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Clarrie may not be the most articulate Demon but the overall thrust of the article is positive and that is terrific news !!!!

He had a bit of a knee issue, they took the metal plate out of his hand,( which was keeping it attached to his wrist, AND A COUPLE OF BUSTED RIBS!!! PARK ME WHAT A SUPERHUMAN EFFORT JUST TO PLAY, plenty here on demonland were scathingly sledging him, well after that CLAYTON YOU ARE A BLOODY LEGEND IN MY BOOK

Melbourne star Clayton Oliver opens up on Trade Period drama Clayton Oliver has spoken publicly for the first time about his failed trade to Geelong and what he expects when he returns to Melbourne for pre-season. Clayton Oliver plans to make up for what he called “a stinker” of a season, saying he is determined to help drive Melbourne back to the finals again in 2025. The Demons midfielder met with Geelong ahead of the trade period about a potential move down the highway, but Melbourne would not budge on its decision to retain the 27-year-old. Oliver told the Herald Sun on Saturday at Caulfield that while he was within his rights to speak with the Cats, he was now focused solely on trying to get his body right to help the Demons return to September action. “We’re good, we’re all sweet,” Oliver said of his relationship with Melbourne. “We’ve got ‘Trac’ (Christian Petracca) coming back, (he’s) the best player in the league … he had a pretty big injury. He is training hard. “We were there (in a premiership winning team in 2021) a couple of years ago and we fell short in 2022 and 2023. “(This year) ‘Gussy’ (Angus Brayshaw) retired, we had ‘Trac’ injured, I had a stinker of a year and ‘Maysey’ (Steven May) was a little bit off.” Oliver said he had been in regular communication with Christian Petracca, who has been overseas at a Red Bull training camp in an effort to return from his sickening lacerated spleen and internal injuries suffered on King’s Birthday. Asked about his meeting with Geelong in the lead-up to the trade period, Oliver said: “It’s all right … (I had) a chat to people.” “But Melbourne are looking good. We will have a big year.”

The headline says ‘failed trade’ but Oliver only ever talks about ‘having a chat’ or ‘meeting with’ Geelong. At no point did he say or even hint at any desire (or otherwise) to leave. A little bit of a peek behind the curtain there, seeing how the media creates a narrative rather than reporting things straight.

Whoever ghost writes his post football memoir will have earned their fee.

For old times sake, I saved this classic back cover + headline + photo from 2020

any reports of Oliver putting his stuff back in his locker?

He really does have a way with words.

I see a split happening in the event that we know a player we like is going to be available at our next selection. If not then probably not worth it. Same as when we traded up for North's pick 8 then slid to 10 with pick 28 coming back ourway in 2019. That allowed us to get Pickett, who we were always selecting anyway, and Rivers. That's why I'm for a split if the club sees a scenario like that unfolding. 9 down to 11 and one of Richmond's pick in the early 20s. Get the same player and add an extra high quality pick. Richmond would potentially be enticed to do the deal as there are a couple competitors, as highlighted, above that could swoop in and take a player they like ahead of them. 3 picks within 24 in this draft is enticing but if we take 5 and 9 to the draft I'll be equally as happy.

I think the club needs more credit for the strong stance taken with Trac, Koz and Oliver. The Media were salivating at the prospects of us letting gun players walk and there was genuine rival interest. Richmond, Port, Westcoast, Bulldogs and Sydney all let good contracted players walk out of their clubs. All but Richmond allowed it to happen for almost no returns. We held firm and should be given some credit where it's due. Very solid trade period for the dees. Bring on 2025

Thanks Adam Tomlinson there but for a cruel injury you could have been a Premiership hero. Good luck and wish you all the best in any future ventures.

The problem with this theory is it discounts the actions of the main players, ie the club and it's players and their public statements. If there was nothing to the Petracca rumours, they could've been shut down in a split second with one public statement. If there was nothing to the Oliver rumours they could've been shut down in a split second with a public statement. The fact neither Petracca or Oliver spoke publicly until it was clear there was going to be no trade done and the story had been allowed to feed on itself for a week or more (especially so in Petracca's case) speaks volumes. I don't doubt what you're saying about the media and especially these types who feed off the rumours and off field drama. That doesn't necessarily make them wrong though. Another part I think youre discounting in this dialectic is the club supporter who won't hear a bad word about the club and passionately defends them to the hilt. This feeds into the cycle you've mentioned because it invites continued debate/discussion (for want of a better term) particularly on social media. So these mongers as you've coined them throw fresh meat into the water and watch the two opposing groups of supporters go at it. My position is I don't trust these new age media types and find them all pretty cretinous. I also don't discount everything they say just because they are the ones reporting on it. I consider their story and then look to see how the club/the other actors in whatever the story is react to it. If they let the story fester and refuse to publicly deny allegations, especially when they are as charged as a clubs best player who is signed to a long term deal wanting out of the club, then I conclude that yeah, there probably is something to the story. I love the club, I don't always love it's administrators. They are human and prone to faults or sometimes just not up to the job. That doesn't make them bad people it just means they are not the right people to lead the club (or maybe they were but have overstayed their welcome). When things stack up over a period of time then you have to ask questions and hope those who are in positions to actually hold them accountable do so. Supporters should demand success and part of that is not accepting management that has presided over poor governance, culture or whatever otherwise the club is doomed to fail. Edit - also I was never worried about Oliver leaving, I was about Petracca but quickly realised no club would satisfy a trade. These may come to fruition in 12 months they may not, but at the end of the day my concern was more with WHY they wanted out of the club rather than whether they would actually leave.

I had a dream last night. We win the flag next year, with Tracc winning his second Norm Smith, after Clarry won the Brownlow, with Max breaking records with another AA and our pick 5 winning the Rising Star, after JVR wins his first Coleman. How quickly would all this media garbage last if my dream came true?

All is good and right with the world again. ‘I had a stinker’: Oliver vows to atone in 2025 after failed move to Geelong Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver has broken his silence after the trade period, pledging to atone for his self-described “stinker” of a season next year. Days after the Demons shut the door on a move to Geelong, the four-time best and fairest winner was pragmatic about the failed trade and is “keen to get back” to training with his Melbourne teammates when preseason formally starts next month. The Dees kept their word in not trading Oliver, who had met several Cats players at ruckman Rhys Stanley’s farm heading into the player exchange period. “That’s alright, Melbourne are looking good, we’ll be right,” Oliver said at the races at Caulfield, where a horse raced by his friend Darcy Mangan was victorious. Oliver spoke bullishly of the Demons’ chances next year after a disappointing 2024 in which the club missed the finals for the first time since 2020. I think this just about confirms Melbourne as the big winner of the trade and free agency period. The club kept its absolute champions and has two top ten picks in its back pocket. We can now follow Clarry’s lead and concentrate on the Spring Carnival, the cricket, tennis and the rest of the AFLW season before moving on to take the next premiership flag.

Still has those highlights in the Geelong final which is a lot more than (I assume) we all on here have!

We have engineered 4 picks inside the top 12 in the past 2 years. For a club that has been at the pointy end of the ladder most of that times, that is a great result.

How it may work out – the top 15 picks and the potential phone call that will rock Tim Lamb Dees stance on draft night Having agreed to give up next year’s top pick, there’s no doubt in my mind (and I’d say any sane person’s mind) that the directive from Tim Lamb to JT will be to draft both the best tall and the best mid/small fwd with picks 5 and 9. I mean last year we chose a pacey mid (Caleb Windsor) at the expense of the best mobile forward (Nate Caddy) and we backed that up with another promising mid/small forward in Koltyn Tholstrop. We’ve also already given priority to a every-ready back-up mid (Harry Sharp) over a classy but untried back-up tall (Wade Derksen). And we’ve offloaded talls Adam Tomlinson and Josh Schache, so there’s clearly room on the list now for another tall. Based on videos I’ve seen, it’s hard not to be excited by the exploits of the Striking Viking Alix Tauru – who has an incredible leap and is only just getting used to playing as a forward after spending his early days as an intercept defender. And dare I say it, but his Nic Nat leaping style is something we need more than anything to spark the lads up at training. There’s nothing quite like an exciting teenager to take your mind off the club’s problems. As to our other get, it will be interesting to see whether the rise of HokBall means we will want the quickest livewire mid/small to go with the big. I have no doubt JT was planning to take Murphy Reid, although his fear at missing out on Tauru probably means we will most likely miss out on Reid and have to look for the next best player left – and from what I’ve seen so far, on video, I’m actually tipping that JT’s love of the west means he will take Bo Allan with that pick. Here’s how I see it unfolding and some of the big dilemmas facing clubs, primarily Richmond. 1 Jagga Smith (Rich) There’s been a lot of talk lately that the Tigers are more interested in Sam Lalor with pick 1, but that option defies belief. Smith is a livewire, small clever mid – an even better version of the clever Murphy Reid you might say – and he starred in the Tigers VFL side in two of his three games that he played this year. He’s trained with them and they love him. To risk losing him would be a big, big call, but it’s possible given North, Carlton and Adelaide won’t take him (they have other priorities), leaving us as the only potential spoilers at pick 5 before the Tigers pick 6. If North don’t take Tauru at 2, then JT would face a tricky decision on whether to pass on Smith as well if he fell that far and get Tauru at 5, but if they do take Tauru, then my tip is that we will go with Smith and add Armstrong, Shanahan or Jonty Faull. Whilst in a more logical world, I have Tigers taking Smith at 1 and North taking Lalor at pick 2, if the Tigers decide they want to be risktakers and try and get both Lalor and Smith and go Lalor with pick 1, then I reckon North then goes Tauru and we will have to decide if we take Smith or Reid at five, which we should until … the phone rings on draft night. Tim Lamb then advises his team that the Tigers are willing to offer us picks 10 and 11 for pick 5. They may also offer up pick 11 and their first rounder for 2025 – which is a likely top three pick, which would be even more tempting. Lamb would have an interesting call to make in that eventuality. But I’m tipping the Tiges will go the more orthodox route and make Jagga their No.1. And if they do, then the phone call remains a figment of my imagination. 2 Sam Lalor (NM) Unlike Smith, Lalor has a bit of size about him at 188cm (6ft1in) and he’s shown he can be both the tough mid and the clever leading forward (that crunching pack mark for Vic Country that is on almost every video of him was a super highlight). He also has more goal sense than most of the other mids – he kicked seven on return from injury at APS level. He’s been compared to Dusty (hence why Tiger fans rate him) but I reckon he’s more in the Matthew Larkin in his prime mould – similar vision and awareness, although he’s a better mark than Larkin ever was. Being a bigger mid/fwd, it means the Roos will like him because Wardlaw, McKercher and Sheezel aren’t big-bodied like him. The Roos should also be considering Harvey Langford, for exactly the same reason – he has size (190cm) and a thumping left foot kick which is a point of difference for their mids, but his lack of raw pace may see him slide a bit. As stated earlier, if the Tigers take Lalor then the Roos may decide to take the big gamble and go with Tauru at pick 2 – a player they apparently like the look of as well, but two months ago he was rated a likely second-rounder at best, so the risk factor is there. The other possibility is that the Tigers offer up picks 10 and 11 for pick 2 – meaning they are guaranteed Lalor and Smith. Would the Roos take it, given they could then go two quality talls or a mid/tall combo. I reckon they should, but most clubs don’t as they are inherently conservative for fear of ramifications. 3 Levi Ashcroft (Bris) The Tigers won’t bid on him at No.1 because they need the marketing power of keeping the No.1 label, so it’s then up to North or the Blues to hold the premiers accountable. The Roos did bid on Will Ashcroft back in 2022 and Jed Walter in 2023, so I reckon the Kangas might pass on him this time as he isn’t what they require position wise. And if that’s the case, the Blues will definitely bid on him to keep the Lions honest – especially given they are also in the same window. 4 Finn O’Sullivan (Carl) The Blues have already given up picks 12 and 14 to get this pick and it’s no secret they want him – Carlton always goes with the footy bloodlines and being Sam Walsh’s cousin will have Lygon St salivating. They will be a little scared that the Tigers will snare him at pick 1, but his VFL form for them, aside from two neat goals, wasn’t exactly exceptional. He did however stand out at testing, so everyone is aware he has upside and he will start as a classy, quick half forward for them, which is what they crave right now. 5 Sid Draper (Adel) Have a look at his highlights video and you know the guy is quick, smart and strong, although he still needs to work on his kicking prowess – he has a bit of the Clayton Oliver’s about him with his preference to handball. But as SA skipper, he seemed more aware of the importance of using his line-breaking ability at the carnival and his pace is top tier. The Crows will consider the best midfield bull in Harvey Langford, but I’m tipping they go local – big ramifications if they don’t and he turns out a gun. 6 Alix Tauru (Melb) As stated above, JT will be told to take a big as a priority and if Tauru is still around because North overlook him, then I reckon we have to take him here. The Saints will surely take him as one of their two picks if we don’t. He still looks a bit like a dear in headlights with his goalkicking routine, but I’m sure with good training from Chocco and our new forwards coach, he will get into good habits. And if he can’t find the goals, he’s a walkup start as an intercept defender in the James Sicily mould down the track (May and T-mac are not exactly young). And the best thing, for those of you fearful of another Jack Watts or even Matt Jefferson is that he loves tackling. I suspect JT had been thinking of using this pick for Murphy Reid, but solving our tall problem should be the priority. The proviso on this is what happens if Jagga Smith is still on the table or North gambles on the striking viking at pick 2. If North does go Tauru, one of Lalor or Smith will also still be around, and if it’s Smith I reckon that phone call from the Tigers may be made to us. And Tim Lamb better be ready. 7 Harvey Langford (Rich) With Lalor and O’Sullivan gone, the Tigers will turn to their attention to a player who they have trialled in the VFL and one who finished the season for Dandenong Stingrays like he was Marcus Bontempelli. He’s a powerful extractor with a booming left-foot and being bid-bodied will compliment Jagga Smith, who is the exact opposite. He’s also got a huge tank, but the only doubt about him in this modern HokBall world is that he lacks pace. But Patty Cripps doesn’t have pace either and he’s the best in the game. 8 Isaac Kako (Ess) You have to assume Essendon had inside word that the Saints would bid on him, otherwise their decision to give up pick 9 to us is bizarre. I doubt he is better than Murphy Reid, but he certainly has pace and leads up well. He also has that dynamic Kozzie-type aggressive style, so he should make an impact in a couple of seasons. 9 Murphy Reid (StK) I reckon the Saints will be jumping to get their local Sandy lad who has that touch of Gryan Miers about him. That’s a shame because we would definitely take him if he fell to our pick 9 (which will most likely slide to pick 11 or even 12). If JT’s intel is that the Saints aren’t into Tauru then I reckon we will flip and take Reid at pick 6. 10 Harry Armstrong (StK) With Jack Steele 29 next month and more of a lockdown player, the Saints will consider Josh Smylie, but I suspect a few clubs are wary of his low-tackle count and Ross and Smylie would clash big time I reckon. And Matteas Phillipou showed good signs late in the year and is a player earmarked for the guts, so another tall option up forward for the Saints would be smart. Armstrong’s high agility rating also would help their confidence as that was Nate Caddy’s strength as well last season. Armstrong looks a classy kick, but I didn’t see too many hangers in his highlights. But he’s quick on the lead, so that’s not crucial anyway. Being another Sandy kid helps the Sainters community appeal as well! 11 Leo Lombardo (GC) This guy is freakishly quick and agile and has high skills, but he’s a tad small – a bit like Caleb Daniel in his heyday. He looks to me like a cash cow for your SuperCoach teams next year and will play round 1 for the Suns barring injury. The Saints should have bidded on him to ensure the Suns lose their two second rounders before their third rounder. But I suspect if they bid on Kako they may not want to go again for a player they don’t get, so I reckon it will be left up to bid on him with our next pick. JT loves smalls like him anyway, although the Suns will match our bid in a flash. 12 Bo Allan (Melb) One of Reid, Smith or Lombard would have been the perfect player to combine with Tauru and solve most of our shortages and help counter Hokball. But alas, I doubt that will happen. Allan is the last of the players who I reckon are certainties to be high-quality impact players and being from WA, it’s a happy recruiting ground for JT. He’s a tall left-foot mid who moves really well and is a decent kick and he’s tough enough to play in the middle as well as off half-back where he will play for us for at least a couple of seasons until he’s ready to go inside. He reminds me a lot of Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson. He’s already had a taste of big games having been handy in the WAFL grand final and as captain of WA ticks all the boxes. In fact he’s so good a prospect, that if the Tigers did come knocking for our pick 5 in exchange for picks 10 and 11, I think I’d have to say yes because we still would get him. 13 Luke Trainor (Rich) Having set up their midfield with Smith and Langford, the Tigers surely will look at long-term bigs and Trainor is regarded as the best tall defender. You’d have to think West Coast at pick 15 would want a replacement for Barrass at their pick if the Tigers don’t pounce here. 14 Jobe Shanahan (Rich) He’s got a bit of the Michael Roach’s about him and is a very accurate kick. Given his size, I reckon the Dees would also be considering him, but Tauru is more exciting. I really like the look of Jonty Faull as well, but Shanahan’s games at VFL for Essendon won me over. As a footnote, if we did accept Richmond’s pick 5 trade offer in my imaginary world, then we’d take Allan, Shanahan and have a decision to make on Travaglia or Hannaford. 15 Xavier Lindsay (WC) I reckon West Coast would be a little [censored] that we took Bo Allan and Trainor would have been the right fix for their post-Barrass defence. I can’t see them going Faull or Hannaford, and McQualter will want clever ball movers and Lindsay is a bit of a Christian Salem freak with his precise kicking and will most likely start on the wing or half-back for them.

I read an interesting article about how the so called Heisenberg observer effect impacts the efficacy of polling: "[E]very attempt to study how people think and act has the potential to influence how they think and act, thus changing what is being recorded, either in self-fulfilling or self-negating ways. The results of any poll on a particular issue are liable to change how people think about that issue, just as any poll showing a candidate’s popularity is liable to influence that candidate’s popularity." I reckon the same effect is at work with the feedback loop between the gossip churned out by McClure, Morris, Barrett, Cornes (collective noun - mongers) etc etc and supporters. The media's current narrative about Oliver wanting out (and before that tracc and koz) is the perfect example of what I mean: As most acknowledge, the mongers goal is to create a story that generates engagement (as measured by clicks, opens, retweets, ratings etc etc) - ideally a story that has a long shelf life so they can wring every last click out of it. That's the starting point The mongers know what will drive engagement, ie what the punters want - angst, division, rumour, conflict, gossip, crisis, confirmation of biases etc etc. And craft the initial story, and subsequent stories, accordingly. Football fans consume the stories, most uncritically and accept supposition as fact ('where there's smoke!!!!!'). Football forums, social media, comment sections, group text groups and sports radio is flooded with fans parroting amd amplifying the monger's narrative. The monger's editors know they're on a winner and tell the mongers to keep producing content about Oliver, particularly given the paucity of real news in the trade period. And the cycle continues. After a relatively short period it is accepted fact that Pert shopped Oliver, that claz desperately wanted to get to the cats and, absurdly, there was actually a reasonable chance claz got to the cats (I mean, for all manner of reasons, the chances were vanishingly small of oliver leaving given how late in the year this played out - ditto tracc) But suprise, suprise, the breathless group think proves to be nonsense- claz is staying. Yet the mongers know there's still plenty of juice left in the lemon. In fact, there's at least another 12 months worth of self reinforcing feedback loops and where there's smoke click bait content to be had A feedback loop where even a story about clarry saying he is keen to get going, looking forward to next year, pumping up tracc, pumping up our chances etc etc is interpreted by some as supporting the monger's narrative ('what else is he going to say?' 'Read between the lines' blah blah blah). The beauty of the monger's approach is that even in the face of contradictory evidence (eg clarry is staying) their narrative remains unchanged, unchallenged and uncriticised - even by many dees fans. Like doomsday day cults always extending the date the world is going to end, the narrative now seamlessly shifts to claz leaving at the end of the 2025 season (ditto tracc and koz). The other genius thing about the monger's method is many people who bought into the claz is gone narrative will, despite it having just been proven wrong, continue to parrot and amplify the monger's messaging. A great irony is some of will accuse those who dont buy into the monger's narrative of being naive pollyannas who, unlike them, are not realists or critical thinkers.

Lol.. he's not going to publicity come out express a desire that he wanted to leave. He played a straight bat and exactly the answer you'd expect from someone that either had every intention of wanting to leave or was at least putting some serious consideration into it. Was speaking with an ex colleague last Thursday who worked with the Murray Bushrangers and is from Shepparton way. He knows his Dad Steve very well. His old man confirmed to him that Oliver and his family desperately wanted to leave for Geelong, but due to our high demand, Geelong could not cater to our needs. The asking price was too much for Geelong. The Oliver family/camp are incredibly disgruntled with the Dees in how this has all unfolded. Similar to the Petracca situation, there is some serious amending of the bridges that will need occur over the off season. You can spin whatever narrative you want about the media, but Oliver absolutely wanted to leave Melbourne.

I remember that Geelong final. He looked the real deal. Wasn't to be unfortunately. Best of luck Sam in the next stage of your life.

Yeah another we have spoken to as well. Unfortunately I think he gets taken way before our 3rd pick. One player I know for a fact that we have strong interest in and should be available at this pick is Tye Hourigan from Traralgon. Genuine country footy star who's very similar to Tom Stewart.

That’s weird because I know Michelle Oliver quite well, she works with my mum and has said quite the opposite and the family love Melbourne and Clayton wanted to keep his options open. There has been no disgruntlement ever

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we selected Bo Allan for our number 9 pick over Lindsay. After watching Allan on the Preliminary Final and Grand Final in the WAFL. Allan would be very much in the mix ready to play Round AFL Round 1 2025. I did mention that I had a discussion with Tim Lamb when we played against GWS on that very cold Saturday night. During half time break, I was standing next to him watching swimming Finals (Olympics) and we were talking about draft prospects and the Championship Carnival. Tim did mention to me he was very impressed with Bo Allan and spoke very highly of him having excellent leadership qualities as well. I do like Lindsay's elite kicking skills and efficiency. I believe it is very much a 50/50 between Allan and Lindsay. I believe we will be selecting 2 midfielders ready to play in the very early rounds in 2025.

This time last year we all would have considered Windsor to be a massive reach, and that's worked out pretty well, so reach away I say. I have no doubt JT will reach for the name of whoever he has highest on his board regardless of media/bigfooty groupthink. Other "reaches" he's made like Oliver, Jackson, Kozzy and Caleb have been great picks. It's so good to have faith in our drafting these days. I'd love Lalor or Jagga to fall to us but if they were available and JT read out another name I wouldn't be bothered at all because I'd back in our drafting dept every time.

Tom Morris’ article tomorrow - Oliver out to Pasture? ‘Clayton is so desperate to leave Melbourne he’s contemplating becoming a race horse, according to 2 sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity (well one of the sources more gestured with its front hoof, but we all know what that means).’

IF... Damien Barrett wasn't a longtime hack journalist who has built up a large list of enemies within the AFL community, because of his rubbish journalism, and braindead hot take opinion pieces... Then... He may occasionally get info right, and not have to resort to, petty, childish sarcasm when a football club makes him look like a fool. Mess of a bloke.

Why would his father spin it different if Simon rang him? He's as honest as they come as is mother Michelle. They tell you how it is. The family felt the club treated Oliver during last year's saga with absolute care and professionalism. They were proud of the club in the way they wrapped support around because he simply went of the rails and even to the point where they both had to drive down and spend a few a few days with him as they were genuinely concerned for his welfare. This year, not so much. The whole Gary Pert situation completely blindsided them. Even in his exit meeting there was no discussion of a trade, it was all about getting his body right, completing his off season program with the goal of being fit ready to go come day one of pre season. I know one part of the reason to get to Geelong was pure lifestyle and needing to escape the bright lights or Melbourne. At the end of the day he's the boy from the country who still has incredible strong ties to his country roots. He's desperate to stay out of media headlines. The other part was obviously Geelongs leadership success and strong on field culture.

Sam was always going to take time. The more time that went on the more he seemed to get in his own head which worked the other way. His first year at Casey looked great and then it all went downhill. Sam had that awesome elim final against Geelong. I'll always remember him for that mark over Blicavs in the first and the look of shock on Blicavs face. I was there that night with 95k people and reckon I've watched the highlights a minimum of 50 times This is how I will choose to remember him.

Gee wiz I'll be sitting there at approx. 3:08am on night 2 of the draft in excitement now (unfortunately I'm being serious)

Interesting to see people sour on Jagga. He's the best performed midfielder in it and at worst will be a solid accumulator at AFL level. People saying his inside work wouldn't stack up at AFL level are a bit off IMO. He played a few games in the VFL late in the year and absolutely dominated mature bodies and AFL listed players. Averaged 27 disposals and 7 clearances across the three VFL matches. Had 50+ disposal games at CTL level. He's the best ball winner at underage level since Nick Daicos and projects similarly. If he was available to us at pick 5 it would be a very bold call to pass on him for someone else. I suspect he'll be gone before our pick though.

I’m sorry Dazzle but you sound like Tom Morris here. Please don’t report things as fact and as if you are in the know here. at no stage has Clayton’s family become disillusioned with the club, both Steve and Michelle Oliver have said quite the contrary. There was no blindsiding at all, Clayton’s management teed up the meeting with Stanley. understand you have heard this third hand from some random guy in Shepparton which is not really near Echuca, but you are reporting this as if it’s fact. Your knowledge around draft and u18s is outstanding, but you’ve missed the mark here. Said it before but the personal connection I have with the family, your source couldn’t be more wrong. pert on the other hand I believe will be gone.

I think there's a lot in this because it's often the case that players originally get rated on what they can do but then the get marked down on what they can't do. The longer a player has been rated highly the more time everyone has to see what they can't do. Sometime that leads to a correction and sometimes it's an over-correction. I think Smilie sits within this and nobody really knows. When you see what they can do well originally I think you make assumptions on the rest of their game based on what they 'should' be able do. With time those assumptions get tested and you can react negatively if they come up consistently short on that. Smilie has some great traits that complement the player you initially assume he should be (ie, a coalface inside midfield distributor like Cripps or Green), like his great kicking. Your mind immediately sees him and thinks "Wow, he's Patrick Cripps but he can kick! He'll be a superstar!" but as he plays and more you start wondering on the base assumption .... "Is he actually Patrick Cripps or is he a non-ruck Brodie Grundy or is he a non-forward Jake Stringer?" and then his rating drops accordingly. He's likely none of them, he's just Josh Smilie. I'm having a really hard time working out how I feel about Smilie. He does some things that are really, really offputting for me (laziness, play style, his inability to get his hands free in traffic) which infuriate me, but I also understand that if he can sort these out in a professional environment then he could be a star. There's a really wide range of possibilities for him and I can see how teams in the top 10 will rate him very differently.

Not a fan of Reid at all to be honest. Whilst it's good to show you can win the footy at junior level, when you're 180cm slow midfielder you've got to have some sort of athletic trait that can separate you from the rest of the other elite mids, and in my opinion he doesn't have any. He's not quick, doesn't have that burst from stoppages and is on the slight side of his physical profile. Reminds me exactly of Hunter Clark who's an ordinary AFL player.

I just want Clarrie to make Damian Barrett, Mclure, Morris and every other d/head jounro eat it.

eat ya heart out, shakespeare

Good luck to the weid , great bloke Average footballer. One of Taylor's rare missis.

Of the opinion we keep picks 5 & 9 and get the best kids we can with them, no downgrading please.

Watch out for Jack Henderson. Werribee VFL - won the BoG medal in GF that Mannagh won. We interviewed him (Geelong the other) and he said it went really well. I hope we get him!

Tobie Travaglia is definitely a youngster on the list for pick “9”. 187cm running half back , can develop also into a running midfielder plays like (imv) Trent Rivers good runner with burst of speed I like that he runs and kicks and doesn’t use his wrong foot… kicking efficiency is high just turning 18yrs late October 2024 ran 6.13mins in 2kms time trial at combine to finish 2nd Coates league - 12 games, averaged 24 possessions and 6 tackles for Bendigo Pioneers Finished 8th in Morrish Medal HBF in Coates league team of the year Was versatile, playing back, mid and spending time forward Active voice and good young leader Played national championships for Vic country Played some VFL for Carlton as a 17yo this year and looked impressive

Move on from what? I still haven't gotten over Jimmy running through the mark. And don't even start me on round 22, 1976.

I am angry! I'm angry at the ongoing regurgitation of the perceived sequence of events under the 'truth' banner. It is destabilising. It becomes fodder for those who can benefit from bringing the club to its knees. The fact that the parents of an AFL player can be 'disgruntled' over a clubs handling of a situation is hardly groundbreaking news. At any point in time a number of parents at each and every club will be disgruntled! Most parents have been disgruntled at some stage over the manner in which their child's school has handled some issue. That doesn't mean that they immediately rip the kid out of the environment and enrol the kid in another school. Outcomes are negotiated. This situation at MFC has been negotiated! I prefer to have faith in those at the club who have participated, rather than join a lynch-mob. I apologise for any disrespect I have shown, but I don't apologise for being angry!

I wouldn't split back, take 5 and 9 and get best available. With the Tassie picks coming soon we need the best young kids now. Another reason why not getting Houston was great. 5 & 9 could be the most important picks we have done in a long time.

Can't believe I'm going to have 30 sleepless nights leading up to the draft only for us to blow pick 6 on a tall!

Sorry but I find your post horribly disrespectful and totally unwarranted. Daz was simply passing on information he had heard - which we all encourage. You may not like the info presented, but there is no cause to be so angry and disrespectful.

I think it's important to understand who these people are in the context of sports journalism. It's struck me this trade period how the more serious, or perhaps I should say responsible football journalists mostly avoid the speculation about potential trades. At The Age - a much diminished product but nonetheless the one I read most closely - Jake Niall and Michael Gleeson are seen nowhere near these trade talkfests. What passes for a responsible person at the Herald Sun so far as I can tell is Mark Robinson (I know, I know) and I don't see his byline attached to anything like that linked to the usual culprits. These journos you talk of operate on radio, social media, and internet/TV. The expanse of radio/internet/TV airtime they must occupy to justify their existence seems to force them into endless verbal garbage. Usually around trade time I bury my head in the sand and wait for the period to end and then see what comes of it because in my experience 90% of it is bull dust. This year for obvious reasons I was sucked in. Trac in particular was an issue but in future I'll be leaving lightweight flibbertigibbets like Morris and McNoClue to their own devices. If someone like Niall starts to write it, then I'll give it credence.

Looks like a new father son combo