Clayton Oliver: A Demon for Life

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,837]

2 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

And not to jinx him, but he’s been remarkably resilient. Has he missed a game since debut? 

He hasn't missed a game since round 20 2016 when we had that amazing win over the Hawks.

Something like 127 consecutive till now.

I was surprised that he wasn't in the seniors for 6 weeks in a row in 2016, his first year.

[whatwhat say what 22,766]

7 minutes ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

I was surprised that he wasn't in the seniors for 6 weeks in a row in 2016, his first year.

deliberately "managed" to balance his first season in the big time and not over-exert him

i remember going to the vfl grand final where he was just incredible in a casey side that got blown away by footscray 

[hemingway 7,627]

Congratulations to MFC, together  with Clarry and his manager for getting this done discreetly without the headlines from the shock jocks of the footy media scrum. 

Really refreshing that this can still happen without the usual fanfare and speculation from the great unwashed of the third estate. Says a lot for all the parties involved. Well done. 

[At Least I Saw a Flag 5,248]

It all makes sense ....

He was on the bench when Bedford kicked his second goal v Brisbane. Clarry stood up and raised his arms. He looked so happy ... it had the look of "I love my team mates, I love this club".

 

[daisycutter 29,616]

20 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

 

Methinks there has been a typo 😮in the title.

you mean he's not really a monster?

[hemingway 7,627]

3 minutes ago, hemingway said:

Congratulations to MFC, together  with Clarry and his manager for getting this done discreetly without the headlines from the shock jocks of the footy media scrum. 

Really refreshing that this can still happen without the usual fanfare and speculation from the great unwashed of the third estate. Says a lot for all the parties involved. Well done. 

Errr, I mean the 4th Estate. Where’s my proof reader. That’s what happens when your dead. 

[deejammin' 2,370]

❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

[DEE fence 5,016]

1 hour ago, DubDee said:

Still think we should have picked Parish

So does all of Essendon...

[London Demon 259]

Wonderful news!

[Fritta and Turner 4,417]

1 hour ago, hemingway said:

the 4th Estate.

Is that a winery ?(hic)🍷

[deelusions from afar 1,810]

If he wasn't a ranga and/or was able to speak publicly (eg like Bont, Trac etc) he would be consider the best player in the game.

From his first game he has been a star - unless injuries get to him, he will go down the best pure midfielder of the MFC and maybe our best ever player.

[Lord Travis 10,730]

Bloody wrapped with this. Go you good thing!

[Wizard of Koz 1,085]

He is the best we have had since Barassi. Maybe even longer. I think he is better than Flower. I would like to have seen Oliver play state of origin style footy back in the day. 

[Demon Dynasty 17,109]

Clarry had that something special in him from the first time he put his toe in the water on the G.

Up there with my all time Favs.  Love watching him play and the joy with which he plays.

Continuing on in the footsteps of the Demon spirits of the past, touch wood, he looks like joining them and possibly even surpassing some to become one of our all time greats.

The Ron Barassi of our time!!??

Congrats to Clarry & the club.  Fabulous news.

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,396]

Haven’t had a chance to read the whole thread yet, but I take it that by Oliver signing on the new EBA has been finalised…..

[Guest]

Absolutely delighted this has happened.

Clarry is a once in a generation player who we need to keep alongside Tracc. Him, Jack and CP5 may one day be as good a centreline as Bourke/Barrett/Clay, Voss/Black/Lappin or Cousins/Judd/Kerr.

I also hope that the club has done its sums and I think they are smart enough to have done so.

We have Salo, Viney, Harmes, Oliver and Petracca all signed into 5 year or more contracts (to be fair, Harmes is now halfway through his). With these long term and, in some cases, big money deals now locked away, it is vital that there be enough to lock away Jackson. 

Premiership clubs sadly lose one or two players during the course of their life. Look at Richmond with Higgins, Chol and Ellis. I expect a few mid rangers or players who can't break into our side to look elsewhere. However, Dogga is the key piece determining whether we have a 7 to 8 year period of contention or a 2 to 3 year one dictated largely by Max's retirement date.

The ball is in your court now MFC admin!

Also, shave off that bloody mo, Clarry! There are men who can pull off a decent moustache without looking like a pimply teenager, a bloke you wouldn't let move in next door to a primary school or old folks home, or try hard. Rick Lever is one of them. Robert Dipierdomenico was another. Yourself and Lynden Dunn do not fall into this categoy.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Colin B. Flaubert

[rumpole 515]

This doesn’t really project the image of a club in crisis that the dyspeptic morons at the Herald Sun are trying to portray.

[Rednblueriseing 824]

I remember a time when I wished people would talk about my team, and wishing they had our players, like I did with Carey or Hird or even Judd and Voss. But I tell you something boy we have a special group.... onwards and upwards to at least another two flags. 

[hemingway 7,627]

5 minutes ago, Rednblueriseing said:

I remember a time when I wished people would talk about my team, and wishing they had our players, like I did with Carey or Hird or even Judd and Voss. But I tell you something boy we have a special group.... onwards and upwards to at least another two flags. 

So true 

[CHF 2,738]

Well done to the footy club for getting this done with Oliver. Quietly sorted it out and got it done to everyone's benefit.

It gives me confidence that we will do our very best to sort out Jackson and Brayshaw in a successful way. if we can secure Jackson for another couple of years and Brayshaw for a longer term, say 3/4 years then we will be looking at an extended shot at multiple flags. Even if we lose one or both of those two I can still see us pushing for more flags in the next 5 years.

Jackson is important to us over the next couple of years because we will need to look for additional ruck backup over that time and he is critical because of the role he plays for us at the moment. Brayshaw just has so many strings to his bow.... inside mid.... wing.... Half Back....and all those strings are first class. He just covers so many options for us and with skill and class.

Oliver only does one thing... inside mid.... he does not look like he spends too much time thinking when he plays, it is all instinct with him. He has great vision and imagination when he plays. In all the years I have been watching footy i just have not seen anyone play the way he does.

Great job to everyone involved.

[hemingway 7,627]

17 minutes ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

Absolutely delighted this has happened.

Clarry is a once in a generation player who we need to keep alongside Tracc. Him, Jack and CP5 may one day be as good a centreline as Bourke/Barrett/Clay, Voss/Black/Lappin or Cousins/Judd/Kerr.

I also hope that the club has done its sums and I think they are smart enough to have done so.

We have Salo, Viney, Harmes, Oliver and Petracca all signed into 5 year or more contracts (to be fair, Harmes is now halfway through his). With these long term and, in some cases, big money deals now locked away, it is vital that there be enough to lock away Jackson. 

Premiership clubs sadly lose one or two players during the course of their life. Look at Richmond with Higgins, Chol and Ellis. I expect a few mid rangers or players who can't break into our side to look elsewhere. However, Dogga is the key piece determining whether we have a 7 to 8 year period of contention or a 2 to 3 year one dictated largely by Max's retirement date.

The ball is in your court now MFC admin!

Also, shave off that bloody mo, Clarry! There are men who can pull off a decent moustache without looking like a pimply teenager, a bloke you wouldn't let move in next door to a primary school or old folks home, or try hard. Rick Lever is one of them. Robert Dipierdomenico was another. Yourself and Lynden Dunn do not fall into this categoy.

Colin you were on track but let your petty annoyances about appearance come to the surface.  With LJ, the pull of home is strong. It’s not about the money, it’s about going home. He may be happy here and the Club can do all the right things but clearly LJ wants to go home at some stage. Is it now or in a few years? We don’t know and perhaps LJ is in the same boat. He can be happy here and have lots of footy mates but ultimately I suspect he feels disconnected from Perth. It’s the way many of us feel who have moved away from their home base. Living in Japan, how do you feel about this issue? 

[DubDee 25,874]

on track to be our 3rd MFC player to 300 games

[Jaded No More 68,918]

3 hours ago, whatwhat say what said:

deliberately "managed" to balance his first season in the big time and not over-exert him

i remember going to the vfl grand final where he was just incredible in a casey side that got blown away by footscray 

He did have groin and OP issues as a teen so probably right with management. He wasn’t exactly in peak fitness either when drafted. 
 

I have to say that given how many off season shoulder operations he’s had, he’s been amazing at never showing any signs on the field. 

[Maldonboy38 6,403]

I love how quietly this happened. I sometimes cannot believe how much the MFC has changed. Only 10 years ago this would have been announced with a presser, a youtube video, a letter from the Queen, while Clarry was standing next to Barrassi, Neita, Jonesy, Goodwin and Coffey. We have finally matured and the internal integrity of the club (recent stuff from Bartlett aside) is rock solid.

I also believe Clarry bang-bang-bang Oliver will surpass Robbie as our best ever player, and I find that very difficult to admit. He is sublime. My eyes follow him whenever I am watching the Dees on TV, he plays at full pace, and kills opposition with run, grunt and penetration. Absolute star. 

No dynasty is guaranteed, but if Dogga and Gus also sign, we have a great chance of multiple flags at least. 

[Chook 15,013]

5 minutes ago, Maldonboy38 said:

I love how quietly this happened. I sometimes cannot believe how much the MFC has changed. Only 10 years ago this would have been announced with a presser, a youtube video, a letter from the Queen, while Clarry was standing next to Barrassi, Neita, Jonesy, Goodwin and Coffey. We have finally matured and the internal integrity of the club (recent stuff from Bartlett aside) is rock solid.

I also believe Clarry bang-bang-bang Oliver will surpass Robbie as our best ever player, and I find that very difficult to admit. He is sublime. My eyes follow him whenever I am watching the Dees on TV, he plays at full pace, and kills opposition with run, grunt and penetration. Absolute star. 

No dynasty is guaranteed, but if Dogga and Gus also sign, we have a great chance of multiple flags at least. 

10 years ago this would not have been announced. Clary would have made his way to Carlton after a year of speculation and underperformance.