Oliver twist: Shock stats show how Dees lifted without Clarry

THE RETURN of Clayton Oliver this weekend will mark the end of a rare period for Melbourne.

Before his 10-week hamstring concerns, Oliver's durability had been a key facet of his incredible career, playing 157 of a possible 167 games since he debuted at the start of 2016.

But how has Melbourne managed in the midfield without him, and what will it look like from Saturday's clash with Carlton and onwards with Oliver back in the side?

The premiership superstar is one of the best ball winners in the competition, but in his absence the Demons have found a way not only to hold their own but actually improve statistically in the middle of the ground.

The Demons have won seven of their 10 games without Oliver, and in that period Champion Data shows them to have been the top-ranked team in the AFL for midfield contested possession differential (they were ranked eighth from rounds 1-10) and second in the midfield groundball differential (16th in the opening 10 rounds).

They have also jumped well up the ranks into the top-five for both the clearance and centre bounce clearance differential in the period without Oliver, showcasing their capacity to rejig on the run this year under coach Simon Goodwin and elevate their game to sit second on the ladder with three rounds to play.

Angus Brayshaw's return to the midfield has seen him essentially replace Oliver over the past 10 games for the Demons, with the premiership wingman's midfield time rising from 11 per cent and an average of 2.7 centre bounces per game in the first half of the year to 81.2 per cent and 15.2 centre bounce attendances in the second half of the year.

James Jordon has been another to lift his midfield workload, jumping from 39 per cent of his game time in that area to 64 per cent and doubling his centre bounce presence, while Jack Viney's numbers have slightly increased as he pieces together one of his career-best seasons.

Brownlow Medal fancy Christian Petracca's role this season hasn't changed fundamentally in Oliver's absence, with his midfield time hovering just above 70 per cent before and after the injury to his midfield partner and his centre bounce numbers actually decreasing slightly (18.1 to round 10 and 16.5 thereafter).

The Demons' scope to fill in for their three-time All-Australian and four-time best and fairest winner has been part of their regeneration this year in a number of different ways.

Whilst being firmly in the premiership window, the Demons have blooded Judd McVee, Jacob van Rooyen and Taj Woewodin, with McVee and van Rooyen both claiming Rising Star nominations and holding down important roles at either end of the ground.

It's an ability to renovate during a season that has the Demons in fine shape ahead of another September tilt – an inverse scenario to last year where they lost six of their last 12 games of the home and away season and then dropped out of the finals with back-to-back defeats.