

picket fence
picket fence
in Melbourne Demons

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4 minutes ago, CYB said:

What would you all say if Oliver leaving meant we were able to acquire the services of Zac Merrett? It is no secret that:

1. Right now, we lack silk and speed on the outside;
2. We are tight on salary cap and hence would have to trade out for this move to be possible
3. Zac is not happy at Bomberland and could be convinced to leave if the price and destination were right.

Dont get me wrong - i rate Oliver highly but have always said that inside mids are a dime a dozen. I just dont think we have any other player (aside from Trac) who would get us what we need to secure Zac. 

No. Clarry is far better than Merrett

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    24 minutes ago, CYB said:

    What would you all say if Oliver leaving meant we were able to acquire the services of Zac Merrett? It is no secret that:

    1. Right now, we lack silk and speed on the outside;
    2. We are tight on salary cap and hence would have to trade out for this move to be possible
    3. Zac is not happy at Bomberland and could be convinced to leave if the price and destination were right.

    Dont get me wrong - i rate Oliver highly but have always said that inside mids are a dime a dozen. I just dont think we have any other player (aside from Trac) who would get us what we need to secure Zac. 

    Oliver isn't just a dime a dozen inside mid, he's a generational talent. Terrible call this. Go after Merrett by all means, but you don't sell your best player to get another good player. Shockingly counter intuitive.

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    On 3/31/2021 at 9:47 PM, Sydee said:

    ................

    Our best players will get paid handsomely - like Richmond , Geelong and previously Hawthorn during their sting years each of their better players will compromise a bit on $’s to share the ultimate success with their mates 

    ...............


     

     

    This is the most important bit. Lynch took less at R'mond than was offered elsewhere; even Riewold took a pay cut to help get them all in.

    And don't be blackmailed like Grundy.

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    For what its worth, I don't think money will decide whether Oliver goes or stays.

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    • Haha 1
    1 hour ago, CYB said:

    What would you all say if Oliver leaving meant we were able to acquire the services of Zac Merrett? It is no secret that:

    1. Right now, we lack silk and speed on the outside;
    2. We are tight on salary cap and hence would have to trade out for this move to be possible
    3. Zac is not happy at Bomberland and could be convinced to leave if the price and destination were right.

    Dont get me wrong - i rate Oliver highly but have always said that inside mids are a dime a dozen. I just dont think we have any other player (aside from Trac) who would get us what we need to secure Zac. 

    Inside mids are a “dime a dozen” but Oliver is a one in a generation player. 
    Merrett needs the ball fed out to him. Oliver is the player to do that. 
    You can have all the outside skills in the world, but games, and finals, are won in contests. And nobody is a better ball getter in the contest than Oliver. 

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    If the rumours are true that Clayton was seriously considering leaving last year the biggest questions is why? More money? Doesn't see success happening with the current team? Or personality clashes with his teammates and/or coaches? I'd be interested to know

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    1 hour ago, CYB said:

    What would you all say if Oliver leaving meant we were able to acquire the services of Zac Merrett? It is no secret that:

    1. Right now, we lack silk and speed on the outside;
    2. We are tight on salary cap and hence would have to trade out for this move to be possible
    3. Zac is not happy at Bomberland and could be convinced to leave if the price and destination were right.

    Dont get me wrong - i rate Oliver highly but have always said that inside mids are a dime a dozen. I just dont think we have any other player (aside from Trac) who would get us what we need to secure Zac. 

    Classing Oliver as a "dime a dozen" inside midfielder is a horrendously poor read on his talent.

    Oliver is the complete opposite of a "dime a dozen" midfielder.

    It disappoints me that MFC supporters don't appreciate just how good Oliver is.

    So to answer your question, no [censored] way.

    (PS before anyone says it, yes I believe Oliver has areas in which he can improve).

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    • Like 6
    9 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

    Classing Oliver as a "dime a dozen" inside midfielder is a horrendously poor read on his talent.

    Oliver is the complete opposite of a "dime a dozen" midfielder.

    It disappoints me that MFC supporters don't appreciate just how good Oliver is.

    So to answer your question, no [censored] way.

    (PS before anyone says it, yes I believe Oliver has areas in which he can improve).

    best midfielder we've had in 30 years.

    if he calls that "dime a dozen" then I can't help him :)

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    I'd love to see Merrett playing for us. We should go hard at him.

    You'd have to sacrifice Gus but i reckon but that's a price worth paying. Would have to give a pick as well most likely our first rounder (hopefully a late first rounder as top 4 finishers). Maybe some kind of a pick swap.

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    I was concerned how effectively he was shut down by a tight tag, and how he lost his [censored] over it, instead of having cool confidence in his strategy to work his way through it...

    He's going to get tagged, and if he lets it's work as well as De Bore's job on him did, he'll be seeing it every week.

     

     

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    3 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

    I was concerned how effectively he was shut down by a tight tag, and how he lost his [censored] over it, instead of having cool confidence in his strategy to work his way through it...

    He's going to get tagged, and if he lets it's work as well as De Bore's job on him did, he'll be seeing it every week.

     

     

    And yet if he nails those 3 shots on goal we don’t even discuss it. 
    Yes he was tagged, which rarely impacts him, as he does get close attention every week. GWS played dirty and got into his head. He’s still young and will learn. 

    Edited by Jaded

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    Just now, Jaded said:

    And yet if he nails those 3 shots on goal we don’t even discuss it. 
    Yes he was tagged, which rarely happens. GWS played dirty and got into his head. He’s still young and will learn. 

    Yes scoring would have been a sweet response. I'd have thought he'd have had that attention previously, and it was predictable by GWS to do that to him, yet he seemed almost unprepared for it...

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    20 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

    I was concerned how effectively he was shut down by a tight tag, and how he lost his [censored] over it, instead of having cool confidence in his strategy to work his way through it...

    He's going to get tagged, and if he lets it's work as well as De Bore's job on him did, he'll be seeing it every week.

     

     

    All the best mids get shut down with a hard tag. Judd, Ablett, Dangerfield, Neale etc etc. This says nothing about Oliver. A good tagger can still prevent ball winning, particularly if the mids are still learning to block for each other.

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    2 hours ago, Mono said:

    This is the most important bit. Lynch took less at R'mond than was offered elsewhere; even Riewold took a pay cut to help get them all in.

    And don't be blackmailed like Grundy.

    I keep saying it, but we simply have to keep winning. 
    Success will keep these boys together 

    Nothing else matters

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    • Like 6
    1 hour ago, Better days ahead said:

    I'd love to see Merrett playing for us. We should go hard at him.

    You'd have to sacrifice Gus but i reckon but that's a price worth paying. Would have to give a pick as well most likely our first rounder (hopefully a late first rounder as top 4 finishers). Maybe some kind of a pick swap.

    Whitfield would be worth targeting as well (no idea of his contract situation).

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    3 hours ago, A F said:

    Oliver isn't just a dime a dozen inside mid, he's a generational talent. Terrible call this. Go after Merrett by all means, but you don't sell your best player to get another good player. Shockingly counter intuitive.

    I never said Oliver is a dime a dozen - i said inside mids are a dime a dozen. Yes Oliver is great - never said he wasn't, but we have plenty of inside mid stock (Trac, Brayshaw, JJ, Sparrow, Viney, Harmes) and what we really lack is outside speed, foot skills and intelligence. 

    I don't think Oliver is a generational player. Does he have the potential to become one? Yes he does, but he lacks in several areas atm. One can hope he takes a leaf out of Petracca's book to really stamp his authority on the game and take a step to influence the outcomes of games like Dangerfield, Neale, Shuey, Cripps and Bont can - they, imo, are generational talent.

     

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    1 minute ago, CYB said:

    I never said Oliver is a dime a dozen - i said inside mids are a dime a dozen. Yes Oliver is great - never said he wasn't, but we have plenty of inside mid stock (Trac, Brayshaw, JJ, Sparrow, Viney, Harmes) and what we really lack is outside speed, foot skills and intelligence. 

    I don't think Oliver is a generational player. Does he have the potential to become one? Yes he does, but he lacks in several areas atm. One can hope he takes a leaf out of Petracca's book to really stamp his authority on the game and take a step to influence the outcomes of games like Dangerfield, Neale, Shuey, Cripps and Bont can - they, imo, are generational talent.

     

    Clarry is a better footballer than Petracca, Shuey and Cripps. 

    None of the other listed "dime a dozen" inside midfielders currently on our list come close to influencing a game the way Oliver does every week.

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    • Like 4
    39 minutes ago, CYB said:

    I never said Oliver is a dime a dozen - i said inside mids are a dime a dozen. Yes Oliver is great - never said he wasn't, but we have plenty of inside mid stock (Trac, Brayshaw, JJ, Sparrow, Viney, Harmes) and what we really lack is outside speed, foot skills and intelligence. 

    I don't think Oliver is a generational player. Does he have the potential to become one? Yes he does, but he lacks in several areas atm. One can hope he takes a leaf out of Petracca's book to really stamp his authority on the game and take a step to influence the outcomes of games like Dangerfield, Neale, Shuey, Cripps and Bont can - they, imo, are generational talent.

     

    I reckon the Bont is the only player i'd consider swapping him for. The Danger of 5 years ago perhaps. He's better than Cripps and Shuey. Not sure about Neale but for some reason opposition coaches allow him to roam free.

    Reckon Clayton and the team will figure out how to break the tag. Sending him forward on the weekend worked in terms of him winning free kicks and taking a couple of marks. If he sharpens up his goal kicking he'll go up another level. 

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    3 hours ago, PaulRB said:

    I was concerned how effectively he was shut down by a tight tag, and how he lost his [censored] over it, instead of having cool confidence in his strategy to work his way through it...

    He's going to get tagged, and if he lets it's work as well as De Bore's job on him did, he'll be seeing it every week.

    i thought the way he handled the tag was pretty smart - he took de boer forward as much as he could; just a shame he couldn't kick the goals

    when in the centre square, he also positioned himself way out wide on the wing which completely threw gw$ for a loop - all of a sudden it was only two mids each at the fall of the ball rather than three as is the norm at centre square rotations

    i've never seen a hard-tagged inside mid do that before

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    • Like 2
    1 hour ago, CYB said:

    I never said Oliver is a dime a dozen - i said inside mids are a dime a dozen. Yes Oliver is great - never said he wasn't, but we have plenty of inside mid stock (Trac, Brayshaw, JJ, Sparrow, Viney, Harmes) and what we really lack is outside speed, foot skills and intelligence. 

    I don't think Oliver is a generational player. Does he have the potential to become one? Yes he does, but he lacks in several areas atm. One can hope he takes a leaf out of Petracca's book to really stamp his authority on the game and take a step to influence the outcomes of games like Dangerfield, Neale, Shuey, Cripps and Bont can - they, imo, are generational talent.

     

    Completely disagree. Oliver went past Cripps two years ago at 21 years of age and is just as good as Neale and Shuey. He doesn't have the influence of Dangerfield yet, because he doesn't hit the scoreboard, but Dangerfield didn't start influencing games until his 5th season. Oliver's been influencing games since his first season. He bossed Callan Ward in his first ever game at 65% TOG. He's incredibly durable and since coming into the game, the first time we've won a game without Oliver pulling the strings in our midfield was literally last Sunday night.

    It's mind-blowing how so many Melbourne supporters fail to see how good Oliver is. 

    Edited by A F

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    • Like 14
     

    Just shows you how bad the tactic was to tag Oliver. If the bloody coaching was up to scratch at GWS the y would have tagged Petracca or the Genius. They do the driving. Oliver is the motor cutting the grass...

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    5 hours ago, Mono said:

    For what its worth, I don't think money will decide whether Oliver goes or stays.

    How often is it the deciding factor for 23 year olds? If I’m a financially astute 23 year old, I know I can use that income for the basis of an investment portfolio to set me up for life whether I’m in 500k or 700k. If I’m a financially irresponsible 23 year old, both incomes will afford me a pretty enjoyable party lifestyle - in fact, more money than I can spend unless I’m in to hard drugs or the punt. The incremental difference between pretty good and very good isn’t that much in either case.

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