{"id":399734,"date":"2024-06-03T21:19:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T21:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=399734"},"modified":"2024-06-04T01:06:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T01:06:46","slug":"plodding-stars-drop-in-form-concerns-cornes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=399734","title":{"rendered":"'Plodding' star's drop in form concerns Cornes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kane Cornes<\/a> has raised concerns \ufeffsurrounding Melbourne<\/a> midfielder Clayton Oliver<\/a>'s fitness.<\/p>\n

It comes after the Demons' dismal 92-point smashing<\/a> at the hands of Fremantle<\/a> on Sunday in Alice Springs.<\/p>\n

It is Melbourne's third loss in four games and also the heaviest defeat in coach Simon Goodwin's time at the helm.\ufeff<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> De Minaur stuns Medvedev in 20-year French first<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Five contenders revealed as Eels prepare for interviews<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Matildas legend farewelled in 'special' victory<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

"You have to question their credentials," Cornes said on Nine's Footy Classified<\/em> on Monday night.<\/p>\n

But, more specifically\ufeff, Cornes is questioning whether Oliver, who had a nightmare pre season<\/a>, is up to the standard he once was.<\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old's lead into 2024 was far from easy.\ufeff<\/p>\n

In October he was admitted to hospital after a seizure<\/a>, the cause of which was partially attributed to side effects of an ADHD medication.<\/p>\n

\ufeffThe 26-year-old then took extended personal leave in January after he was sent home early from a pre-season camp<\/a><\/p>\n

Oliver did manage to play in the club's Opening Round loss to Sydney at the SCG and has been a mainstay in the side ever since.<\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/p>\n

But\ufeff, his midfield presence is simply not being felt due to his fitness drop off, according to Cornes.<\/p>\n

"He just looks like a plodding midfielder who isn't doing any damage with the football," Cornes said.<\/p>\n

"He doesn't look as fit as he has in the past. Certainly not covering the ground like he would.<\/p>\n

\"Star<\/p>\n

"For a player that's earning $1 million a season, I know it's complex, I know there's a lot going into it, but we judge him on his on-field performance and it's just not up to standard.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Oliver is a 2021 premiership player and in 2022 was crowned Melbourne's best and fairest after a standout season.<\/p>\n

Oliver is averaging 24.6 disposals this year. In 2022, he averaged a stellar 32.7.<\/p>\n

He's also dropped to an average of 10.8 contested possessions, in comparison to his 17.8 two seasons ago.<\/p>\n

It's a major red flag for Cornes, who is most worried about his drop off in intensity around the footy.<\/p>\n

Oliver has dropped from an average of 8.7 clearances a game in 2022, to just 4.8 this season.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"(Those) are the numbers of an average midfielder," Cornes said.<\/p>\n

"The thing that concerns me is the clearance. Almost half-less in clearance and score involvements."<\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/p>\n

Despite the lamenting of Oliver's drop off, Matthew Lloyd says no one should be shocked at his downfall, considering how poor his pre-season was.<\/p>\n

"Are we surprised (at Oliver's drop off)? Of course you're going to drop off, aren't you?" Lloyd said.<\/p>\n

"You'd have be a rare player, that can have such a poor pre-season, and then expect to turn up and play good footy.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Footy Classified is now available as a podcast! Subscribe\/follow via<\/strong><\/em> Apple<\/strong><\/em><\/a>,<\/strong><\/em> Spotify<\/strong><\/em><\/a> or<\/strong><\/em> Google Podcasts<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Melbourne dropped out of the top eight after their loss to the Dockers, sitting in 10th with a 7-5 record.<\/p>\n

They'll face off against Collingwood next Monday as part of their annual King's birthday clash at the MCG.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kane Cornes has raised concerns \ufeffsurrounding Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver's fitness. It comes after the Demons' dismal 92-point smashing at the hands of Fremantle on […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":399736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=399734"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399741,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399734\/revisions\/399741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/399736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=399734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=399734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=399734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}