On 18/12/2025 at 05:10, Previously known as LITD. said:

On the contrary. It demonstrates how close knit they all were then. Gus was well loved and the camaraderie between players was at an all time high in 2021 and 22.

I know a few Melbourne player family members and they all say Gus was one of the most liked players in the club. Quite possibly the Mfcs cohesion imploding was no coincidence since losing Gus.

Of course the players were shell shocked. They saw their mate absolutely flattened and not moving for several minutes.

A mate they all knew had a history of concussion events and deep down they all were probably worried he could have some permanent damage.

I don't think that can be referred to as the team having " psychological errors" or whatever else your professional opinion would deem them to have.

No..... it shows to me a high spirit de corps that played it's part in finally breaking such a long voodoo.

Fair shake of the old sauce bottle Dd

if Gus was so revered (and I am not saying he wasn't) why the hell did Maynard get to walk off the field? why didn't they stand up for Gus?

13 minutes ago, RickyJ45 said:

if Gus was so revered (and I am not saying he wasn't) why the hell did Maynard get to walk off the field? why didn't they stand up for Gus?

Possibly because those days ended about 45 years ago. These days players don't want to be suspended for 3-5 weeks.

23 minutes ago, Ollie fan said:

Possibly because those days ended about 45 years ago. These days players don't want to be suspended for 3-5 weeks.

yes and no. The damage to the culture lasted for years. One player suspended for 7weeks is worth it.

16 minutes ago, RickyJ45 said:

yes and no. The damage to the culture lasted for years. One player suspended for 7weeks is worth it.

So if that one player was Max Gawn then he totally misses the rest of the finals series.. and you're okay with?

10 hours ago, RickyJ45 said:

if Gus was so revered (and I am not saying he wasn't) why the hell did Maynard get to walk off the field? why didn't they stand up for Gus?

We have history with that.

Remember Michael Long nearly killing Simmonds in the 2000 GF. Our response was pathetic.

.

Edited March 8Mar 8 by Redleg

I am still of the belief that if it was Rod Grinter or Byron Pickett that did that , the narrative would have changed from "footy act" to reckless, deliberate, violent non footy act and incur a 1 year ban

On 08/03/2026 at 06:40, dazzledavey36 said:

I saw it completely the opposite.

He's getting positive reviews because the media want a feel good story out of him on top of the Petracca performance.

It was all the Fox commentators were talking about and hoping for on the pre game telecast.

It was stock standard Oliver game in terms of racking up a heap of handballs in close and leave it to the rest. Other then that I saw nothing to suggest that his performance any different to what he dished up last year.

Pre game the Fox Footy producers agree a handful of storylines for commentators to potentially focus in on during broadcast if the way the game plays out allows. Clarry was always going to be one, even more so after Christian's performance the previous night.
Flukey left foot goal aside, Olivers stats were remarkably similar to his last 4 games in the red n blue. To my observation his game impact was no real difference.

Edited March 8Mar 8 by Lil_red_fire_engine

33 minutes ago, Lil_red_fire_engine said:

Pre game the Fox Footy producers agree a handful of storylines for commentators to potentially focus in on during broadcast if the way the game plays out allows. Clarry was always going to be one, even more so after Christian's performance the previous night.
Flukey left foot goal aside, Olivers stats were remarkably similar to his last 4 games in the red n blue. To my observation his game impact was no real difference.

It’s not just us.

TDK and Silvagni played very well for Saints.

Curnow was ok for Swans.

Hayward was good for Blues.

Not unusual for players to get up for their first game for a new club.

3 hours ago, Redleg said:

We have history with that.

Remember Michael Long nearly killing Simmonds in the 2000 GF. Our response was pathetic.

Yep. Also when that dog Hardwick round armed Green in the 1st quarter and almost broke his neck, no response.

Don't know what GF was worse - '88 or '00

13 hours ago, RickyJ45 said:

if Gus was so revered (and I am not saying he wasn't) why the hell did Maynard get to walk off the field? why didn't they stand up for Gus?

Jack sort of did

2 hours ago, Lil_red_fire_engine said:

Pre game the Fox Footy producers agree a handful of storylines for commentators to potentially focus in on during broadcast if the way the game plays out allows. Clarry was always going to be one, even more so after Christian's performance the previous night.
Flukey left foot goal aside, Olivers stats were remarkably similar to his last 4 games in the red n blue. To my observation his game impact was no real difference.

Well said. Re Clarrys impact . Across career he would rack up 15 plus handballs but I could never see their overall impact compared to say n. Caicos who makes every possession have a subsequent benefit. Usually.

Gws may suit him better given they had better outside runners than us then.

I think we look a lot different now and will be a fascinating game Sunday

On 18/12/2025 at 04:10, Previously known as LITD. said:

On the contrary. It demonstrates how close knit they all were then. Gus was well loved and the camaraderie between players was at an all time high in 2021 and 22.

I know a few Melbourne player family members and they all say Gus was one of the most liked players in the club. Quite possibly the Mfcs cohesion imploding was no coincidence since losing Gus.

Of course the players were shell shocked. They saw their mate absolutely flattened and not moving for several minutes.

A mate they all knew had a history of concussion events and deep down they all were probably worried he could have some permanent damage.

I don't think that can be referred to as the team having " psychological errors" or whatever else your professional opinion would deem them to have.

No..... it shows to me a high spirit de corps that played it's part in finally breaking such a long voodoo.

Fair shake of the old sauce bottle Dd

I know this is a thread about Clarry, but honestly I put Gus's hit by Maynard as the main beginning of our downfall. He was 100% the glue between everyone and I think he would've been captain in the future. He was the glue not only from a personal standpoint, but on the field he was the player we could rely on to go practically anywhere and fill the role required.

As for Clarry, he's where he needed to be for both himself and the club. It was a messy exit, but if he succeeds at the Giants I'll be happy for him.

On 07/03/2026 at 16:50, Ollie fan said:

most of his possessions were getting it from out of a pack into the clear. It might only be 10 m, but it's a pretty important 10 m. I'm completely with picket fence on this. It's very upsetting to see you.

And GWS coach completely agrees with you.

lets see how things pan out. I remember Clarry getting a standing ovation this time two years ago after playing a terrific game at the 'G and since then has has slowly turned to average outputs.

Let's wait till the sugar hit is over and see if Petracca can repeat thosekicking efforts all year, can back into packs again and be the track of old. For Clarry nothing suggests to me he's any different, it might suit him with Green out but right now he's a temu Green.

Both were in winning sides, when they tide turns, we shall see how they perform. What i think is Trac 'can' get back to his best. Oliver won't.

afl.com.au

BARRETT: Oliver and Petracca draw first blood, relieved D...

The extraordinary trade period that saw two all-time greats leave Melbourne could still end up a win-win for all parties, writes Damian Barrett

"I don't really care what Clayton says."

Round 12 against the Giants should be interesting!

17 minutes ago, dice said:

afl.com.au

BARRETT: Oliver and Petracca draw first blood, relieved D...

The extraordinary trade period that saw two all-time greats leave Melbourne could still end up a win-win for all parties, writes Damian Barrett

"I don't really care what Clayton says."

Round 12 against the Giants should be interesting!

It will be interesting to see what kind of greeting both get when we play GC and GWS, I'd like to see some mongrel in the group and throw them right off, I'll be knicked off if we dab trac up like he did to Maynard first game post Gus.

On 09/03/2026 at 10:58, dice said:

Yep. Also when that dog Hardwick round armed Green in the 1st quarter and almost broke his neck, no response.

Think that was Dean Wallis.

Remember who the Bombers’ coach was.

Edited March 10Mar 10 by Redleg

5 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Think that was Dean Wallis.

Remember who the Bombers’ coach was.

Definitely Hardwick

1 minute ago, dice said:

Definitely Hardwick

Dimma might have done something that game but Dean Wallis gave him the left hook that damaged his larynx.

9 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Think that was Dean Wallis.

That was a second incident in the same game. While Hardwick had Green's arms pinned, Wallis punched him in the throat hard enough to fracture his larynx.

Sheedy's thugs belted us on the scoreboard and on the field that day.

6 minutes ago, Demonstone said:

That was a second incident in the same game. While Hardwick had Green's arms pinned, Wallis punched him in the throat hard enough to fracture his larynx.

Sheedy's thugs belted us on the scoreboard and on the field that day.

And got a flag, so the tactics were spot on for paying against a young team

@Ghostwriter When you next see Greeny, please ask him if this head high round arm by Hardwick OR the subsequent punch by Wallis broke his larynx

7 minutes ago, Bates Mate said:

And got a flag, so the tactics were spot on for paying against a young team

Essendon were clearly the best team that year, losing only one game.

They didn't need to resort to thuggery to win the GF. (see also Long vs Simmonds)

I'm surprised that any Melbourne fan would condone such violence against our players (if that in fact is what you are doing).

On 07/03/2026 at 19:40, dazzledavey36 said:

I saw it completely the opposite.

He's getting positive reviews because the media want a feel good story out of him on top of the Petracca performance.

It was all the Fox commentators were talking about and hoping for on the pre game telecast.

It was stock standard Oliver game in terms of racking up a heap of handballs in close and leave it to the rest. Other then that I saw nothing to suggest that his performance any different to what he dished up last year.

Metres gain is a stat that coaches froth over in today's game in terms of ability to win the footy and then driving your legs to carry the footy as well or gain territory. Oliver's was low and it was noticeable. His performance was very Tom Mitchell like in that regardless, he is will always rack up 25 each game but have no hurt factor. I never once saw the Oliver of old in terms of bursting out of stoppages or driving his legs around stoppages.

Footy is going to about transitioning and gaining as much territory as you can

I look at Jai Newcombe game yesterday and both he and Oliver are exactly the same players and yet had such a significant influence because he was trying to burst through and link up in transitioning snd territory. Newcombes 574 metres gain was certainly more noticeable just like it was for Petracca the other night.

For another comparison, Patrick Cripps was another who had low metres gain (186) because they're very in and under and struggle with transition.

To finish off, I thought Stringer, Callaghan, and Riccardi were far more influential then Oliver.

I thought it was one of Stringers best games in a long time as he rose to the occasion when they were challenged and to have 9 scoring shots in itself is pretty impressive. Kicking 5.4 is a great return for him. He looked fit and dynamic. Him and Hogan this year is going to be scary.

But of course the media would prefer the feel good story of Oliver's performance and them rating his 17 handball and 9 kicks performance as BOG ahead of Stringers proves exactly that point.

I think you should show a bit more respect than that.