Melbourne captain Max Gawn believes Clayton Oliver will be a “dangerous proposition” in 2025 as the superstar attempts to get back to his best following a tough year.
Oliver’s future was thrust into the spotlight for the second trade period in as many years, with Geelong making a big push to land the midfielder.
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The 27-year-old met with a group of Geelong senior players and officials at Rhys Stanley’s farm on the eve of the trade period.
Oliver reportedly came out of that meeting wanting to be traded to the Cats, but the issue was put to bed by Melbourne before the trade period even begun.
The midfielder is coming off another tough season by his lofty standards, but Gawn has no doubts he can get back to the top echelon of players in the competition.
“His name got thrown up (to trade), so be it, he comes back, we’re all still friends and we get on with it to try and do our best in 2025,” Gawn told 7NEWS.
“We’ve talked a lot. From what I hear, he’s training incredibly hard and Clayton is No.1 on the list of people that want to turn Clayton Oliver’s form back around.
“It’s a dangerous asset to have because he overtrains as it is, so someone like Clayton Oliver who wants to get himself back to being the best player in the comp, which I think he was probably in that conversation, it’s going to be a dangerous proposition.”
Fellow superstar Christian Petracca also explored a trade away from the Demons during a troubled off-season for the club that brought up more questions around their culture.
CEO Gary Pert has officially stepped down, just two months after Kate Roffey departed her post as president.
And there could more change in the leadership group.
Gawn has been captain since 2020 and while he will likely continue in that role, the recent club review identified a void under the 32-year-old.
The star ruck is taking inspiration from Hawthorn to revamp a new look leadership group.
“You look at how dangerous Hawthorn’s been with the Gen Z guys leading the way, let’s throw some power behind our Gen Z guys and see if we can follow suit,” he said.
“We’re gonna have different people in our leadership group, we’ve got to empower our young guys.”