Melbourne put Clayton Oliver on notice over behavioural issues

Melbourne have put star midfielder Clayton Oliver and suspended forward Joel Smith on notice as Demons CEO Gary Pert defended the overall culture at the club.

Oliver, who is contracted until 2030, has been told he must behave off the field if he is to remain part of the program long-term.

Clayton Oliver is dejected after the Demons were eliminated in straight sets for the second year in a row.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images

Smith, who is on a provisional suspension after returning a positive drug test for cocaine, is aware the club may impose sanctions upon him after he passes through the AFL’s anti-doping process and an outcome is reached.

In a letter to members, Pert made it clear the club believed the recent behavioural issues were isolated incidents and not symptoms of a wider cultural problem.

He made it clear that Oliver would be taken out of the program if he did not meet the expectations of the club’s leaders, amid concerns about his actions in the back half of the 2023 season.

“The club is aware of the personal challenges that Clayton has outside of football and key club experts will remain part of his daily support team. I want to be clear that the current conversations we are having with Clayton are not related to these challenges, but rather his ability to make disciplined life decisions, reflective of what is expected of all our professional athletes,” Pert wrote.

“Club leaders have very clearly outlined to Clayton the behavioural expectations that we have of him, and these behaviours will be reviewed on a regular basis. It is the player leadership group, as well as Alan Richardson, Simon Goodwin and myself, who will decide if Clayton is meeting minimum behavioural expectations.”

A Melbourne source who preferred to remain anonymous because of the nature of the discussions said the club was aware of Oliver’s challenges when they extended his contract by seven years, and they believed at the time he was tracking well and remain confident he can again in 2024 if he adheres to club standards.

The club says the unfounded allegations directed at coach Simon Goodwin must stopCredit: Getty

Pert also launched a passionate defence of Goodwin, who has been subject to rumours around the use of illicit drugs. He wrote that the “ongoing embellishment and spreading of untrue rumours have placed an enormous stress and mental toll on Simon and his family over the last three years”.

“It is totally unacceptable, and it must stop,” Pert wrote.

Pert said he had investigated the rumours and Goodwin was only seen having a drink with some players at Sorrento Hotel which he was, in Pert’s view, entitled to do, given his relationship with them.

Last week, the club issued a statement saying it investigated and found no evidence to substantiate the accusation. Goodwin denied using drugs and expressed his anger and frustration at the unfounded rumours.

The extraordinary letter to members is the latest missive the club has sent to members addressing behavioural issues since the end of the season when they tumbled out of the finals in straight sets for the second successive season.

Oliver was subject to trade speculation before the trade period, and then he suffered a seizure and was taken to hospital during the first official week of the trade period.

The four-time best and fairest winner and 2021 premiership star is expected to return on the first day of pre-season, while Smith will remain suspended.

It has not yet been made clear whether Smith will choose to have his B-sample analysed as part of the process that follows a positive A-sample.

Pert, who is in New Zealand on a study trip, told The Age the club’s only choice was to be as transparent as possible about specific incidents, and the players knew the spotlight was now on them.

“Once the program is back and going it will literally be our behaviours and not what we are talking about [that matters],” Pert said.

He praised the club’s captain and vice-captain Max Gawn and Jack Viney and said it was the actions of Melbourne’s leadership group that set the club’s tone on and off the field.

He said occasional behavioural issues were inevitable but they were not going to be ignored.

“This is not a sign of a fractured culture, but an opportunity for our club leaders, including myself, to take responsibility and reaffirm our expectations of individuals in a high-performance environment. It is also important that the players who live our standards and disciplines every day see that those who fail to do so are held to account,” Pert said.

The Demons also opened the board nominations process on Monday with potential candidates needing to be nominated by 20 voting members before submitting their application on November 13.

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