Star Midfielder Poised for a Comeback in 2025; Key Duo Progress in Rehab

Gulden ’embarrassed’ by GF performance | 01:52

Captain Max Gawn and star midfielder Christian Petracca were back on light duties, but it was ball magnet Clayton Oliver who stole the show at Melbourne’s Wednesday morning training session.

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Oliver participated in the full session and trained superbly as he looks to put a disastrous 2024 campaign behind him.

The star midfielder was unable to find his best footy last year after a pre-season plagued by off-field issues, but all signs point towards him becoming one of the competition’s most dominant players once more.

It was during match simulation where Oliver came into his own and showed he is ready and raring to go for a monster 2025 season.

Oliver was dominant through the midfield finding plenty of the footy. He was strong around the coalface, regularly shovelling the ball out to his outside runners.

But it was his work rate that really caught the eye. Oliver worked hard all session getting to as many contests as possible and running hard so that he could become another option for teammates.

He’s not known for his ball use, but Oliver rarely wasted a possession at Gosch’s Paddock on Wednesday, often finding forwards on a lead with neat kicks inside 50.

He tackled strongly and corralled when necessary, but it was the multiple diving smothers that were most impressive, Oliver literally throwing everything he could at the footy.

His defensive work rate was high, but he was just as impressive from an offensive standpoint. Oliver ran hard for handball receives and linked up with teammates, often getting multiple touches in a chain. He sold some candy late in match simulation, busted a handful of tackles, and was more than happy to tuck the ball under his arm, have a bounce and provide some run and carry.

Christian Petracca and Max Gawn were also both out on the training track to the delight of the Demons faithful, albeit in a limited capacity.

The star duo participated in the light skills sessions at the start of the session before training away from the main group once the Dees got stuck into contact training.

GM of Football Performance Alan Richardson said the duo were closing in on a return to full training.

“It’s really close in terms of contact, [Max] hasn’t missed a beat really in terms of getting in loads, he’s been able to run, he’s been able to do a lot of his footy stuff but avoid contact, not unlike Trac,” Richardson told RSN yesterday.

“That’s a really significant component for this time of year, to make sure that they’re getting all the miles in their legs.

“We don’t mind that those boys are missing a bit of the contact, given they’re so good at it. So, it’s really close for both of them.”

After a low intensity kicking drill and some stretching to begin the session, the Dees moved into a series of ball handling and touch drills.

In one particular drill, where players scooped the ball between their legs to a teammate waiting behind them (picture an NFL snap involving the quarterback), Jake Lever and Harrison Petty’s group won which prompted some jubilant celebrations.

The energy was up, there were high fives and fist pumps and Lever yelled “up the boys”.

Mark ‘Choco’ Williams was vocal and helped head coach Simon Goodwin run the session, while fan favourite Nathan Jones is also back in a coaching capacity to help lead the midfielders.

While he couldn’t participate fully due to his latest rib injury, Petracca looked incredibly invested in what his team was doing.

After a teammate fumbled the ball on the outside of the ground he yelled “come on” in support and was one of the first guys to dish out high fives after a drill. After the non-contact part of training concluded, Petracca and half a dozen teammates shifted to one of the soccer fields to do some more ball handling work before returning to get some extra kilometres in the legs. That group consisted of Petracca, Gawn, Lever, Tom Fullarton, Matthew Jefferson and Taj Woewodin.

Alongside Gawn and Fullarton, Petracca completed some stoppage craft work too.

Trent Rivers looks set to continue his upwards trajectory as a powerful inside midfielder as well, training alongside the likes of Oliver and Jack Viney on Wednesday. Viney also looked in good condition and was as courageous as ever.

Youngster Caleb Windsor is one of the best runners in the competition and looks primed to elevate his game to another level again this year, while mature-aged recruit Aidan Johnson showed something as a forward.

Harrison Petty is set for a shift to defence again and looked good, while youngster Jed Adams also caught the eye with some solid defensive work. The 20-year-old key defender has not yet made his AFL debut.

Clayton Oliver has been a standout this summer, while young gun Harvey Langford is pushing hard for a round one debut.Source: Fox Sports

The young brigade have also caught the eye over summer, especially top draftees Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay. While they sat out at different stages throughout Wednesday’s session, both will press for round one debuts.

Langford’s size and endurance has caught the eye since arriving at the club and he has thrived learning from the Dees’ star-studded on-ball brigade. Whether it be a warm-up lap or a stoppage drill, Langford is keen to learn as much as he can from his more experienced teammates.

Lindsay had a slower start to his AFL career due to a knee injury but has integrated back into the program and impressed with his ball use off half-back and willingness to take the game on. Elsewhere, former Eagle Jai Culley also trained with the side. Culley has been signed by Casey (Melbourne’s VFL affiliate) in a bid to keep his AFL career alive.

A host of Melbourne players were on modified training programs on Wednesday.Source: Fox Sports

Exciting youngster Koltyn Tholstrup trained away from the main group alongside small forward Kade Chandler, who had his right shoulder heavily strapped. The duo ran plenty of laps at Gosch’s Paddock, worked on change of direction and their ball handling.

Tom McDonald and Charlie Spargo didn’t train either, while Judd McVee also didn’t feature, instead giving the battle ropes a workout off to the side. Midfielder Tom Sparrow was another name on the sidelines.