Demons tell star midfielder Clayton Oliver to seek a new club

Melbourne have effectively encouraged star midfielder Clayton Oliver to find another club after a discussion about his role on Thursday morning.

Oliver was told by the Demons, including new senior coach Steven King, that he did not fit into their midfield plans, and Melbourne were fine for the four-time best-and-fairest winner to seek another club.

The premiership player had been keen to stay with the Demons, according to a source with detailed knowledge of the discussion, speaking on condition of anonymity. Oliver has played 205 games at the club since his debut in 2016.

This will be the third post-season in which Oliver has been floated by the Demons as a potential trade. Last year Geelong were interested in acquiring him and met with Oliver, with the Cats willing to pick up the bulk of his then-six-year deal (now five) which averages close $1.3 million a season.

Melbourne ultimately found the outline of that proposed deal from the Cats unacceptable. But the change of coach and chief executive, with premiership coach Simon Goodwin having been replaced by ex-Geelong assistant King and Paul Guerra appointed as CEO, has seen the Demons take a more hard-headed stand on not only Oliver, but also star veteran defender Steven May.

Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca has also been given Melbourne’s blessing to explore his options and has met with Adelaide and Gold Coast this week. Petracca is contracted for a further four years, on a similar amount of money to Oliver.

This masthead cannot confirm as yet what proportion of Oliver’s hefty wage Melbourne would be prepared to pay as part of any trade. Oliver had been willing to take a small pay cut at Geelong previously.Oliver is contracted until the end of 2030 – one year longer than Petracca.

Oliver’s off-field issues – which frustrated the Demons in 2023 and especially over the strife-ridden post-season of that year (he was forced to train away from the team for some week during the pre-season) – have not been as problematic in 2025.

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The Demons’ stance is a measure of their wish for a cultural overhaul.

Judd McVee has requested a trade to Fremantle and Charlie Spargo will leave for North Melbourne in free agency.

The Cats could be an option again for Oliver, although they hope to sign Hawks onballer James Worpel in free agency.

The Demons’ change of heart on Oliver comes eight months after outgoing president Brad Green told this masthead that the midfielder was “teary” last year during a phone call between the pair where Green told him he was “not going anywhere”.

“I said [to Oliver], ‘It’s OK, mate. I love you, I love having you around the club, you’re a four-time B&F winner, you’re going to go down as one of our champion players and [a] Hall of Famer at our football club, and you’re going to be a big part of our future’,” Green said in February.

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Four-time club champion Oliver’s value across the league is unclear, given he is on a significant contract and has not reached his earlier heights across the past two seasons, including finishing only seventh in this year’s best-and-fairest award.

The triple All-Australian averaged 29 or more disposals in every season bar one from 2017-23 as one of the AFL’s best players, the only exception being 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shorter games.

That number dipped to 23 last year before improving to 25.5 this past season.

Adelaide and Geelong both considered making moves for Oliver at the time, but the Demons’ then-CEO, Gary Pert, wrote in a letter to members that “at no stage has the club entered discussions with any club regarding a trade for Clayton [and] Clayton has not requested a trade”.

Oliver went to hospital in an ambulance in October that year, after hitting his head following a seizure.

Oliver and Petracca were Melbourne’s leading midfielders – and two of the game’s best players – during their run to the 2021 premiership.

However, much has changed in the years since as a once-promising era that seemed capable of being a Demons dynasty came crashing down, including Goodwin’s sacking. Melbourne did not win a single final after that drought-busting flat win, and finished 14th the past two seasons.

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