For the second year in a row, Melbourne have kicked the tyres with other clubs for their interest in a trade for Clayton Oliver.

For the second year in a row, they have quickly tried to walk that talk back. For the second year in a row, it has not gone well.

Clayton Oliver had a disappointing season after a tumultuous off-seasonCredit: Getty Images

The club this week has tried to shut down talk of an Oliver trade. That doesn’t mean the trade is shut down. There are two parties to contracts, and while Melbourne wanted to grab their words back after they slipped from their lips, this masthead has reported Oliver is now poised to meet with senior Geelong officials.

Three other club and industry sources with knowledge of trade discussions said that Gary Pert, the Melbourne CEO who has been running two reviews into the club, recently made contact with a number of teams about whether they had an interest in trading for Oliver.

The premiership midfielder, who had well-known troubles last year, is now in a far better physical and mental........

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