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11.11pm on May 3, 2025
‘Incredible bravery’: Petracca praises Oliver By Roy Ward Christian Petracca sings the club song. Credit: Getty Images
Melbourne star Christian Petracca has praised the courage of Clayton Oliver in speaking up and stepping back from this weekend’s match after having a downturn in his mental health in the past week.
Oliver, who has battled both mental health issues and physical injuries in recent seasons, had played every game in 2025 but was left in Melbourne after having what the club called “a bad week”.
“I just want to give him a massive shoutout for his incredible bravery and vulnerability to be able to speak up and say he is not all right,” Petracca told Fox Footy.
“We put our arms around him. We’ve come a long way as men, and I think it is incredible that he has the ability to own it – admit he is not going well.
“He hasn’t spoken to us at all – we’ll speak to him throughout the week. As males, we can get ridiculed or shut down for expressing our frustration or emotion, but for him to do what he did was really good.”
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11.41pm on May 3, 2025
‘Our players hang in’: Scott Oliver Wiltshire of the Cats is congratulated by teammates after kicking a goal. Credit: Getty Images
Cats coach Chris Scott has praised his side’s ability to take on the Magpies and get on the front foot, despite their pressure defence.
“Last week was frustrating – it wasn’t a bad loss, we had the chances to win, but we played much better tonight,” Scott said.
“I don’t accept that professionals need a big occasion to lift. I like to think it was a bit more practical, and we worked on some things during the week.”
Scott said the form of Patrick Dangerfield gave “optimistic feelings” about this season, but so did the form of lesser-known players like Connor O’Sullivan.
“Dangerfield is amazing with the way he is playing at the moment, but there are other things that leave us optimistic. Connor O’Sullivan, Mark O’Connor did some good things,” Scott said.
“They [the Magpies] do some things really well, and you have to take that away from them. We had young players take the game on, and we needed to do that.”
11.24pm on May 3, 2025
‘We looked like winners regardless’: McRae Nick Daicos of the Magpies is tackled by Oisin Mullin and Tom Atkins of the Cats. Credit: Getty Images
Magpies coach Craig McRae has praised his players’ response in the final term, despite losing on the siren.
McRae said his side did everything right to battle back into the game in the final minutes, and they can hold their heads high in how they took care of Jack Crisp after his post-siren shot missed the target.
“When he misses that kick, have a look at our response as a team. It’s a testament to the character and culture that we have. Straight away there was a group of
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