Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver is taking time off this weekend to deal with his “mental and physical health”, but reports have emerged that Oliver is still frustrated that he was not traded to Geelong at the end of last year.
Oliver cut a frustrated figure during Melbourne’s match last week against Richmond as he was repeatedly pulled on and off the field, before coming out steaming in the third quarter.
This week, as the Demons fly to Perth — in a bid to secure their third win of the season — Oliver will stay in Victoria after what the club called a “difficult week personally” for the four-time best-and-fairest winner.
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“We expect Clayton to return to the program next week, but as always his mental and physical health will be the priority,” Melbourne’s football manager Alan Richardson said.
Veteran AFL journalist Sam McClure now says there’s more to the situation than meets the eye.
“I spoke to two people today pretty close with Clayton, and I don’t want to speak on behalf of him … everyone just wants him to be the best version of himself and be OK,” McClure said on 3AW.
“But there is clearly still a lingering element from Clayton Oliver of a level of frustration at not being traded to Geelong at the end of last year.”
The Oliver drama has been going on for the past two seasons and last year he met with Geelong players as trade talks escalated.
Of course that didn’t happen, with Oliver still contracted to Melbourne after signing a staggering seven-year contract extension back in 2022 reportedly worth around $7 million.
McClure said the three-time All-Australian was not only “frustrated” about not getting to rival Geelong, but he was also dealing with a new-found reality of losing his unofficial status as an AFL “superstar”.
“I think there’s also a level of frustration internally with Clayton that, you know, he’s just not the superstar player that he was a short time ago,” McClure said.
“He’s playing as a mediocre midfielder in a mediocre team.”
Melbourne have had horrible start to the 2025 season.
After putting up a brave fight against the GWS Giants, they have been smashed by lowly North Melbourne, Gold Coast, Geelong, and Essendon.
They have fought back over the past fortnight to record wins against Fremantle and Richmond, but Richmond are expected to be one of the bottom teams this year and Fremantle’s form is also questionable.
McClure said an AFL player had a “very public” and four weeks of poor form can create a lot of noise and be difficult to handle.
“It not only impacts you, but it impacts on your team (and it can have an) impact on your family,” he said.
“If they’re reading comments that are being made about you, like it’s .. I’m not sitting here trying to say, ‘Oh poor, poor Clayton’, or, ‘Poor footballers, what a tough life they have,’ but I think that there is an element … of this that people who are not in it don’t quite understand.”
Injured Carlton star Nic Newman agreed, saying playing football at AFL level had never been “more challenging” in the “mental headspace”.
Newman said a “large part” of the problem was social media and outside noise.
Oliver played just seven games last season while dealing with personal issues.
And his professionalism, at times, has been questioned over the past two years.
Melbourne, however, expect that Oliver will return to action next week and this is just a well-being break so he can freshen up for the MCG match against Hawthorn.
Oliver’s form hasn’t been too bad this year, averaging 27.6 disposals a game which is above the AFL average.
His seven clearances a game are rated as elite, and his 5.4 tackles a game are also above average.