4 minutes ago, picket fence said:

I have spoken to three ex Demon players all of whom were shocked that he was given away for next to nothing, paying a huge chunk of his wage.

Surely that says something in itself.

I like GWS, I hope Clarrie does well there and they win the flag.

But Steele for Oliver is a very good trade for us.

15 minutes ago, picket fence said:

This wil be the LAST thing I will say on this thread.I have spoken to three ex Demon players all of whom were shocked that he was given away for next to nothing, paying a huge chunk of his wage.

Jeez they must be bright, it’s really not that hard to figure out 🤦‍♂️

14 hours ago, picket fence said:

What a rubbish response! What has Steele done?? Poor mans bootlace to Clayton Oliver but wait, he seems like a nice stereotype of the upper gentry nooo shheeit on him old boy club boyo! Lovely chap! Good onya Billy goat the kid

14 hours ago, picket fence said:

What a rubbish response! What has Steele done?? Poor mans bootlace to Clayton Oliver but wait, he seems like a nice stereotype of the upper gentry nooo shheeit on him old boy club boyo! Lovely chap! Good onya Billy goat the kid!

What has Steele done ?

Not much - 2 AA's, 2 B&F's, Club Captain

23 hours ago, dice said:

The mark of a great player.

Side note, only 2 players in the history of VFL/AFL have achieved this 3 times: KB (67,73,74) and Lethal (71, 76, 78)

People assert this all the time.

It can be the mark of a great player or it can mean you just happen to have a good season the year your team won a flag.

Double down on my comments. Clayton Oliver EVERY BIT AS GOOD!

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by PaulR

Oliver was fantastic up to 2023 but his 7th place in this years B and F flattered his output I thought. and thats after a full preseason. That has to be a key reason most clubs had no interest in him.

55 minutes ago, picket fence said:

I have spoken to three ex Demon players all of whom were shocked that he was given away for next to nothing, paying a huge chunk of his wage.

Was one of the three Judd McVee, because clearly he’ll say anything to anyone?

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

I have spoken to three ex Demon players all of whom were shocked that he was given away for next to nothing, paying a huge chunk of his wage.

Have you spoken to any current Melbourne players and coaches to see what they say? Their opinion might be different. There's a reason he was let go.

6 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Surely taking the [censored] putting Clarrie in the same bracket as Carey and Ablett snr 🤣🤣

Yep, Clarry thrived in the hot house pressure ring for the full 100 minutes, every game. The other two pranced around like fairy gods for two thirds of each game.

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

This wil be the LAST thing I will say on this thread.I have spoken to three ex Demon players all of whom were shocked that he was given away for next to nothing, paying a huge chunk of his wage.

We know you’re not good at keeping promises,

“Last thing you will say”, I very much doubt that

The majority were hoping when the Clarry deal went through you”d keep to your promise of leaving Demonland

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by Pennant St Dee

1 hour ago, old55 said:

I like GWS, I hope Clarrie does well there and they win the flag.

I didn't realise this was possible, but I just did a quadruple take.

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

This wil be the LAST thing I will say on this thread.I have spoken to three ex Demon players all of whom were shocked that he was given away for next to nothing, paying a huge chunk of his wage.

You have the right like everyone else to express your opinion on DL, on any subject on the DL Boards.

So don't be put off by disagreement.

Even we disagree sometimes.

I think the way we can look at Clarry now, is to accept that he was a big part of a desperately needed flag and will always be a Demon, especially after he finishes playing AFL.

A good way to assess players I think, is after looking back at their careers, to say who would you take on draft night, if they were all 18 again.

For example Leigh Matthews is 18 and so is Clarry, who do you take in the draft.

Robbie Flower and Clarry are 18, who do you take.

I think if we are realistic, we could name 50 players easily, without much thought, who we would take before Clarry.

I am not denigrating Clarry, but rather applying a fairer test of where he probably stands in the AFL pantheon, at this point of his career.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by Redleg

21 minutes ago, Demonland said:

Doesn't matter how big the chip on your shoulder is if you're going at 12 km/h when the other team is on the move after a turnover. If anything, the chip will only be weighing you down.

5 minutes ago, The Taciturn Demon said:

Doesn't matter how big the chip on your shoulder is if you're going at 12 km/h when the other team is on the move after a turnover. If anything, the chip will only be weighing you down.

He’ll move better now, he’s trimmed down to look similar to what he was in his prime, he’s also got the added incentive of proving people wrong.

The question isn’t whether he can play or was a great, the question is did we do the right thing and it really isn’t up for debate IMO.

It’s an indictment it took him being moved on and virtually unwanted by 17 clubs for the penny to drop.

He’s not the first and won’t be the last player who needs to be shown the door to wake up

Last year was the proof the game had gone past him, you can excuse 2024 given he didn’t train all preseason at the club got banged up and was still getting his life back on track. But last year he had a full preseason, didn’t get any major injuries and still looked a mile off his best, another year or five isn’t going to get him back to his All Australian / b and f years. At best it’s going to be more of the same as 2025. 25 touches but no damage and gets exposed by the opposition team without the ball.

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Garbo

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

Pfft...Toby or Hoges would be...

2 hours ago, Demonland said:

Funny the media have the narrative that we need to trade him all year but when we do he is the pick up of all time

From memory when Oliver had the meeting with King he was told he’d have to expand his game and be flexible in playing other positions rather than just in the middle. Today an article an about Jack Steele where he’s quoted as saying “I’m a midfielder, I’ve always been a midfielder. So why wouldn’t I still try and play in that position. That was part of Melbourne’s pitch, that I was going to be playing in the midfield. Is that really how Oliver’s meeting went down? Who knows, who cares…. His time at Melbourne was well and truly up, we’re all aware of his greatness for a period time but also how frustrating the last couple of years have been. Looking forward to next season and getting to Melbourne for a few games, I think we’re going to do a lot better than most people think.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Bombay Airconditioning
Spelling

34 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

His time at Melbourne was well and truly up, we’re all aware of his greatness for a period time but also how frustrating the last couple of years have been.

It's irrelevant whether he was playing well or not, whether he'll ever get back to his stellar best or not, whether he could still play primarily mid or not.

None of that is why he was shown the door.

31 minutes ago, bing181 said:

It's irrelevant whether he was playing well or not, whether he'll ever get back to his stellar best or not, whether he could still play primarily mid or not.

None of that is why he was shown the door.

Agreed, hence his time at Melbourne was well and truly up.

8 hours ago, PaulR said:

Double down on my comments. Clayton Oliver EVERY BIT AS GOOD!

This is an insane opinion, Ablett is arguably the best of all time. Oliver wouldn't crack the top 100.

16 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Fancy actually thinking on here Clayton Oliver is better then Gary Ablett Senior and Wayne Carey..

Place is officially cooked.

Fancy miss quoting someone on demonland.