Media personality Kane Cornes believes the Clayton Oliver situation is far worse than anybody realises.
The Melbourne Demons superstar has endured a tumultuous time throughout the 2023 season before he became the subject of fierce trade rumours.
Oliver’s name was thrust into the trade spotlight after the club said he had been found short of club standards of behaviour.
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The trouble escalated once the 2023 AFL season came to an end with Oliver’s name continually at the front of the news cycle.
In October a bizarre claim was made against the star where he had been accused of bending windscreen wipers on parked cars in a side street next to the MCG.
In December things went from bad to worse as Oliver was caught behind the wheel of a car despite being banned from driving for medical reasons.
Oliver then departed the Demons pre-season training camp after only one day as he steps away from the club to deal with his issues.
Cornes believes however despite all the spotlight that has engulfed Oliver, the issue is far bigger than people realise.
“The Clayton Oliver story is a mess,” Cornes said on 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 extend, a medical issue.
“But when Melbourne threaten to trade Clayton Oliver in the Trade Period this is what they said.
“Gary Pert the CEO said ‘Oliver must meet the clubs off-field standards and discipline if he is to remain a part of the program long term’.
“This was a strongly worded statement or threat a couple of times and then Simon Goodwin and Pert came in and sat down with Garry Lyon and Sam Edmund live in the studio and basically said the same thing.
“Pert said that Oliver ‘must meet the club’s minimum off-field standards if he’s to remain a part of the football program, the club is aware of the personal challenges that Clayton has outside of football and key club experts will remain part of his daily support team. The club leaders have very cleary outlined the behavioural expectations that we have of him and they will be reviewed on a regular basis’”.
It was the constant mention of minimum standards that left Cornes floored and believing the story isn’t receiving the attention it should be.
“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.
“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.
“But also he wasn’t able to complete the training camp in Lorne … he left. 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.”
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