There was tense exchange between Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb and veteran AFL reporter Sam McClure on Wednesday night as the clock ticked down on the league’s deadline day.
McClure quizzed Lamb over troubled midfielder Clayton Oliver, who had expressed an interest in moving to Geelong during the trade period despite still under a massive contract at the Demons.
In rare appearance at a media conference, McClure faced off with Lamb and asked if there was “a relationship that will have to be repaired” between Oliver and the club.
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“Understanding of the fact that he was desperate to get Geelong, is there a point now that you have to sit him down and talk him through why that didn’t happen and how he can recommit to the next six years at Melbourne?” McClure said.
Lamb hit back.
“I’ll dispute your term ‘desperate to get to Geelong’. That’s a term that you use and that’s OK,” he said.
McLure clarified: “Well, he drove down the highway to meet with them so he must have been pretty keen.”
Lamb responded: “Semantics … anyway.”
He then insisted Melbourne would be better next year than in 2024, when Christian Petracca returns to full fitness and Oliver completes a full pre-season.
“(Oliver will) be back at training and raring to go (in the pre-season),” Lamb said.
“Clayton will have a full pre-season and be back to his best (next year).”
He also said Oliver and coach Simon Goodwin had a “wonderful relationship” and Goodwin had been in “constant contact” with Oliver since the end of the home and away season.
Speaking on Tradies podcast with 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary, McClure said he “respected” Lamb and “his right to defend his club”.
But he added: “I think that they’ve made the wrong decision (by keeping Oliver). I think it’s going to come back to haunt them.”
Oliver had a troubled off-season at the end of 2023 and had his professionalism questioned multiple times during that year … and in the aftermath.
The possibility of him being traded first emerged at the end of 2023 … the year after he signed a whopping seven-year contract extension worth around $7 million.
“I said this 12 months ago, that it is a big year for Melbourne and Clayton Oliver,” McClure said.
“He had a disastrous year in many different ways, some were self-inflicted, others not and they missed the eight.
“If that’s not a Dee-saster, I don’t know what is.
“For all the people who think I’ve gone too hard, I’m sorry if they feel like that … (but) I think Melbourne have really, really severely mishandled the last 12-18 months and I honestly don’t think that is an outrageous statement.
“They’ve failed in their pursuit of another premiership.”
Cleary said Melbourne were hurt by injury to key players in 2024 and Oliver went into the year “underdone”.
He said Oliver should have had a mini pre-season before beginning his campaign in the opening match of the year.
“When your three best players, put May in that as a four, when three of your best four players aren’t performing or playing at all, it’s going to be hard to win games of footy,” Cleary said.
“And they lost Angus Brayshaw as well.”
But both Cleary and McClure said Melbourne should not have missed finals in 2024.
“Whether they get better or not (in 2025), a lot hinges on that forward line,” Cleary said.
Asked if they can win the premiership next year, Cleary said it was possible.
“It’s hard to discount them winning the flag … I can see a world where they can win the flag.”
McClure was stronger.
“I don’t personally think they can win the premiership next year because I think there are too many unanswered questions … and I don’t think they can kick enough goals,” he said.
“But if Oliver and Petracca both have near career-best seasons, but jeez, they will be pretty close, right?”
The Demons currently hold two picks inside the top 10 of this years draft (5 and 9), but they did lose premiership forward Alex Neal-Bullen (who wanted to return home) to Adelaide during the trade period.