Clayton Oliver's future in AFL 'in serious doubt' as new details come to light

Clayton Oliver endured a tumultuous 2023 season at the Melbourne Demons where his behaviour came under the microscope on multiple occasions. The Demons star's off-field issues led to him being told to take an indefinite break after just one pre-season training session.

Oliver's 2023 was punctuated by several off-field issues, with the 26-year-old hospitalised in October after suffering a seizure in what the Demons described as a "medical episode". Later that month he was also alleged to have bizarrely bent windscreen wipers on parked cars in a side street next to the MCG before in December being charged with driving with a suspended licence.

'UNCONVENTIONAL': Cam Guthrie turns to peculiar sport for injury recovery

SPEAKING OUT: Daisy Pearce makes call on Channel 7 role amid AFLW gig

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes believes the AFL star's issues are far more dire than anyone realises, noting that he is constantly falling short of the 'minimum standards' required by the club. "The Clayton Oliver story is a mess," Cornes told SEN Sportsday.

"This is bigger than what most people I think are realising. One of the game’s absolute stars’ future is in serious doubt. Now it’s always tricky to talk about when there is at least a small element of this story regarding a player’s welfare and mental health and when it’s a somewhat, I don’t know what extent, a medical issue... You’re asking your best player, one of your top three players, who is getting a million bucks a year for a seven-year contract that has just started, to meet minimum, minimum behavioural expectations? That’s a disaster in the first place."

Gary Pert insists Clayton Oliver is 100 per cent committed

Last month Melbourne Demons CEO Gary Pert revealed the club's four-time best-and-fairest winner was "in a great headspace" and "100 per cent" committed to the club and its preparations ahead of the new season. "He wants to be part of something really special," Pert said about Oliver.

However, since then Oliver has only gotten in more trouble and Cornes believes the Oliver story isn't receiving enough attention. "Since those comments, Clayton Oliver has been charged with driving without a license, it’s a bit vague because his license was taken off of him after a seizure so you perhaps give him a bit of an out there," Cornes said.

Adding to his troubles, following Oliver's first session of pre-season training, the Demons hierarchy saw it best that he take leave from the club to sort out personal issues that have been affecting him. "Clayton is taking a break as he continues to deal with some personal medical issues," Melbourne football manager Alan Richardson said in a statement last month. "We are continuing to support Clayton and managing his program in a way that prioritises his health and wellbeing. His teammates and staff remain confident he is making good progress."

But Cornes said it is yet another example of Oliver not meeting the 'minimum club expectations'. "He wasn’t able to complete the training camp in Lorne … he left," Cornes said. "That’s not meeting minimum club expectations if he can’t actually train and you’re once again in a bit of trouble with the law. This is a huge story regarding Clayton Oliver and it’s got off on a pretty nasty footing."

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.