NATIONAL recruiting manager Jason Taylor says Clayton Oliver’s VFL experience in his draft year gave Melbourne confidence in his ability to deal with AFL football.

Oliver was named the NAB AFL Rising Star nominee for round one after collecting 22 disposals, including 15 contested possessions, and seven clearances in Melbourne’s win over the Giants.

Taylor, who led the recruiting team that selected Oliver with Melbourne’s first pick (no. 4 overall) in the 2015 AFL Draft, said the midfielder had impressed with his work against bigger bodies in his draft year.

“[With] the way he plays the game and also that he was able to play a couple of games mid-season – once he started to get his body in a better position – in the VFL, he seemed to be really comfortable at that level,” Taylor told SEN Afternoons on Tuesday.

“So I think that gives you a little bit more confidence [that he can stand up to senior football].”

Melbourne first spotted Oliver when he was looking to impress representative team selectors in early 2015.

“One of my colleagues, Tim Lamb, first spotted Clayton early – he played in the early game, which is generally players fighting for a spot [in the Vic Country squad], out at Craigieburn, in late February-early March,” Taylor said.

“[Lamb] came back and said ‘look, he just did a couple of things’ and I suppose that’s the first point of call.

“He played a couple of TAC Cup games for Bendigo the year before but it was moreso out of that practice game [that we noticed him] and then his name goes up on the board and you track him from there.’

Oliver shot up the draft rankings as his 2015 season progressed, with both his fitness and confidence growing throughout the year.

Taylor said playing two VFL games for Richmond partway through the season had done the midfielder a world of good.

“He hadn’t had much of a pre-season because he had some groin issues… but then as the year progressed, once he got into a couple of VFL games, I think he got a bit of self-belief himself,” Taylor said.

“As the body got stronger, after those VFL games, he really took off – we probably tracked him from that first point and it just got stronger throughout the year.

“He did trial for Vic Country and he played okay in that game but you don’t always get selected.

“He was a little bit heavy, even by his own admission, but once he got his body shape not too bad, he’s quite an imposing lad.”

After finding his feet at VFL level, Oliver was a standout for Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup, winning the Morrish Medal for the league best and fairest.

Football form aside, Taylor said the recruiting team’s research indicated that Oliver had the ideal “competitive” character Melbourne was looking for.

“All the research you do behind the scenes means you talk to people that have had an involvement with him at all levels,” he said.

“Even at Mooroopna and even with his schooling, you get the overall sense that he’s a competitor deep down, so that gives you a bit of confidence.”

Looking at Melbourne’s list overall, Taylor said there had already been a significant change in personnel in his time at the club.

“When I arrived and [started working with] Todd Viney as list manager, we knew that when we sat down and looked at the list, that there was a fair bit of work to do,” Taylor said.

“That can’t be done overnight but we have made significant changes in a three year period – I think it’s around the 30 [player] mark.

“I think if you look at clubs, even those at the top end of the ladder, they still make significant changes because you’ve got to keep turning your list over.

“The idea is just to get more talent and in our case, a more competitive list, players with that more competitive edge, and I think we’ve started to tip the balance.”