I love Oliver's humility. I wouldn't blame him if he called himself the best player in the league.

Have a look in the mirror, mate…

You’re not wrong Clarry. Probably only challenged by yourself and the Bont. 

Trac has everything, extreme power, long accurate kicking, scores goals, a beast in the middle, X factor, immense skill. Now he has matured and developed leadership he is the most complete player in the comp. 

7 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Trac has everything, extreme power, long accurate kicking, scores goals, a beast in the middle, X factor, immense skill. Now he has matured and developed leadership he is the most complete player in the comp. 

I actually think his kicking could still do with some improvement.

Waiting for Mark Williams to develop Petacca’s left foot. It’s the biggest deficiency in his game and the thing stopping him going from superstar to whatever comes next above that.

He relies on pace and power to get on to his right but there’s times where it’s just easier to go left and a semi reliable snap or  gentle 20m chip would be a huge weapon. 

Don't sell yourself short Clarry.....

11 minutes ago, mauriesy said:

I actually think his kicking could still do with some improvement.

Absolutely it could. Apart from adding the left foot he could do with more touch in the short/intermediate kicks and goal kicking. But to completely remodel his action to get that you’d possibly take away his ability to scorch the ball anywhere between 30-60m that he has now. There’s only a small number of players in the league (heck, the history of the game) who can tracer bullet the ball 55m in no time at all like Tracc. 

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

Soooooo happy Saints didn't pick him.

2 hours ago, cantstandyasam said:

Soooooo happy Saints didn't pick him.

The tigers got so burnt with Buddy, then we got so burnt with Dusty, now the Saints have got some painful years coming there way watching Trac. It’s good to be on the other side this time. 

4 hours ago, mauriesy said:

I actually think his kicking could still do with some improvement.

More specifically, kicking for goal within 30m

I luv Trac, who gets comparisons with great players like Dusty and Danger.

But I really luv Oli, who is so unique, I cannot think of one player he can be compared to, past or present. He is that “special”.

1 hour ago, Wells 11 said:

The tigers got so burnt with Buddy, then we got so burnt with Dusty, now the Saints have got some painful years coming there way watching Trac. It’s good to be on the other side this time. 

Saints got burnt with Bontempelli also.

44 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

I luv Trac, who gets comparisons with great players like Dusty and Danger.

But I really luv Oli, who is so unique, I cannot think of one player he can be compared to, past or present. He is that “special”.

True Clarry really is unique and how good is it to have Tracc and Clayton playing for us at the same point in time.!!

Very kind of Clarry but, I think after last year he is the best player in the comp. Trac has the looks and media personality for the AFL to try and create a poster boy out of him which is fair enough. In saying that Trac does have amazing explosion, strength, goal kicking ability and he's unreal at evading traffic. I just think Clarry has something truly special about him. He has an ability to win the ball like I've never seen before, it's almost as if he's possessed. I think his awareness of what is around him and ability to not only win the ball but, distribute it to others is remarkable. Max also stated in an interview that Clarry's will to win was like nothing he's ever seen and it's intangibles like these which make it very hard to truly value Clarry's impact. Both greats of the game and aren't we lucky to have them both who I think could become the all time best midfield duo the game has ever seen (huge call I know). Hopefully a couple more flags/brownlows to be put in that conversation.

Oliver is the best in the league by a fair space. 

12 hours ago, Hopeful Demon said:

I love Oliver's humility. I wouldn't blame him if he called himself the best player in the league.

I think modesty and respect comes in to Oliver's comments.

I'm not sure I get the fascination of comparing Oliver and Petracca.  They are trained for and play different roles so they display different attributes and excel in different abilities.  They both have faults but they play roles that make the most of their respective strengths.

If their roles were reversed how would they fare? 

• Could Petracca excel at 'getting his own ball' and have an elite level of possessions etc. 
• Could Oliver have the goal kicking record of Petracca. 
• Is Oliver's field kicking better than Petracca's.
• etc

We will never know so comparisons don't mean much and choosing one as better than the other seems to reinforce people's pre-conceptions rather than based on something tangible.

 

And as for saying Petracca gets the PR gigs because of his looks and the way he speaks, well how superficial is that!! 

Oliver has his own qualities that are publicly endearing: an impish grin, is a bit of a larrikin, humble and a champion in his own right. So very easily lovable by not just Dees fans.  And there is no reason why he couldn't work on his public speaking.  I recall he was very articulate in his early BnF speeches so not sure what has happened to that talent.

And tbh imv we have better looking and more articulate and coherent speakers than either of them.

Maybe, just maybe Oliver doesn't want the limelight.  Or maybe it is a contractual thing.  Who knows.  But assuming PR gigs are based on looks and speaking ability.  WOW!

 

As others have said it is a joy to have them both and I love them both for who they are and what they bring to our club. 

13 hours ago, RedLegs23 said:

More specifically, kicking for goal within 30m

He kicked 29/19 in 2021 with 22 within 30 mt of goal; mostly snaps in a pack with some set shots.  The other 7 were set shots further out.  That suggests that his role is to play close to goal and scout the packs like an opportunistic small forward. 

His field kicking is very good considering he usually has 2 or 3 players hanging off him.  Only a handful of our players are better kicks.

imv its time to debunk the 'Petracca can't kick myth'.

6 hours ago, KingDingAling said:

Oliver is the best in the league by a fair space. 

And then some more space

If Oliver can seriously clean up his goal kicking then I think he'll go past Petracca. Petracca is slightly ahead because he can damage the scoreboard. 

Oliver kicked 11.18 last year. That's 29 scoring shots which is pretty impressive for a midfielder. If he's kicking 20 goals a year as a midfielder then Oliver goes past Petracca. 

Oliver's midfield work is ahead of Petracca imo and I think becoming a goal kicking midfielder will really consolidate himself as the number 1 player of the competition. 

Trac needs to work on his elementary 30 metre set shots if he's to be considered the best player by some distance. Thursday night was another example of him making a meal out of an easy set shot. 

For the record he kicked 0.5 across the pre season games.

Martin, Neale, Bont, Heeney, Wines, Steele etc..aren't missing the set shots that he does.

Not saying Trac isn't as good as those above, but he needs to honor the work done up the field by nailing regulation set shots.

Edited March 7, 20223 yr by Bring-Back-Powell

2 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

He kicked 29/19 in 2021 with 22 within 30 mt of goal; mostly snaps in a pack with some set shots.  The other 7 were set shots further out.  That suggests that his role is to play close to goal and scout the packs like an opportunistic small forward. 

His field kicking is very good considering he usually has 2 or 3 players hanging off him.  Only a handful of our players are better kicks.

imv its time to debunk the 'Petracca can't kick myth'.

I know what you are saying LH because he is so good we want more, we want more cream on top whenever he misses a get table shot we are a bit surprised and perhaps a smidge churlish.!!

Clarrie and Trac are number one and number 2. Who is 1 and who is 2 is moot.

I think that Petracca is more explosive than Oliver but Oliver has become a better player each year and 2022 could see him become the AFL best player if he could convert more of his attempts at goal.