Hawthorn v Melbourne: Clayton Oliver accused of staging after Mitchell bump

Tom Naghten

Hawthorn v Melbourne: Clayton Oliver accused of staging after Mitchell bump image

At just 21, Clayton Oliver has a long career of tormenting opposition fans ahead of him.

The Demons star has developed into one of the competition's elite contested ball players, building a reputation as an uncompromising competitor.

Though it was another aspect of his game that had commentators talking during Friday night's semi final against Hawthorn at the MCG.

Oliver won his side a free kick after he was knocked over by a Tom Mitchell bump in the second quarter.

Check out the video below.

Callers Matthew Richardson and Cameron Ling both thought Oliver went to ground a little easily.

"I'm not sure you want to be dropping there," Richardson said,

"It's not a good look what Clayton Oliver did.

"He's a tough player, there's no way known that drops him to the ground.

"Some people might say it was smart, but I don't reckon you want it."

The free kick meant there was a reversal of possession on the half-forward flank, though Aaron vandenBerg wasn't able to make the Hawks pay.

Earlier, Mitchell had been involved in another incident that left him nursing a sore shoulder.

A bone-rattler from Melbourne defender Neville Jetta stung him in the opening term.


Mitchell took some time to get up and eventually went to the interchange bench before heading down into the rooms.

He returned to the field shortly after but was again banged up as he landed on the same shoulder following a strong tackle from James Harmes.

The ball-magnet was able to return for the second quarter, possibly with the assistance of some anaesthetic in his shoulder.

Mitchell's absence is not one the Hawks can afford after Jaeger O'Meara was ruled out with injury earlier in the week.

Tom Naghten

Tom Naghten Photo

Tom Naghten is a senior editor at The Sporting News Australia where he's been part of the team since 2017. He predominantly covers boxing and MMA. In his spare time, he likes to watch Robbie Ahmat's goal against the Kangaroos at the SCG in 2000.