1 hour ago, rpfc said:

Alright — here’s a brutally pessimistic, exaggerated, worst-case-scenario take on Clayton Oliver’s first few games at GWS.
(This is intentionally over-the-top, as requested.)

---

🔥 THE “DOOMSDAY” VERSION OF CLAYTON OLIVER AT GWS

(Exaggerated. Dramatically negative. Hyperbolic.)

🧱 1. He’s Looked Like a Shadow of His Melbourne Self

If you didn’t know better, you’d think GWS recruited the idea of Clayton Oliver rather than the real thing. The bursts of brilliance that once terrified opposition midfields have been replaced with:

• slow, predictable handballs,

• contested wins that don’t actually lead to anything, and

• a general vibe of “he’s out there somewhere, I think.”

He’s getting touches, sure — but they’re the most empty calories in the AFL right now. It’s like drinking a litre of Coke Zero: technically there, but not really doing anything.

---

🪫 2. The Fitness Concerns Look Real — and Maybe Permanent

Oliver talked about arriving “a bit unfit,” but judging by his first few weeks you’d think he rocked up to Sydney straight off a month-long cruise.

He looks:

• half a step slow,

• out of sync with every stoppage,

• like he’s still adjusting to the idea that preseason is actually over.

If GWS hoped he’d be a midfield energiser, he’s currently more like a midfield battery warning light flickering on and off.

---

🧩 3. He Doesn’t Fit the Giants’ Midfield — At All

GWS’s midfield is built on chemistry, continuity, and structure.
Oliver so far? He’s like tossing a bowling ball into a washing machine and hoping it all comes out clean.

His style has:

• disrupted the flow,

• clogged the midfield rotations,

• and somehow made the Giants’ contested work look worse, not better.

It’s early days — but right now he looks like the most expensive square peg ever jammed into a round hole.

---

🥴 4. He’s Not Lifting the Team — the Team Is Carrying Him

Instead of arriving as the missing midfield piece to push GWS into unstoppable territory, he’s turned into something closer to:

Jake Stringer has already out-sparked him.
Others have out-pressured him.
Younger mids have out-hunted him.

If he wasn't called Clayton Oliver, people would be asking if he’s even best-22 right now.

---

📉 5. The Giants Still Have All the Same Problems — Plus New Ones

Whatever issues GWS had at centre clearances, midfield consistency, and transition defense?

They still have them.

And now they have:

• a star recruit who isn’t fixing anything,

• midfield balance thrown off,

• and the pressure of “well, THIS better start working soon.”

It feels like the Giants traded for a solution and ended up with a very expensive side quest.

---

🔪 Summary (Hyper-Negative Edition)

Clayton Oliver’s start at GWS has been:

• underwhelming,

• uninspiring,

• borderline disruptive,

• and falling well short of the “star recruit” billing.

Right now, if you wanted to spin it darkly, you could say:

Again — this is the intentionally exaggerated version you asked for.
If you'd like, I can write a comically brutal game-by-game breakdown too.

"Jake Stringer has already out-sparked him."

This is very cruel. The rest is pretty much the conclusion I'd come to after his '25 season.

3 hours ago, rpfc said:

Yeah no worries. Boy took it out of me.

People can pick whichever truth they wish to believe.

Don't worry, they will.

Appreciate your efforts.

he's going to play good games, bad games and nothing games in between.
Let's not get too lost in yesterday

4 hours ago, picket fence said:

Mongrel in the group???? Yeah just like the Maynard Bonhommie session of a few years ago! Mongrel...what a laugh! We are like Baby Gummy sharks without any gums!

Hence my comments!!

Spoke to a mate of mine this morning who is a very keen GWS fan, he iterated several things,

1 His best is still pretty formidable and he has had influence in goal transitions and contested ball gets.

2 Team mates are seemingly ignoring his leads when in outside space which he could'nt figure out

3 He would be leading the GWS B and F after 3 rounds

Not all glooom and doom as some have suggested here!

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by picket fence

32 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Spoke to a mate of mine this morning who is a very keen GWS fan, he iterated several things,

1 His best is still pretty formidable and he has had influence in goal transitions and contested ball gets.

2 Team mates are seemingly ignoring his leads when in outside space which he could'nt figure out

3 He would be leading the GWS B and F after 3 rounds

Not all glooom and doom as some have suggested here!

That would explain why they have lost the past 2 games then

50 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Spoke to a mate of mine this morning who is a very keen GWS fan, he iterated several things,

1 His best is still pretty formidable and he has had influence in goal transitions and contested ball gets.

2 Team mates are seemingly ignoring his leads when in outside space which he could'nt figure out

3 He would be leading the GWS B and F after 3 rounds

Not all glooom and doom as some have suggested here!

You’re making this up picket

There’s no such thing as a very keen GWS fan

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

Spoke to a mate of mine this morning who is a very keen GWS fan, he iterated several things,

1 His best is still pretty formidable and he has had influence in goal transitions and contested ball gets.

2 Team mates are seemingly ignoring his leads when in outside space which he could'nt figure out

3 He would be leading the GWS B and F after 3 rounds

Not all glooom and doom as some have suggested here!

Taking a GWS nuffy fan as credible source for this is laughable Pickett.

Anyone Melbourne supporter would be saying the exact same thing this time last year.

Occams Razor .The club got caught up in all cultural and peripheral issues and missed the obvious that he was too good to let go.

1 minute ago, kallangurdemon said:

Occams Razor .The club got caught up in all cultural and peripheral issues and missed the obvious that he was too good to let go.

And he was a huge part of the 'cultural and peripheral issues' that you mention.

Do you not see the irony in what you just said?

12 minutes ago, Temporarily Hopeful Demon said:

And he was a huge part of the 'cultural and peripheral issues' that you mention.

Do you not see the irony in what you just said?

I'm trying to get my head around it it !!is almost Oxymoronish!

6 hours ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Thanks for taking the time out in drafting up such a comprehensive assessment @rpfc

To give up such valuable time out of your day is much appreciated.

Not one for bans, but if direct copy pasting from Chat should be banned on Demonland. Not why I come here, I can get AI content anytime.

6 hours ago, Neil Crompton said:

The MFC traded Oliver because of his behavior issues and the effect this was having on the playing group - and for no other reasons.

His performance at GWS is really totally irrelevant to the MFC. The trade was necessary and was done. End of story. I wish him well.

It's nowhere near the end of the story. This is Demoland and we're only up to 119 pages. He's still got a couple, three, four, five years left on our payroll.

4 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Not one for bans, but if direct copy pasting from Chat should be banned on Demonland. Not why I come here, I can get AI content anytime.

It was a joke. A bit of social commentary on the nature of ‘research’ in 2026. I thought it was actually very funny, but then I should remember the golden rule of Demonland…

‘No humour after a loss’.