A pulsating off-season at Melbourne continued in dramatic fashion on Thursday, with the club confirming superstar midfielder Clayton Oliver is welcome to explore his options in the upcoming trade period after being told his role would change significantly under Steven King.
It is believed that Oliver would like to continue playing as an inside midfielder, where he has enjoyed elite levels of success, including a 31.6-disposal and 7.4-clearance per game season in 2021, where the Demons famously broke their 57-year premiership drought.
Oliver's last two seasons have been down years to his standards, however, as he was pushed out of the midfield, attending 70.7% of centre bounces in 2024 and 72.3% in 2025. He failed to tally any Brownlow votes in 2025 as a result, with Melbourne falling to a miserable seven wins and 16 losses.
It has been reported that the Demons are willing to pay as much as $700,000 of Oliver's yearly salary on his monster contract which expires in 2030 in order to engineer a trade for the 28-year-old, which could be to the benefit of a number of interested clubs.
So, which teams should be willing to take the gamble on the controversial talent?
We look at five potential landing spots for Clayton Oliver.
1Geelong Cats
The Cats and Demons engaged in trade talks surrounding Oliver in the 2024 trade period but ultimately, the transaction fell through.
However, with the Dees' willingness to pay for much of Oliver's salary, the door is ajar for the kings of underpays to swoop in again and claim another major trade period scalp.
Geelong's midfield, while largely elite in 2025, was clearly underdone in regard to its inside midfield bulls, as was exposed on Grand Final day against Brisbane.
The outside running guns Bailey Smith and Max Holmes were consistently bullied off the ball in crucial moments and Patrick Dangerfield is far too old to be relied upon consistently, as elite as he has been in moments this past season.
While the expected addition of James Worpel could help cover this concern for the Cats, Oliver would certainly be a strong boost in Geelong's bid to address it, having averaged at least seven clearances per game in seasons where he attended a minimum of 80% of centre bounces.
Geelong also have a proven track record of helping players return to on-field success while dealing with off-field issues, highlighting how Oliver could return to his best down the highway.
