Rhys Stanley opens up on meeting with Clayton Oliver, why Geelong is a destination club

As city living gets more hectic and more expensive, Geelong believes it has a point of difference that few others can beat. Rhys Stanley opens up on his meeting with Clayton Oliver in 2024.

Only minutes after Christian Petracca was hurling his mouthguard to the GMHBA Stadium turf in despair, Clayton Oliver was shooting the breeze with his new posse of mates.

Oliver’s pre-match hugs with Patrick Dangerfield and Rhys Stanley were followed by the kind of amiable post-match chats the traditionalists hate after crushing losses.

Oliver had played his heart out in a fourth straight defeat and yet in a Melbourne season going nowhere, his future will continue to be an ongoing narrative.

Soon after in the Geelong rooms the Cats players – so used to winning – almost had to be roused into a version of ‘We Are Geelong’.

Stanley was happy to open up on his trade period meeting at his Geelong farm last November with Oliver as the Demons briefly entertained a trade for their star.

Oliver’s current existence includes on-field struggles, media scrutiny, a midfield battling for impact and a training schedule that includes weekly trips to far-flung Casey Fields.

And yet as Stanley spoke about the perfect work-life balance at his farm only 15 minutes from Cats headquarters, he didn’t even need to sell the virtues of life at Geelong.

A player who struggled to maximise his talent at St Kilda moved to Geelong and has won a flag then raised three kids with wife Kirsten while winning 101 of his 153 games at the club.

Now they are raising their family on a farm in close proximity to Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins in a perfect blend of family, work and tending the land.

For Oliver the message is clear – this too could be yours.

“It was funny, he was just coming down the coast and he popped in to say g’day,” Stanley told this masthead of meeting Oliver in a chat that had the Demons mid asking to be traded to Geelong.

Stanley and Oliver met in 2024. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“He has actually got an interest in similar sort of stuff – the ‘ag’ (agriculture) side of things. So he came and had a look at the cattle and we talked farming for a bit and then he just made his way further down the coast. We are just off Cape Otway Road and he’s a lovely fella. It was good to have him out.

“My wife made some scones (laughing): ‘Just happened to have them in the oven. Just happened to make them, they are not my best batch’ kind of thing.”

The meeting that included captain Patrick Dangerfield and star defender Tom Stewart was less impromptu than it sounded as Geelong aggressively hunted for another elite inside mid.

It would surprise if Dangerfield’s tour for Oliver hadn’t involved a walk-through of the stunning new Geelong headquarters with a pitch of the virtues of their limited contact hours at the club.

Geelong’s new digs include state-of-the-art changerooms, pools and spas and a facility that houses the entire club.

It includes added flourishes including a designer parents room where AFLW players or men’s partners can feed babies and look after kids in and around training or games.

Plans for a new $60 million additional facility with an indoor training surface are afoot.

Despite his Mooroopna background, Oliver doesn’t shape as a farm boy but neither did Bailey Smith before he bought a $4 million 14.3 hectare parcel of land with a four-bedroom house further down the surf coast over summer.

The midfielder wanted a move to the Cats last year. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Stanley admits the Geelong package is compelling given the way it has allowed him to set up his life, having just finished a two and a half year new home build on the property.

“It is a great thing (we are being aggressive) and it was the same with me. That was the drawcard and how we ended up in the situation we have got. The rural lifestyle suited me to a tee. It gives me an escape from the footy club. I could decompress from footy to home, from being a dad to being a footballer and vice versa.

“As a kid I never thought I would be drafted and I have turned it into a career and have three beautiful kids and a beautiful wife and I have been able to do that because of footy and found a farm not far from town.

“It’s a bit dry. We had some rain two weeks ago and ‘Jez’ (Cameron) and ‘Hawk’ (Tom Hawkins) and myself have got a group text about how often it goes around us instead of hitting us. There is about 6-7km between us between Freshwater Creek, Moriac and Barrabool Hills. It’s a lovely little spot and a great place to raise the kids.

“To have the opportunity to come down the highway to Geelong, you pinched yourself sometimes but I am very lucky.”

The Cats got Bailey Smith to come down the highway last year. Picture: Michael Klein

Geelong has been able to lure players who want that country or surf coast lifestyle in Dangerfield and Cameron, which might not appeal to a Christian Petracca type eager to build his brand in Melbourne.

Yet increasingly as capital city living gets more hectic, more traffic-ridden, more expensive, Geelong believes it has a point of difference as an AFL destination that few others can beat.

The club’s interest in Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is unlikely to be reciprocated, while Gold Coast’s early-season form might keep Rowell up north.

But you can bet the Cats’ list management team is working hard behind the scenes on an expansive pool of players to land their next trade coup.

And they will use the example of players like Stanley, who were never highly paid or even the club’s biggest stars but have set themselves up for life after football with Geelong’s help.

Originally published as Rhys Stanley opens up on meeting with Clayton Oliver, why Geelong is a destination club