Clayton Oliver

At the end of the first half, Oliver had seventeen disposals and led the contested possession and clearance count with eleven and five, respectively; his first half was described by 1988 Brownlow Medallist, Gerard Healy, as "one of the best debut halves [he'd] seen" and former player Scott Lucas labelled him as the "real deal".

Furthermore, his debut match was rewarded with the round nomination for the Rising Star and he became the equal favourite at the time for the Rising Star alongside Sydney defender and eventual winner, Callum Mills.

He also received two Brownlow votes, indicating he was judged as the second-best player on the ground by the field umpires.

He played the next three matches, which saw him praised within the industry along with comparisons to a former player, Lenny Hayes, before being rested for the ANZAC Day eve match against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Round 5.

He played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions, the next week before returning to the senior side for the 73-point win against at Metricon Stadium in Round 7.

Oliver played the next five out of six matches, missing the 45-point loss against at TIO Traeger Park in Round 10 due to a corked quad, before being dropped for the Round 15 match against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

He returned to the AFL side for the 29-point win against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Round 20 in which he was praised for his toughness and ability to bounce back from a Cyril Rioli bump in the first quarter, whereby Rioli received a fine from the match review panel.

He played the next two matches before missing the last match of the season against at Simonds Stadium.

He then returned to Casey for the VFL finals, including playing in the grand final loss against at Etihad Stadium.

He finished the AFL season with thirteen matches, which resulted in an eighth-place finish in the Rising Star, and consequently only finished 20th in Melbourne's best and fairest count.

His performance in the match saw him compared with 1996 Brownlow Medallist and three-time premiership captain Michael Voss.

In addition, his athletic style led to Melbourne's strength and conditioning coach, Rob Jackson, comparing Oliver with the Australian, Queensland and Melbourne Storm rugby league captain Cameron Smith—whom Jackson had also worked with—by noting neither were the fastest or the strongest, but were unbelievable.

Oliver continued his strong performances throughout the start of the season, and, by a third of the way through, he was being talked about as a potential Brownlow Medal winner.

Jay Clark of the Herald Sun wrote it could be one of the "biggest Brownlow Medal boilovers of all time" and he could become the fourth-youngest Brownlow Medallist of all time (20 years and 65 days) if his extraordinary form continued.

After Round 8, he was leading player of the year votes for The Age and 3AW and was sitting third in the AFL Coaches Association player of the year award.

Clayton Oliver (born 22 July 1997) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

A midfielder, 1.89 m tall and weighing 87 kg, Oliver is known for his capabilities on the inside due to his handball and clearance work.

As a child, Oliver started supporting the Brisbane Lions during their premiership years in the early 2000s.

He was a late bloomer in his junior career, where he struggled to play in the TAC Cup in 2014 and he missed selection in the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships.

He played for the Mooroopna Football Club senior side in the Goulburn Valley Football League in 2014 and he was awarded the Rising Star in the league, in the same season, he struggled to play in the Bendigo Pioneers side in the TAC Cup, playing only three matches.

After playing with the Murray Bushrangers in 2015, his achievements included best and fairest wins for the league and the Murray Bushrangers, which resulted in Melbourne drafting him with the fourth selection in the 2015 AFL draft.

He moved to Mooroopna from Echuca in 2015 to be closer to his school, Goulburn Valley Grammar School in Shepparton for year 12, he was then encouraged to join the Murray Bushrangers for the 2015 TAC Cup season.

He missed out on selection for the 2015 AFL Under 18 Championships for Victoria Country after suffering from osteitis pubis, and after a slow start to the TAC Cup season, it was predicted he would be unlikely to be drafted in the 2015 AFL draft.

After the Melbourne Football Club unsuccessfully bid pick three in the 2015 national draft on Callum Mills, Oliver was recruited by them with their first selection and fourth overall.

He made his debut in the 2016 season, which garnered a Rising Star nomination.

After his second season in the AFL, he was adjudged the best young player by the AFL coaches.

His initial plans were to study radiography at university from 2016 and then earn his AFL draft chance through the Victorian Football League (VFL).

In July, Oliver was selected to play for the Richmond Football Club's VFL side, and after playing two matches for them, his TAC Cup form drastically improved.

He was adjudged the best and fairest player in the TAC Cup by winning the Morrish Medal, where he received fourteen votes in the final nine rounds, and finished with fifteen in total, one vote ahead of Eastern Ranges forward, Darcy Crocker and Northern Knights midfielder, Jade Gresham, in addition, he was named on the interchange in the TAC Cup team of the year.

He also won the John Byrne Medal as the Murray Bushrangers best and fairest player, finishing eight votes ahead of Murray Waite.

After winning the Morrish Medal and John Byrne Medal, he was predicted to be drafted inside the top twenty-five of the draft.

He was invited to the national draft combine, where he performed well in the agility test, 20-metre time trial, and three kilometre time trial, which elevated his draft chances to inside the top ten.

In the weeks leading to the draft, he was labelled as the "draft bolter" and after the Melbourne Football Club showed strong interest in him, he was predicted to be drafted inside the top five in the days leading to the draft.

He was predicted by Fox Footy as one of the draftees who would have an immediate impact in the 2016 season, and after playing well in the 2016 NAB Challenge, he made his debut in the two-point win against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Round 1.

He was highly praised during his debut match where he recorded twenty-two disposals, with fifteen of them contested, and seven clearances from 58 percent game-time, and it was labelled as one of the best debuts in the previous fifteen years by Fox Sports Australia journalist Tiarne Swersky.

During the off-season break after the 2016 season, Oliver failed a roadside random breath test whereby probationary (P-plate) drivers require zero blood alcohol content; he escaped club suspension, but he was fined an undisclosed amount.

He lost five kilograms during pre-season training in which he credited his drink driving charge as a key driver behind wanting to improve his training standards.

His drive during the pre-season drew public praise from his teammates including Aaron vandenBerg and Tom McDonald, and Melbourne's development and strategy coach, Brendan McCartney, who all stated they believed Oliver was the player to watch for the 2017 season, as he could take his "game to new heights."

Furthermore, former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon nominated Oliver as the player who could surpass all of his teammates in the future to become the club's best player by stating on SEN Breakfast: "they've got a great group of youngsters coming through ... and there's a boy called Clayton Oliver who I think is going to be better than all of them ... this guy is so good and clean in tight that I don't think most people—and I'm not putting him down—but unless you take a particular interest in the kid, you can't see how good he is."

Oliver played in the opening round of the season in the 38-point win against at Etihad Stadium in which he recorded 36 disposals, fourteen contested possessions, eleven tackles and nine clearances, and was named "clearly the best player on the ground" by Fox Sports Australia journalist Anna Harrington and AFL Media reporter Ben Guthrie.