Kane Cornes slams Clayton Oliver for ‘incredibly stupid’ social media post attacking media

Channel 7 commentator Kane Cornes believes Greater Western Sydney will already have some “buyer’s remorse” for their recruitment of Clayton Oliver.

Oliver joined the Giants on the last day of the AFL trade period with Melbourne receiving just a future third-round pick in return.

The Demons will also pay a portion of Oliver’s hefty salary for the remainder of his contract, which runs through until 2030.

It completed a messy Melbourne exit for Oliver after he was told by new coach Steven King to explore his options in a tense meeting after the season ended.

The gun midfielder has battled a raft of off-field issues over the past two seasons, but was left shattered after the short meeting with King.

Before his move to the Giants was confirmed, Oliver was involved in a much-publicised clash with 7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary at the airport.

He has since taken aim at Channel 9’s Tom Morris over the weekend after the journalist said Melbourne recruit Jack Steele is effectively a more reliable version of Oliver with a “better character”.

Oliver posted the clip of Morris with the caption, “Seen and heard you do a few questionable things off field chompers,” and added the peanut emoji.

He then added: “Exemplary character. What a role model” over an image of an article of Morris’ sacking from Fox Sports.

Cornes called Oliver’s actions “incredibly stupid”.

“How much buyer’s remorse do the Giants have? A fair bit I reckon.” Cornes said on SEN.

“This isn’t me defending the media at all because the media has to be accountable. And Tom lost his job for 12 months so he was held to account for that.

“Clayton has been held to account for how he’s carried himself to the point where the club sacked him.

“He was pulled in, told to pack his bags, shipped off for a third-round pick and still paying half his contract.

“For him to go down this path, is one that he’s not going to win, I think he’s incredibly stupid for doing this. He’s not going to win a war against the media, he just won’t. They’re always going to have the last say.

“Whilst the Giants feel like they have a good player and they got him cheaply, this is not without risk. This is a big risk

“If I’m Adam Kingsley, Dave Matthews or Jason McCartney, I’m saying ‘I don’t like this’.

“Once you become a distraction for your teammates and you make it about yourself and you put yourself in the headlines again. It’s a form of selfishness that you’re putting yourself above the team.

“This is just a bit of a warning for the Giants they will have to rein this guy in.

“I think it’s highly embarrassing.

“Once again it’s naive, it’s stupid, and it’s a war he’s not going to win.”

Cornes also backed Morris’ initial comment that sparked Oliver’s response, saying there is no doubt Steele is a better character and will help rebuild the culture at the Demons.

He suggested given Oliver’s recent off-field troubles he should be “head down, bum up” and focused on impressing his new club.

“If I’m Toby Greene, I’m thinking ‘what are you doing? You haven’t even played a game for us and the discussion is around you’,” Cornes added.

“It is going to be a long five years for the Giants trying to manage his on-field form and getting him to a level that he can be a valuable commodity again in the midfield that has sort of moved away from the high accumulators, low damage type of players.

“It’s a long five years left on that deal and one that’s going to take up a bit of the Giants’ mental capacity off the field as well as on the field.”