Just months after Clayton Oliver headlined Melbourne’s tumultuous pre-season, the midfielder’s return to his mesmerizing, match-winning record against the Western Bulldogs has left coach Simon Goodwin “in awe”.
Oliver and Melbourne were looking for a response after a tough away loss to Sydney in the first round and cruised to a 16.13 (109) to 9.10 (64) victory in front of 44,100 fans in hot conditions at the MCG.
Oliver took personal leave during pre-season after a difficult end to last year, including trade speculation and concerns over his behavior.
After 30 touches against the Swans, the 26-year-old was marvelous on Sunday, racking up 21 disposals in the first half to put the Demons in control.
Oliver finished with 35 disposals, six clearances and 565 meters gained and received a standing ovation, which he later described as “emotional”, and a hug from Goodwin when he came off almost full-time.
Clayton Oliver produced a mesmerizing performance for Melbourne on Sunday
The Demons star led the Western Bulldogs to a tatters in the club’s season opener.
“It’s been a tough few months and I thank Gawny (captain Max Gawn) and all the other boys for helping me,” Oliver told Fox Footy.
“I still have a lot of work to do. There are small steps along the way, but this is one of them.
“I have to continue to be a better person and a better teammate and continue to strive every day.”
Goodwin couldn’t help but smile at the ball magnet’s stellar performance.
“Like all Melbourne fans, you look at him in awe,” he said.
“As we’ve said a lot over the last three or four weeks, he’s just done some work on himself.
“And the club has been incredibly supportive of Clayton, they’ve helped him through that process.
“He committed to it and he just came back healthy, happy, committed to his training and his team and we saw the proof today.
Oliver went through a difficult time away from the football oval during the off-season
“Yes, there have been some difficulties, but we are in his corner and we are behind him and we want to see him succeed.
“It’s emotional for all of us because he’s a very important person to us.”
Goodwin admitted there had been doubts over whether Oliver would return to his best, but stressed he had bought into Melbourne’s plan to get him back on track.
“I think everyone had doubts. I’m probably sure Clayton had his doubts,” he said.
Oliver was well supported by Christian Petracca (29 disposals) and Gawn (35 hits, eight clearances, 26 disposals).
Melbourne’s often dysfunctional forward line looked dangerous with contributions from Kade Chandler (three goals), Jacob van Rooyen (three), Ben Brown (two), Kysaiah Pickett (two) and Alex Neal-Bullen (two).
Bulldogs Marcus Bontempelli (25 touches and one goal), Tom Liberatore (32 disposals, nine clearances) and Adam Treloar (31 disposals) were generally prolific.
Key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was sharp but threw 2.3.
Oddly enough, famed Bulldog Caleb Daniel was relegated to the backup role and replaced impressive first-round pick Ryley Sanders in the third term.
The Bulldogs came out of the blocks but Melbourne settled in and took the lead just before quarter-time.
But manager Simon Goodwin said he was incredibly proud of his midfielder’s progress.
Melbourne kept the Bulldogs at bay, then piled on the pain with a six-goal final term.
“We obviously scored a few points early in the last quarter and we were good at it,” coach Luke Beveridge said.
“And then for the margin to explode by five more goals, and that’s really what we talked about after the game, that’s the most frustrating part.”
The Demons (1-1) face Hawthorn (0-1) at the MCG next Saturday while the Bulldogs (0-1) travel to Ballarat to face the Gold Coast (2-0) on Sunday.