DIFFERENT season, same Clayton Oliver.

In what was a year that had its fair share of challenges, the Melbourne midfielder was again among the best in the competition.

He recorded the most contested possessions (227), finished with the third-most tackles (92) and led the club in centre clearances (41).

It was these efforts that saw the 23-year-old take home a Dick Taylor Memorial Trophy for fifth place in the Dees’ Best and Fairest.

For Oliver, it was one to add to the collection, having been awarded the Keith ‘Bluey’ Truscott Memorial Trophy on two occasions – he claimed the top honour in 2017 and was a joint-winner with ruckman Max Gawn in 2019.

While his stats dipped slightly from last year, Oliver remained a key part of Melbourne’s midfield in 2020.

The former No.4 draft pick combined with the likes of Christian Petracca, vice-captain Jack Viney and recruit Ed Langdon in generating some of the Demons’ best passages for the season.

While Oliver missed out on a spot in the All Australian side – he was selected in the squad – many still regard him as one of the top competitors in the league.  

And with just 99 games to his name, the best is yet to come.