He may have been pipped by Travis Cloke as the inaugural Neale Daniher Medallist, but Adam Oxley won plenty of admirers for his 30-disposal Queen’s Birthday performance.

So many in fact that as the MCG emptied and the football community dissected Collingwood’s 25-point win, the 20-year-old defender’s name was trending throughout the country on Twitter.

From a statistical standpoint, Oxley’s game ranks alongside his performance in Collingwood’s round two loss to Adelaide as a career best game.

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30 disposals was the second highest total of his career. 24 kicks is the most he’s ever had. A disposal efficiency of 86.7 per cent ranked at an elite level.

However the stat that is perhaps most telling about his game was his match-high 14 marks.

It signified a different role for the defender and one which coach Nathan Buckley described after the game as “imperative” to Collingwood’s victory.
 
Eight days ago, Oxley was left a spectator at the MCG as he sat on the interchange bench wearing the red substitutes vest while his teammates overcame North Melbourne to record a famous victory.

Murmurs of a neck complaint stemming from the game led to many believing he wouldn’t even take the field against Melbourne on Queen’s Birthday.

Come game day and these suspicions couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Still wearing a scar under his right eye from a head-clash earlier in the season, Oxley lined up at half back and proved pivotal in restricting Melbourne’s attack.

All 14 of his marks came in the middle or defensive half of the ground as he found an ability to read the play brilliantly and intercept at the crucial moment.

From here, he became the master of turning defence into attack. Collingwood players often found themselves on the end of Oxley drop punt as they looked to send the ball further up the field to a prominent Travis Cloke.


Oxley’s new role in front of 66,120 fans at the MCG sparked comparisons to the position Heath Shaw played so successfully in defence from 2005 to 2013. 

He’s had over 20 disposals on six occasions this year, ranks third at the club in kicks, and trails only Tyson Goldsack in marks from opposition kicks.

If today was an audition for a new ‘general’ in defence, Collingwood’s No. 43 passed with flying colours.