By Sam McClure
Rival clubs believe Clayton Oliver is again an attainable trade target, with Geelong emerging as contenders for the superstar midfielder if Melbourne are prepared to trade him.
The Cats showed strong interest in Oliver this time last year before trade talks were shut down by the Demons.
Clayton Oliver is again a figure of intrigue coming into trade period.Credit: Getty Images
Oliver has six years remaining on his contract at Melbourne, where his average annual wage exceeds $1 million.
Geelong, who declined to comment when asked directly about the club’s interest in Oliver, have already committed their first-round draft pick to a deal for Bailey Smith, who is likely to join the Cats on a six-year contract after falling out of love with the Western Bulldogs.
According to two sources close to Oliver, who wanted to remain anonymous to speak freely, Oliver has increasingly felt unwanted at the Demons this year.
That feeling has peaked in the last two weeks as the trade season approaches.
But a third source said Melbourne had indicated to people in the industry they were not interested in trading the 27-year-old.
The Demons were contacted for comment, and later on Monday night released a statement.
“Clayton is an important player for our club and remains a contracted, required member of the team. We look forward to seeing Clayton in the red and blue next year and beyond,” football boss Alan Richardson said.
Oliver’s manager declined to comment.
Oliver endured a torrid year on the field after having a limited pre-season. He played much of the year with a badly injured hand that eventually required surgery.
A prolific ball-winner throughout his career, Oliver had more than 25 disposals just once after round 11.
Oliver was the centre of trade conjecture almost 12 months ago, when he was linked with a shock move to Adelaide.
A year down the track, any potential deal to get him out of the Demons appears to even more complicated.
What Geelong could offer Melbourne as trade capital remains to be seen.
While Oliver’s salary would be an issue for any club looking to recruit him, Geelong have an incredible record when it comes to fitting star players into their total player payments cap.
On top of the retirement of Tom Hawkins, premiership players Gary Rohan and Brandan Parfitt were not offered new contracts for 2025.
Patrick Dangerfield will take a pay cut under new contract next season, so the Cats will have room to pay for Oliver, if the club wants him as badly as they did this time last year.
It could be another busy trade period for the Dees, with Alex Neal-Bullen requesting a move to South Australia for personal reasons.
Superstar midfielder Christian Petracca publicly committed to the Demons for 2025 despite previously expressing disappointment with aspects of the club’s culture and its dealings with him after his traumatic King’s Birthday injury.
Petracca, who will not be attending the club’s best and fairest award on Friday because of an overseas training camp, is yet to speak publicly about his previous desire to leave Melbourne, apart from an internal interview with the club’s website.
Four clubs contacted by this masthead, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity because Oliver and Petracca are contracted, believed both players were still attainable during the upcoming trade period.
Speaking on Nine’s Footy Classified earlier this year, former Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes said Melbourne should fight hard to get Oliver to another club, even suggesting the Demons should offer a draft pick on top of Oliver in a bid to convince a rival club to take on his salary.
“That’s one of the worst contracts we’ve ever seen,” Cornes said.
“So, if you’re Melbourne, you’ve got to do everything you can to get that salary off your books.
“If that means you need to trade one of your picks to the club that is willing to take that [Oliver] contract, you absolutely do that,” Cornes said.
“… If a club wants to take that off your hands, that is an absolute blessing.”
Melbourne, both publicly and privately, have remained steadfast in their belief neither player would be traded.
“Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca will be at the footy club next year,” coach Simon Goodwin said in August.
“I can guarantee you they will be running around in red and blue jumpers.”
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