“That moment has passed”: AFL great questions Oliver output following career-low numbers

Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton wonders whether Melbourne superstar Clayton Oliver will ever get back to his best footy.

After a drama-filled off-season, Oliver missed a large chunk of the Demons’ pre-season and it’s showed in his output this year.

The 26-year-old is considerably down in a number of key numbers and is playing like a shell of what he once was when he was no doubt one of the best players in the game.

He showed signs of his best footy in Friday night’s clash against Brisbane where he collected 29 touches, 12 contested possessions, six tackles and one goal.

It was refreshing to see but deep down you knew it wasn’t the vintage Oliver we’ve been spoilt to see over the last six years.

And, considering the issues Oliver is dealing with, Brereton believes maybe this is what we should expect from the three-time All-Australian, premiership player and four-time club best and fairest going forward.

“If you’re going to be completely and utterly honest, Clayton Oliver’s game last night was good and what we know of his best is exceptionally good, he’s not an exceptionally good player now,” Brereton told SEN's Crunch Time.

“I think it’s wonderful given I think we know what his trials and tribulations have been, and it sounds like a pretty rocky path and good luck to him.

“He was an awesome player two years ago, last night was a good performance but not an awesome performance.

“He used to win the ball and take it away and take ground, last night he won the ball again which is a start but he’s not taking ground like the way Clayton Oliver does.

“That moment has passed, and I don’t know if Clayton can win that back again because he had raw tear-away power and that’s how he took ground he doesn’t do that anymore.

“I think Jack Viney is better than Oliver is now and I heard Simon Goodwin say that people have been critical of Clayton Oliver and I’m just assessing where he’s at.

“Good luck to the man with life and what he’s doing and he looks like he’s making a good fist of it but he’s not the player he was.”

Oliver is averaging 24 touches in 2024 which is well below his career average of 29, 335 metres gained and is going at 69 per cent disposal efficiency.

His monster contract sees him contracted to the Dees until the end of 2030.