A source close to Oliver, and a Geelong source – who both wanted to remain anonymous to speak freely – confirmed that Stanley’s farm was used as a location in an attempt to keep the meeting private.

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The ruckman, who was part of the Cats team that fell just short of a grand final appearance with a heart-breaking preliminary final loss to Brisbane, recently purchased a property in Moriac, south-west of Geelong.

Oliver, Stanley and Stewart discussed the prospect of a Geelong midfield in 2025 being made up of Smith – who is expected to join on a six-year deal after falling out of love with the Bulldogs – Max Holmes, Jack Bowes, Tanner Bruhn, Patrick Dangerfield and Oliver.

Two sources close to Oliver said the 27-year-old left Geelong excited about the prospect of wearing the blue and white hoops in 2025, but that he accepted a trade may be complicated.

It’s the second year in a row that Oliver has been a headline figure leading into AFL trade period. This time last year, rival clubs thought he was on the market until the Demons shut down the trade talk.

At the end of October, the Demons put Oliver on notice about his behaviour, calling on him to make “disciplined life decisions” while the club supported him with personal off-field challenges.

While his 2024 season was affected by a limited pre-season and injury, people close to Oliver have said he is in a much better place off the field than he was this time last year.

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