AFL Opening Round: Melbourne star Clayton Oliver tipped for big game

Melbourne captain Max Gawn is adamant Clayton Oliver has not been rushed into the side too soon after his tumultuous off-season and says he will be a “pretty scary” opponent for the Swans to face on Thursday night.

Oliver will play in the new-look AFL season opener at the SCG despite a lengthy absence from the club over January and a highly publicised health battle that included hospitalisation due to a medical episode in October.

But Gawn said his nine-week training block and two VFL practice games were a body of work that would have him selected without hesitation if it was a different time of the season.

“Not in my opinion … if this was mid-year and he’s done eight weeks trying to make him a better person and then he’s played two VFL games, you wouldn’t even be thinking about it,” Gawn said when asked if he thought Oliver’s selection was hasty.

“The fact that it’s (Opening Round), maybe that cynical view is there, but I don’t think it’s rushed.”

The Demons ruckman said Oliver had nothing to prove to him on the field but likely felt he had to win back the trust of teammates after a turbulent period in his career.

“In his own mind I reckon he (thinks he has lost trust) … he played our last game, so he hasn’t lost too much trust out on the field for me, but I think in his own head he might have built that up, so I’m presuming his got to answer his own question,” Gawn said.

“We’ve had some good discussions this week with Clayton involved, and all he wants to do is win back the trust of the community and his teammates.

“If you can imagine Clayton Oliver just playing out there to win the trust of his teammates, he’s going to be a pretty scary player, so I’m excited to get out there on Thursday night.

Set for an intriguing ruck battle with his one-season teammate Brodie Grundy, Gawn said he expected the Swans recruit to be driven by his tough back-to-back departures from Collingwood and Melbourne.

“I presume he will (have a chip on his shoulder) – the Brodie that I know is quite calm and relaxed, but anyone who has gone out of two teams now and found a new place … I feel like he’d wanted a chance to play round 1 and the first game of the year against the old team,” Gawn said.

“I feel like that might be a bit of the thought process going into the game, but he doesn’t need to prove anything to me, and I dare say he doesn’t have anything to prove to his teammates or the AFL community.

“I’m just excited for the battle.”