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.
4Hawthorn Hawks
Should the Bombers hold firm on their stance with Zach Merrett and be unwilling to relinquish his talents, the Hawks must go all in on acquiring Clayton Oliver.
Oliver would be a damaging threat around the contest and immediately fill the void of the departing James Worpel, if not exceed what Worpel has brought to the club over the past few seasons.
The Hawks were the 12th best clearance winning team this season. Among sides that played finals, only Collingwood and GWS ranked worse. Acquiring a player with the ball-winning nature of 'Clarry' is certainly one way to fix that and provide their midfield with the confidence that they can outdo any other club on their day.
At 28 years old, Oliver is well within the timeline of Hawthorn's current premiership window. He should be viewed as a genuine piece to the premiership puzzle at the Hawks, assuming he can stay focused on his footy at Waverley.
