Collingwood coach Craig McRae may miss out on Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver with GWS now reportedly favoured to land the star with talks ‘more advanced’ with the Sydney-based club. Oliver was handed a brutal blow when new Melbourne coach Steven King made the swift call to allow the 28-year-old to explore his options at rival AFL clubs.
This prompted the star to immediately meet with GWS coach Adam Kingsley on a boat after being told he could find a new home. But the Giants are not the only club interested in the midfield dynamo.
Collingwood list boss Justin Leppitsch admitted the club are also keen on meeting the 28-year-old before he makes a decision.“We’re still doing our work,” Leppitsch told AFL Trade Radio this week. Collingwood coach Craig McRae may miss out on Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver with GWS now reportedly favoured to land the star with talks ‘more advanced’ with the Sydney-based club. Oliver was handed a brutal blow when new Melbourne coach Steven King made the swift call to allow the 28-year-old to explore his options at rival AFL clubs.
This prompted the star to immediately meet with GWS coach Adam Kingsley on a boat after being told he could find a new home. But the Giants are not the only club interested in the midfield dynamo.Collingwood coach Craig McRae (pictured right) may miss out on Melbourne star Clayton Oliver with GWS now reportedly favoured to land the star.
Collingwood list boss Justin Leppitsch admitted the club are also keen on meeting the 28-year-old before he makes a decision.“We’re still doing our work,” Leppitsch told AFL Trade Radio this week. “I’ll find out this afternoon, when that meeting is going ahead, when I ring Nick (Gieschen) this afternoon. He might be touring the Giants’ facilities potentially today, I’m not sure, but I’ll find out what the next move is. Yeah, at this point in time (I’m going up to meet him), unless he signs a contract by then, so that’s the plan.”
While Collingwood have entered the race, it appears GWS are early frontrunners for the star’s signature. Speaking on Channel 7, Mitch Cleary claimed the Giants are leading the race for Oliver with a potential move away from Melbourne piquing the midfielder’s interest.
“The Giants interest is much more advanced. In fact, he has met with them twice. I think he likes the idea of living in Sydney, getting outside of the Melbourne bubble,” Cleary said on The Agenda Setters. Oliver has come to terms with leaving his former club having taken a little swipe at them when asked what he liked about Collingwood. “What do I like about them? I like them better than Melbourne, that’s for sure,” he said to Channel 7 News.
