Will love this player and what he brought to the club. But things change and we took on so much water through Clarry and it has led to this outcome.

We did the best thing for the new coach and the group and I know we will honour him and people can boo if they want but I won’t and I will just look forward to the Dees in 2026.

2 hours ago, BrisbaneDemon said:

He’s spot on, it’s the worst contract in AFL history and that sits squarely with the club and Oliver! Let’s hope it’s a wake up call for the club. No high performance organisation gives these contracts out. It’s sad that Oliver didn’t hold up his end of the deal and now the club (especially the old regime) holds all consequences and not Oliver.

We gave one out this year 😉

Needed to be moved on 12-24 mths earlier, very sad demise and stupid contract, Goodwin shielded he’s behaviours and ruined the culture, Trac would still be here

2 hours ago, KozzyCan said:

Oh dear..

That is not a picture of someone in good health….

Trigger warning for @picket fence

Looks terrible in orange, like his hair dye has run down

not sure how to feel, wish these boys were lifelong demons and red and blue legends, instead its something less than that, but id also love nothing more than to see clarry thrive

thanks claz, go well mate

2 hours ago, picket fence said:

Agree double down shocking bloody comment!

Can't see where Dr. Gonzo said anywhere that he hates him. Just mentioned the facts of last few years. Can't deny that. Time to get over it as I have said prior you support the club not a player. I stayed true to the club when RDB left for the Baggers so how about we all again get behind the club as I reckon, we could be in for a good ride with the newbies and our excellent crop of youngsters.

1 hour ago, Stiff Arm said:

Trigger warning for @picket fence

Looks terrible in orange, like his hair dye has run down

12 hours ago, BDA said:

too close to the players

absolutely correct decision by the club to remove him

I don’t want to put the boot in - coaching an AFL team in the current era would be hugely demanding. Not only for the obvious reasons, but coaches are also dealing with young minds during a mental health epidemic. I’m confident that Goodwin was doing his best to deal with the various issues between players, but it was just too tall an order for him.

The need for AFL teams to have their mental-health programs in order is rising exponentially. These players are just as addicted to their phones as anyone, and they’re constantly reading all kinds of opinions on their performances and their general behaviour. They are deeply susceptible to depression and anxiety (and the subsequent “acting out” that can come with it), and it takes a lot of expertise and emotional intelligence to guide an entire group through such an environment.

Maybe the messaging has always been wrong with Clarry, or maybe he was just unreachable, but I hope King and his crew are able to create an environment that brings out the best in our players and encourages them to actually want to be “demons for life”. The recent trades of our stars have been a deeply disappointing demonstration of how important that is

7 hours ago, Newport34 said:

Thanks for the premiership Clarry. Now grow the [censored] up and you might actually last 12 months at GWS.

Nasty man.

6 hours ago, Dee-tonator said:

When Oliver causes off-field chaos at GWS, we will all breathe a sigh of relief.

He won't.

1 hour ago, Bobby McKenzie 2 said:

He won't.

Not that we'll hear about anyway ...

1 hour ago, Mel Bourne said:

I don’t want to put the boot in - coaching an AFL team in the current era would be hugely demanding. Not only for the obvious reasons, but coaches are also dealing with young minds during a mental health epidemic. I’m confident that Goodwin was doing his best to deal with the various issues between players, but it was just too tall an order for him.

The need for AFL teams to have their mental-health programs in order is rising exponentially. These players are just as addicted to their phones as anyone, and they’re constantly reading all kinds of opinions on their performances and their general behaviour. They are deeply susceptible to depression and anxiety (and the subsequent “acting out” that can come with it), and it takes a lot of expertise and emotional intelligence to guide an entire group through such an environment.

Maybe the messaging has always been wrong with Clarry, or maybe he was just unreachable, but I hope King and his crew are able to create an environment that brings out the best in our players and encourages them to actually want to be “demons for life”. The recent trades of our stars have been a deeply disappointing demonstration of how important that is

I have zero connections to the club so am speaking purely from reading between the lines and outcomes from afar, but the needs of Clarry vs the needs of the group seems to have been a balance that wasn’t achieved. Playing him when he was visibly out of shape and essentially no preseason RD 1 (?)in 2024, seemed like it was what was good for Clarry and not what was good for the group. That looked to me like unequal standards that perhaps any player a part from Max/Tracc would not have been given the same leeway on.

If a player isn’t at the requisite level of fitness expected or everyone else because of injury/mental health reasons, that’s fine. But they shouldn’t play until they have reached the standard everyone else has to. Otherwise it’s not a standard. This seemed to be a part of the equation why things blew up.

4 hours ago, Mel Bourne said:

I don’t want to put the boot in - coaching an AFL team in the current era would be hugely demanding. Not only for the obvious reasons, but coaches are also dealing with young minds during a mental health epidemic. I’m confident that Goodwin was doing his best to deal with the various issues between players, but it was just too tall an order for him.

The need for AFL teams to have their mental-health programs in order is rising exponentially. These players are just as addicted to their phones as anyone, and they’re constantly reading all kinds of opinions on their performances and their general behaviour. They are deeply susceptible to depression and anxiety (and the subsequent “acting out” that can come with it), and it takes a lot of expertise and emotional intelligence to guide an entire group through such an environment.

Maybe the messaging has always been wrong with Clarry, or maybe he was just unreachable, but I hope King and his crew are able to create an environment that brings out the best in our players and encourages them to actually want to be “demons for life”. The recent trades of our stars have been a deeply disappointing demonstration of how important that is

No.... it just means AFL Players need to grow up and realise that they are not the hardest done by people on earth. Look at Max & Jack V . Gus Flower etc for models rather than "Brands" & Boat rides

Any confirmation of how much we are paying and for how many years?

Good luck

Toby Greene and his family got a rude shock last night when Clarry lobbed on his doorstep with a duffel bag and an attitude.

It’s done let’s move on.

43 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

It’s done let’s move on.

Yep. I think I need a break from footy.

I hope someone at GWS reminds him to bring his boots for the first day of preseason training

I'm finding some of the comments on this thread quite unpalatable. Maybe it's a coping mechanism for some but I will miss Oliver and wish him the best.

The circumstance I see is more a reflection of the failings of our previous administration. He didn't hand out his own contract.

Good luck Clarry, just don't play too well when you play us.

As an aside I wonder if we've created some salary cap space where we can possibly front end what he's owed, so we don't have this black hole in our cap in future years.

1 hour ago, Wylie D said:

Clayton Oliver is one of the greatest to play for the Red and the Blue. One of the greatest contested ball players of all time.

Not unlike many of those who are gifted with rare talent, it came at a price. His history caught up with him, as it does all of us, and he couldn't navigate it and ran off the rails. I have many friends in the same category - so I won't judge - but I'll still be disappointed and genuinely sad that it all fell apart when he was at the peak of his powers. I respect him greatly for getting back on track - so to speak - but I also agree with the club that his time was up. Some things can't be undone and a fresh start benefits everyone.

Thanks for the wild ride Claz, and for the greatest moment of my sports supporting life - Bang, Bang, Bang!

10 hours ago, layzie said:

Its all good wanting to move on to the future, I'm glad to see people optimistic.

However I do think the next few days should be for grieving. These were generational players that at the end of 2022 you would never imagined would be leaving this way.

Things are short in the AFL. One day you're the happiest person that ever lived, the next day you're some shmo working in a box factory

Grieving, he's a football player for Christ's sake not a family member or friend move on.

Clarrie come out to thank the club, supporters and coaches yet?

Plenty of time to post [censored] memes apparently

Interesting

10 minutes ago, demon3165 said:

Grieving, he's a football player for Christ's sake not a family member or friend move on.

Come on mate, you know what I meant.

Short term sadness, long term 'moving forward'

Interesting interview with Jason McCartney, GWS manager of football.

I’m paraphrasing, but after the meeting with Clayton, Melbourne knew what they were doing but they didn’t have any strength in the negotiations.

He was very complimentary about Tim Lamb, but said that sometimes these situations arise, and that he’d also been through it before. IOW, they worked out what they were prepared to pay and it was take it or leave it. He only had 2 discussions with Tim Lamb, it was mostly done through Clayton’s manager.

He also said that you have to look at the whole trade and draft period, not just individual trades.

If anyone else was listening and wants to expand on or correct the above, feel free.

Clearly, the main thing working against us was that there weren’t rival bidders to push the price up. As it was, they had us over a barrel.

Edited October 15Oct 15 by bing181