Clayton Oliver could be the next Michael Voss, writes Mark Robinson
IN 2012, Melbourne made a draft blunder with the No.4 pick. Three years later the Demons again had pick four but weren’t going to make the same mistake twice, writes MARK ROBINSON.
Mark Robinson
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ONE Melbourne supporter with a hint of craziness — aren’t they all a little stir-crazy after a lean 10 years? — is rapt the Demon recruiters didn’t make the same mistake twice.
In that sense, to begin to fully enjoy Clayton Oliver there has to be a kind of mental expulsion of Jimmy Toumpas first.
At the 2012 national draft, the Demons had pick No.4 and selected the now well-travelled and unfulfilled Toumpas. Ollie Wines went to Port Adelaide at pick No.7 and Jake Stringer to the Bulldogs at No.5.
At the 2015 draft, the Demons again had pick No.4. But this time they weren’t going to let the rough nut go.
They took Oliver. A bolter, the experts called him, despite him winning the Morrish Medal at the Murray Bushrangers.
A bolter? If only they’d known how much.
At 19, the kid with the country cheek and self-confessed softish belly has transformed himself into a second-year, contest-loving, ball-swooping, handball-loving, body-crunching midfielder.
More than that, he not only influences games, but potentially he is an influence on the team’s identity.
If you don’t see Michael Voss in him, you’re not looking closely enough.
They have same hair — red — and the same heart. One, however, was an all-time great, perhaps a future AFL Legend, while the other played only his 15th game last weekend.
It was a belter of game, too — 35 touches, nine tackles, five clearances and 16 contested disposals.
The week before, in his 14th game, it was 36 touches, seven tackles, nine clearances and 14 contested disposals.
Oliver’s numbers stack up pretty well against Nat Fyfe, Patrick Dangerfield, Luke Parker, Matt Priddis, the Swans’ Josh Kennedy and Joel Selwood.
An easier comparison is Carlton’s Patrick Cripps, 22, an idol of Oliver as an under-age player.
In contrast — and it was a different time and different game style — it took Vossy 39 games before he had his first 30-possession day.
It must be noted it took him 38 games after that to win his Brownlow Medal, so if we’re looking for a fairytale, Oliver is looking at a 2020 or 2021 gong.
Voss is at Port Adelaide as midfield coach and, although he missed Oliver’s past two games, he saw enough last year to know he likes what he sees.
“I definitely know him,” Voss told the Herald Sun.
“We saw a bit last year and it was clear he’s a natural for it.
“I haven’t seen him play this year at all yet, but I will make a point of it. We don’t play him for a few weeks so he’s not in my window yet. I reckon he will be.
“When you’ve got Jack Viney and Clayton Oliver in the midfield, two tough nuts like that, and Max Gawn on top of that, that will prove challenging for any team.”
While Voss knows Oliver well enough, Melbourne’s jack-of-all-trades assistant coach Brendan McCartney loves him well enough — maybe more than other player with whom he’s been involved.
“I had a fair bit admiration for Joel (Selwood) and Bonty (Marcus Bontempelli), and Tommy Liberatore, too, I reckon,” McCartney said.
“They’ve all got that intensity gene. They give it everything, they just go.”
McCartney’s favourite answer to any question about Oliver is this: “When he is near the ball he goes faster and that’s not for everyone, that stuff. He still hasn’t got the physical capacity to complement that yet, but that will come with time. But his competitiveness and will to win is extraordinary.”
Oliver and Viney, 23 next week, are helping supply an edge not seen for a long time at Melbourne.
Even the suspensions of Bernie Vince, Jordan Lewis and Jesse Hogan this season, while not ideal, add a level of menace to the Demons. Let’s be honest, they were a soft outfit and the club looked soft.
McCartney says Oliver — his nickname is “Clarry” and and he calls McCartney “Whacky Macky” — has a thirst for improvement.
“To be honest, I think what he’s becoming is a product of what Melbourne was criticised for so long — that they couldn’t develop their young people for whatever reason,” McCartney said.
“He’s got so many people around him to turn to for help. He’s probably the first exhibit of just how much good work has been done with the young people there by a lot of good people.
“What we’re seeing is Jack Viney and Billy Stretch ... what I’m seeing is young players are moulding the next group below them. That’s a sign of a healthy footy club.’’
McCartney doesn’t hide his affection for the kid.
He’s a father figure who has helped Oliver adapt to Melbourne — he was drafted from Mooroopna, on the opposite bank of Goulburn River from Shepparton — helped him adopt professional habits and, on a more personal level, helped him deal with and own a drink-driving episode during the off-season.
“He’s like a son in a lot of ways to me,” McCartney said.
“I have a deep respect for people who are so competitive like that. You can build your team and club around them. Jack Viney and Jesse Hogan and those boys ... they play to win.
“And he was a country kid who didn’t understand Melbourne, didn’t understand AFL footy, so a group of us feel like — not that you go above and beyond — but it was more than coaching and teaching about what to do on the field.”
McCartney likes the Voss comparison, although he stressed Oliver had a heap of development ahead.
“‘Clarrie’ is not scared of much,” McCartney said.
“Vossy wasn’t scared of anything, was he?
“He’s a little bit different to Vossy. He’s a swooper; he swoops on a ball. But Vossy did that, too. He was lethal within 5m the ball.”
He’s a great story, Oliver, and just imagine if the Demons had taken Wines ahead of Toumpas.
A starting midfield of Gawn, Wines, Viney and Oliver is not a prospect for the faint-hearted.
Originally published as Clayton Oliver could be the next Michael Voss, writes Mark Robinson
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