‘They won’t trade him’: Melbourne Demons make huge call on Clayton Oliver

The Melbourne Demons have made a massive decision on wantaway star Clayton Oliver as the Geelong circle the gun midfielder.

Clayton Oliver will not be traded “under any circumstances” as Melbourne reportedly stand in the way of the wantaway star’s exit for a second straight year.

Rumours have been flying around that Oliver had one foot out the door with trade speculation at fever pitch he was set to request a trade to join Geelong.

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Oliver himself was fuelling the fire as eagle-eyed footy fans spotted the star player liking a post linking him to a trade to Geelong on Thursday night.

The 27-year-old midfielder also met with Geelong vice-captain Tom Stewart, Rhys Stanley and other Cats officials at Stanley’s farm on Tuesday.

While the move was far from certain, with the Cats needing to find a trade deal worth it for the Demons’ four-time best and fairest winner, but also a negotiation on how the deal would be paid out.

The Cats were reportedly only willing to take over Oliver’s contract if it didn’t cost them much in draft assets.

On Thursday, Kane Cornes blasted Oliver’s deal as “the worst contract we’ve ever seen”, with the midfielder locked in until the end of the 2030 season after signing a seven-year, multimillion-dollar deal in June 2022.

Cornes claimed Oliver still has $10 million left on the deal with six years still remaining.

Oliver at the Demons best and fairest. Picture: Mark Stewart

But as Oliver arrived at the club’s best and fairest on Friday night, The Age’s Mark McGowan reported the Demons were planning on standing firm and blocking any potential trade, despite CEO Gary Pert making contact with a number of clubs to test the interest levels.

Demons vice-captain Jack Viney also told Ten: “I spoke to Claz and I’m looking forward to him being part of the Melbourne footy club next year.

“I’m not privy to list management discussions, but my understanding is that he’s a Melbourne Football Club player next year.”

Nine’s Tom Morris also reported the board had ruled Oliver would remain at the club.

“Melbourne has reaffirmed today, both privately and to Clayton Oliver’s management, that he’ll be at Melbourne next year. They won’t trade him under any circumstances,” Morris said on Nine News.

“Whatever has bubbled under the surface the last few weeks, with Gary Pert speaking to other clubs, has been knocked on the head by the board.

“It’s the first big test of Brad Green’s presidency. As soon as it got to board level, they said no, Clayton Oliver’s not going anywhere.”

It appears to be a similar situation to the 2023 season where the Demons initially shopped Oliver around before deciding to keep the star.

Oliver still played 21 games in the Demons’ disappointing 2024 campaign. Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Speaking earlier in the week, Stewart said his meeting with Oliver was positive.

“It was good, obviously any sort of talent we can attract to the club is important for us, so I had the opportunity to meet with him and it is an interesting thing for me in my stage of the career, but it went well, he’s a good man,” he told 7NEWS.

“It’s not really pitching anything, it’s sort of enlightening him as to what we’re about as a footy club and the things we hold dear and really value.

“There are a lot of things that need to happen for the potential deal to get done but as I said earlier, if we can attract talent to the club, that is what we are about.”

Oliver dealt with knee and rib injuries during the season as he struggled to regain his form of years past.

It’s still set to be a bumper trade period for the Cats.

Geelong currently holds Pick 15 at this year’s national draft, but that is widely expected to be used in a trade for Western Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith.

Delisted Carlton forward Jack Martin also indicated his intention to become a Geelong player earlier on Wednesday.

Originally published as ‘They won’t trade him’: Melbourne Demons make huge call on Clayton Oliver