PREMIERSHIP coach Paul Roos was stationed on a couch at home as the Melbourne side he once guided battled away in typically oppressive Darwin conditions on Saturday night.

Watching with Roos were a scattering of family members who shared the same observation as him about Clayton Oliver, who was playing his 50th career game against Fremantle.

"No one could believe how clean he was, especially when everyone else was fumbling it," Roos told AFL.com.au.

"He's just got an incredibly special talent that the recruiters saw (in his junior performances), and I saw on the tapes, and it's extended into AFL football.

"You look at (Sydney's Josh) 'Joey' Kennedy, who I had the privilege of coaching, and guys at other clubs – Jobe Watson comes to mind – who have this special ability to win the ball cleanly and get it to a teammate."

Oliver was the best player afield – both coaches agreed – in racking up a game-high 35 disposals (19 contested), 10 score involvements, seven inside 50s, seven tackles and four clearances.

In other words, just another day at the oval-shaped office for Melbourne's reigning club champion, who turns 21 on Sunday week.

Oliver has put together one of the greatest 50-match packages in VFL/AFL history, right alongside Chris Judd and Joel Selwood, according to Roos.

Patrick Cripps is the sole footballer ahead of him in contested possessions and clearances in reaching the half century.

Only Greg Williams and Chris McDermott won more total disposals.

Ben Howlett and Jack Steele barely edged him out in tackles, while Oliver is peerless in handballs – his 948 dwarfing dual Brownlow medallist Williams' 825.

The former Murray Bushranger also became the second-youngest player, only six months behind Marcus Bontempelli, to crack the Schick AFL Player Ratings top 10 a fortnight ago.

Even still, what Oliver doesn't do often dominates discussion and affects how he is perceived.

His statistical dominance in his second season of AFL football was not enough to force his way into the All Australian squad of 40 last year.

One theory for his snub – other than stiff competition for midfield spots – was the fact Oliver's metres gained paled in comparison to his chief rivals.

Has any modern day player put together a better first 50 AFL games than Clayton Oliver?



The @melbournefc midfielder was a ready-made star from day one. pic.twitter.com/EVKUS0iLv2 — AFL (@AFL) July 9, 2018

He has addressed that area in 2018, going from 199.4 per game to 358.5, as a result of kicking slightly more and, perhaps, also from adopting the Demons' attacking style of play.

But 1988 Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy, who played 130 of his 211 games for Melbourne, thinks a tweak to Oliver's role is the key to the Demons challenging the best sides.

"I think they've got him too locked inside. They've got to break him out," Healy said during Fox Footy's coverage of Saturday night's contest.

"Clearly, he's going to be a dominant stoppage player – that's his bread and butter, and he may win the Brownlow Medal this season doing it.

"But on the outside, he can break open sides (with his foot speed) and I can see him being a dominant mid-forward, just like Dusty Martin."

If the stats fit: Oliver's first 50 games are on par with a couple of AFL legends. Picture: AFL Photos





Oliver also ranks fifth in pressure points this season, but Melbourne's greatest deficiency is its transition defence – and the young gun is one player who needs to improve in this area.

However, that is nitpicking again.

Healy pointed out that Oliver was still completing his "apprenticeship", while Roos thinks we've seen only the "tip of the iceberg" in the Demon's football journey.

"There's no doubt you'll see him playing different roles as he gets older and wiser and a bit more into his career," Roos said.

"But I think it's absolutely elite what he's been able to do in such a short space of time."

Statistics provided by Champion Data and @sirswampthing, who can be followed on Twitter.

Lions in the pack

Brisbane's thumping win over Carlton at the Gabba on Saturday included a feat unmatched by a Lions side in nine years.

Chris Fagan's team hauled in 24 marks inside 50 against the hapless Blues, the club's highest tally since taking 28 at Geelong's expense in round 15, 2009.

Eric Hipwood, who booted a career-high six goals, grabbed six of Brisbane's marks in its forward arc.

Port Adelaide retains the all-time record of 38, from round 11, 2016.

Eagles coming back to earth

West Coast clung on to its top-four spot thanks to a gripping 11-point victory over Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, but vulnerabilities are emerging.

The Eagles have lost three of their four games in Jack Darling's injury absence and were without Darling and Josh Kennedy the past three rounds.

That has coincided with a dip in West Coast's midfield productivity – exacerbating the problems minus the twin towers – and some changes in ball movement.

STATISTIC ROUNDS 1-13 ROUNDS 14-16 Disposal differential -7.6 (11th) -45 (15th) Contested poss differential +4.8 (5th) -16.3 (17th) Inside 50 differential +3.8 (6th) -7 (13th) Clearance differential +1.8 (5th) -2.7 (11th) Kicks long (general play) 37.4% (10th) 36.2% (15th) D50 to In50 23.6% (5th) 17.8% (12th) D50 to corridor 11.3% (18th) 17.6% (11th) D50 to wing 35.9% (3rd) 36.8% (6th) D50 to boundary 52.7% (4th) 45.6% (14th)

Demon dominance

Melbourne has been a stats darling this season and Saturday's 54-point victory over Fremantle in the Top End was no different.

The Demons amassed 50 forward-half intercepts – the second-most recorded, behind Richmond's 52 in round 10 last year – while their 78-28 inside-50 edge was the equal-third-biggest.

Melbourne's 45 inside 50s to half-time were also the third-most ever and its 23 behinds were the equal-highest in any game this season.

The Demons' 41 shots at goal (including complete misses) ranked behind only their 46 in round eight, and their 29 shots more than the Dockers was the second-largest differential to the Giants' 33 in round nine.