Former AFL player Josh Jenkins has declared Collingwood the “perfect fit” for Clayton Oliver amid news the Melbourne Demons player has been told he’s free to leave. Oliver met with new Demons coach Steven King on Thursday, with King telling him he isn’t in the club’s midfield plans for next season.
Melbourne are happy for the four-time best-and-fairest winner to gauge interest from rival clubs, and have told Oliver he’ll be playing VFL in 2026 if he stays. The 28-year-old is under contract for the next five years on a deal that would earn him more than $1 million per season. The Dees will likely have to pay a chunk of his salary to move him on.
Craig McRae’s Collingwood (L) are being touted as a perfect destination for Clayton Oliver (far right). Image: Getty
Speaking on AFL Trade Radio on Thursday, Jenkins pointed out the Collingwood will need to fill the void left by Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom in coming years. “I was having a good think about this and he’s 28 years of age and he doesn’t turn 29 until the middle of next year,” former Crows star Jenkins said.
“He fits in the black and white. He fits at Collingwood perfectly. Steele Sidebottom played some good games as a midfielder, but he played some games this year where you thought he can’t play midfield anymore, and Pendlebury is similar. They need a big, strong player around the ball so that Nick Daicos can be a receiver and not necessarily someone who has to go and get the ball.”
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Jenkins said Magpies coach Craig McRae will back himself to turn Oliver around after some tumultuous years. “They’ll back themselves and Craig McRae will back himself in with their environment and their club,” he added.
“He’s a cog in your midfield. He’s not the firecracker or the heart-starter around the ball… but that’s the role I like for him at Collingwood. Ned Long’s trying to develop into that type of player, but if you’ve got him doing his thing around the ball to be a Tom Green-lite, a first-possession player that fights the tackle and gets the ball out to Daicos and these guys who can use it, that’s the role he can play.”
Christian Petracca has nominated Gold Coast as his preferred trade destination. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Petracca nominates Suns as Bailey Humphrey future clouded
Tom Morris of Channel 9 revealed that GWS are an early and serious suitor for Oliver, who flew to Sydney on Thursday en route to America for a holiday. The Dees are in for a busy trade period, with Christian Petracca nominating Gold Coast as his destination of choice on Friday. The Suns will need to come up with a deal juicy enough to encourage Melbourne to release Petracca, who has four years left on his current contract.
Petracca’s nomination of the Suns has clouded the future of 21-year-old midfielder Bailey Humphrey, amid reports on Thursday that Victorian clubs are eyeing him off. Humphrey is under contract until 2028, but Xander McGuire of Channel 7 is reporting that Collingwood, Carlton and Melbourne “continue to pursue him hard” and “believe his head could be turned.”
Bailey Humphrey and Jacob Blight have both been linked to Collingwood. Image: Getty
Humphrey is in Melbourne this week visiting family. Sam Edmond said on SEN on Friday: “Clubs think they can get him. Where there’s smoke there’s often fire in this regard. Gold Coast are resolute, they absolutely want to keep him and say he’s not for trade under any circumstances. He had a good year and promises to get better year upon year from here.
“There’s multiple clubs down here – of which Melbourne are definitely one – who believe there’s a world where there’s enough motivation for Humphrey to want to leave Gold Coast. The Demons would love Petracca to choose Gold Coast.”
Meanwhile, Collingwood have also met with de-listed Richmond defender Jacob Blight. The 23-year-old only played seven games for the Tigers in 2025, and Collingwood are said to be very keen on him for 2026.