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The highly-publicised player discontent at the Melbourne Football Club shows little signs of dying down, and commentator Kane Cornes says it won’t fully go away until the club and its players come out and speak openly about what has been going on.
Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver tried to play down a dramatic few weeks where he was said to have wanted a trade to Geelong.
However, the Demons closed the door on the move before it gained any real momentum.
“It’s alright … (I just had) a chat with people,” Oliver said when asked about the reported trade at Caulfield racecourse last Saturday.
“Melbourne are looking good. We will have a big year (in 2025).
“I’m keen to get back (to training).”
Oliver admits he had a “stinker” of a season, playing 21 games and averaging just 23.2 disposals – his lowest output since his debut season in 2016.
The Demons as a club missed the top eight after two consecutive straight-sets finals exits in 2022 and 2023.
Oliver wasn’t the only post-season dilemma with continued reports Christian Petracca also wanted to leave the club as he recovered from major surgery to repair broken ribs and a lacerated spleen following the King’s Birthday clash against Collingwood.
Both times the club stepped in and refused to entertain a trade, holding them to their long-term contracts.
Clayton Oliver of the Demons tackled against Richmond Tigers. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Cornes says that this issue of player discontent at the Demons will continue to raise its head until it’s tackled head-on.
“I think he said all the right things,” Cornes said on SEN Radio.
“At some point in time, it would be good to speak properly in an interview with someone that he’s comfortable with.
“If you are a Melbourne fan that would be beneficial for him to do that, and the same with Petracca – maybe they do it together.
“He’s saying the right things now, but they are not giving a lot.
“They’re very guarded at the Melbourne Football Club about what is going on there – they’re not very transparent.
“You just wonder what is really going on.”
AFL Journalist Damian Barrett agrees, adding that the Melbourne players need to “act their way out” of these issues and not just talk about it.
“I have got reservations about their ability to now do that, given how badly they were in so many areas this year, particularly relationships inside the football club,” he said on the AFL Daily podcast.
“The fact that the best two players at the club, or two of the best three, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver were seeking trades out of the club late in the 2024 season.
Christian Petracca. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
“His (Oliver’s) words sound good, and were exactly what he needed to say if he was going to stop and speak at this stage of the year – but they mean nothing.”
The AFL Indigenous All Stars will assemble and play for the first time since 2015 when they take on Fremantle next February.
After a 10-year hiatus, the AFL announced the representative team would come together for a game against the Dockers on Saturday, February 15 at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players have a remarkable history in our game and the All Stars team builds on this legacy that I am thrilled to see will return to the field in 2025,” AFL general manager of social policy and inclusion Tanya Hosch said. “This game also serves as a powerful opportunity to highlight Indigenous player excellence, unite, reflect, and reinforce our shared commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ place and broader inclusion within the game of Aussie rules footy.
“It will not only be a celebration of Indigenous cultures and place in the game, but the outstanding contributions Indigenous players continue to make to our sport and will also serve as an aspiration for young Indigenous players and communities into the future.”
Hosch said players would hope to “carry on the legacy” of the likes of Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli, Jeff Farmer, Eddie Betts and Michael O’Loughlin, who previously took part in the exhibition match.
“It will also be more than 80 years since the historic 1944 game during World War two between an all-Aboriginal team and a combined SANFL team at the Adelaide Oval to raise funds to support soldiers during the war,” Hosch said.
“This first combined team celebrated being able to come together and Indigenous players relish the chance to take the field together, celebrate their rich cultural heritage and showcase their incredible skills.”
There is a wealth of talent to choose from.
Theoretically, the likes of Charlie Cameron, Bobby Hill, Kysaiah Pickett, Izak Rankine and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan could all line up in the same star-studded forward line.
Fremantle players are set to face their own teammates, with gun recruit Shai Bolton, captain Alex Pearce and veteran Michael Walters all expected to play for the All Stars.
“To run onto the field in this game is an incredible honour for the Fremantle Football Club,” Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick said.
“Fremantle has such a proud history when it comes to Indigenous players representing our club, not to mention the connections we have with communities all around WA and throughout Australia.
“We embrace the strong culture with Indigenous people that has helped make us the club we are today, highlighted by more than two and a half thousand AFL games from 36 Indigenous players.”
The Crows have announced that forward Darcy Fogarty will be remaining at the club ‘for life’ after re-committing for a further seven years to the end of 2031.
The 25-year-old had a career-best 41 majors this season to be Adelaide’s leading goal-kicker and the club was keen to get his contract extended before he became a restricted free agent next year.
“I love the Club and feel we are heading in an exciting direction,” he said.
“As a forward line, we have built some great chemistry and it’s been good to learn from some of our senior players, and now have the opportunity to pass some of that knowledge and experience onto others.
“No career is without its challenges and I feel like I’ve made some real growth in my first 100 games and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next 100 hold.
“I’d love to finish my career a one-club player, the Club has put its faith in me and I’m excited to repay them and continue the journey with my teammates.”
Fogarty was drafted with Pick No.12 in 2017 and has played 102 games.
Former Adelaide player and SEN SA Breakfast host Mark Bickley is confused by Port Adelaide’s decision to delist teenage key forward Thomas Scully while retaining 36-year-old veteran Travis Boak.
Quinton Narkle, Francis Evans, Kyle Marshall and Tom Clurey were de-listed by the club this week along with Scully, who Bickley says has plenty of potential despite having yet to debut for the Power.
Scully is a 203cm key forward who is stuck behind the likes of Charlie Dixon, Todd Marshall, Mitch Georgiades, Jeremy Finlayson and Ollie Lord.
“The fact that there were nine changes, you wonder if that influences the Travis Boak decision,” he said.
“There would be some people who would question it and say you’ve got a 200cm forward and yet you’re keeping on a 36-year-old midfielder.
“We’ll just have to see who’s right and wrong and you probably won’t know until the end of next year.
Travis Boak and Ryan Burton (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
“If Scully goes back to the SANFL and has a great year and gets drafted by another club, you’d probably say Port Adelaide pulled the wrong lever, but if Travis Boak has another great year of footy and Port wins the flag, you’d say how smart was Port.
“The club said it’s Travis’ decision to make. I just feel like that’s dangerous because there are some players, and Rory Sloane was one, who would say you’d have to drag me out of here kicking and screaming.”
Port Adelaide had a roller coaster of a season but still managed to win eight of their past nine to finish in the top two.
But the Preliminary Final finish didn’t tell the full story as pressure grew on coach Ken Hinkley mid-year, after some tough losses before the late winning streak.
Then in the finals, the Power was thumped by both Geelong and Sydney in two disappointing matches.
The club itself admits that it needs to become more consistent.
“The second part of it is it looks like Boak have quite rightly identified that they need to get better because they weren’t good enough in the finals. That’s why Narkle and Evans have been delisted,” Bickley said.
“I would have thought if you were desperate to get better, you’re not going to get a whole heap of improvement out of Travis Boak on-field.
“I understand totally why you want quality people at your footy club. There’s no doubt about that. He makes people better Monday to Friday. Can you still get that without him taking up a list spot?
“But the counter is you’re bringing in six young players anyway, why not have Boak around and potentially still playing a lot of footy.”
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