WELCOME TO THE MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB - CHRISTIAN PETRACCA

[ILLDieADemon 804]

I just hope his knee gets good.

It would kill me if we got a Jonathan Pattern who can't get on the Park.

He didn't even have a bung knee when he started with us as Jonathan did

[Ted Lasso 18,786]

Christian looks very good on the track considering the stage of his recovery, looks to me to be 99% pain or discomfort free and already building confidence in that knee

[Adam The God 29,417]

Does that help?

Yeah, it did. That's why I liked the post.

[Slartibartfast 16,900]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

[Whispering_Jack 29,240]

I've been trying to imagine what sort of player Christian may turn out to be. I saw he train last year a few times and the best two comparisons I can come up with are Colin Sylvia and Jack Darling.

For those that saw him at junior level how would you characterize him and what role do you see him playing immediately and in the longer term?

From what I saw of him in the televised NAB Championships games from last year I would put him more in the Sylvia category as a player than a Darling. The word on him was that he had put in a lot of work to shed weight and build up his endurance in order to make it possible for him to eventually play in the midfield and based on his carnival and TAC Cup form (I didn't see him in the latter so I'm going on reports), he succeeded in that although he'll probably start as a half forward and work his way into the midfield over time. Of course, we all hope that he brings a different attitude to the game than Col who let himself down in that regard although the culture of all football clubs is much different nowadays. But a Jack Darling, he's not.

[Mach5 4,653]

Sylvia/Dangerfield hybrid.

[beelzebub 23,200]

Maybe just me but can we find someone else surely as a comparison..suggesting Hi Ho just gives me shivers !!!

[Earl Hood 6,058]

He maybe our Jake Stringer, and come to be known as "the full package" Petracca!

[Bang Bang Bang 5,767]

I guess the majority of players that have done their ACL in the past have made full recoveries, but there's still a fair chunk of players that have done it again, and again (Menzel, Alex Johnson, Morabito, Patton and Clay Smith are five recent examples). Fingers and toes crossed that Petracca falls into the former category.

[Emerald 1,744]

I'm thinking he will be a larger supercharged version of Robert Harvey.

[manny100 1,396]

See below Knightmare's (from big footy) description of Christian Petracca. He compares him to a Dustin Martin type without the personal issues. Says he is ready season one - we will of course have to wait until season 2!!

" 1. Christian Petracca (VIC – Mid/Fwd)
Height:186cm, Weight: 92kg, DOB: 04/01/1996
Recruited from: Eastern Ranges
Draft range: 1-2
Best position/role: Rotational midfielder/forward.
Strengths:
Front half talent –Petracca can play both deep in the front half as a marking target and off a forward flank to a high standard when playing forward. Deep in the front half Petracca provides strong scoreboard impact and is an imposing marking presence with his 1v1 strength, overhead marking ability, marking on the lead and superior ability to read the drop of the ball. He can deep in the front half also win the ground ball. Petracca can also play off a forward flank and have a big impact, he can on a forward flank accumulate the footy in bunches, do damage with his footskills, present as a strong marking target, provide strong scoreboard impact and push up the field.
Midfield talent – Petracca is an improved midfielder this year having improved his endurance and decreased his skinfolds. He has a nice mix between inside and outside game. He is a very good contested ball winner and stoppage player and these areas of his game can continue to improve given his size and strength. He is a strong ground ball winner. He is a strong tackler. He also has a rare power to him not only with his strength to bully guys inside the contest but some real explosive power where he can burst through a contest, come up with the ball and break away from the contest at speed. He also has excellent evasiveness and can sidestep guys and burst away with some real explosiveness. Some of his work inside by hand finding targets also is impressive. Outside the contest Petracca shows that he can find the footy but also use it really well utilising his damaging footskills and vision allowing him to find damaging targets up the field.
Scoreboard impact – Forward or through the midfield Petracca provides strong scoreboard impact and is capable of kicking multiple goals and breaking games open with his scoreboard impact in any given game whether that be from set shots or in general play.
Strength and power – There are not many 92kg midfielders going around and even fewer with the explosiveness and power of Petracca. He wins his own ball and can either burst through the contest or run around you with ease. He stands up through tackles and has the strength through his core and hips, he can shrug tackles and give a strong don’t argue. In the 1v1 contests he can take advantage of anyone who is not key position sized making him a matchup nightmare.
Versatility – Petracca because he can play not only through the midfield but also on a forward flank or deep in the front half as a marking target gives you options and this versatility should also help him receive immediate senior games on any team.
Footskills – Has an excellent mix between footskills hitting his targets around the ground with consistency, vision allowing him to find some really damaging targets in great position but also he has the finishing ability and set shot goalkicking to allow him to make the most of his opportunities in front of goal. I have also enjoyed some of his kicks to target while tackled showing that even when tackled he can still execute and find his targets.
Marking ability – Few if any medium size types have the marking ability of Petracca. He has the 1v1 marking ability, contested marking ability and ability on the lead to take his marks and he has the strength overhead to take them consistently. He also reads the drop of the ball exceptionally well and uses his body well in the contest allowing him to effectively protect the drop zone making him incredibly hard to defend particularly if he can isolate a smaller player defender deep in defence.
Weaknesses:
Endurance – His endurance is building and has improved significantly this year to an extent where he can play the majority of game time through the midfield, and his endurance testing at the combine was good but if he hopes to eventually become a full time midfielder he will still need to put a further few seasons of work into building that endurance base.
Skinfolds – Like with his endurance his skinfolds have reduced but his skinfolds still appear relatively high and also need to decrease further.
Decision making ability – Petracca’s decision making ability while good most of the time can at times can leave something to be desired. Both by hand and foot Petracca with his touches generally looks to do as much meaningful damage as he can but at times as a result of this he can fail to recognise his limitations which can lead to a poor kick or handball and an overall lower disposal efficiency than he might otherwise have.
What I expect will improve:I expect Petracca to continue to improve his contested ball winning and stoppage work and take that area of his game from good to eventually excellent. I also expect his endurance and skinfolds to improve. I also imagine his disposal efficiency to increase as he improves his decision making ability and better learns when he can do damage and when he needs to go the safe option.
Who he can become?
I anticipate Petracca to develop into a player largely similar to Dustin Martin but without the personal issues. I see Petracca mostly playing as a damaging forward flanker at first who will at times push deeper into the front half splitting his minutes between playing through the front half and midfield with those midfield minutes increasing as he improves his ability up the ground.
When will he be ready to play?
Petracca is season one, round one ready to play. He I imagine will start off season one mostly playing in the front half and by season two or three likely play more a split between forward and midfield minutes.
How to best utilise him?
Petracca today is best utilised at the moment in the front half because he is just so damaging forward of centre. The hope will be that he becomes more a midfielder but I would look for him to split his minutes between the midfield and front half long term as he is a rare weapon forward of centre. Interpretation of his numbers:
Petracca well and truly has the performances on the board and is one of if not the best performed player in this draft class based on his form these past couple of seasons through the TAC Cup and U18 championships. He is finding the footy but also providing heavy scoreboard impact at both levels which such suggests he will provide both a strong immediate impact at AFL level but also that he will become one of the best to come out of this draft with those high production power midfielders who can provide heavy scoreboard impact of strong value to teams."

[Cards13 9,117]

Would have thought it doesn't matter what he was, but what he becomes. From the limited number of rehab info/footage floating around he looks like he is really looking to get as ready to go as possible. With both physical and mental growth trying to be achieved.

Can't wait to see how all of Frosty, Trenners and 'Trac get back amongst it.

[Henrietta Lumbago 331]

Can't wait for him to play next year and be our Ollie Wines/Dustin Martin type...but better.

[SaberFang 7,151]

I like that he's become, apparently, a huge character around the club. Haven't heard a negative thing about him.

I reckon the year off will serve him as well as it's served Hogan.

[Skuit 9,965]

I saw an advert for a pet-tracker today. We could call him Ace.

[The Song Formerly Known As 6,479]

Christian Petracca averages.

20.25 disposals
3.25 marks
0.75 goals
4.5 tackles
5.5 inside 50s

Just itching for a full break out, but wowee, very happy with this kid. 

[Adam The God 29,417]

23 minutes ago, The Song Formerly Known As said:

Christian Petracca averages.

20.25 disposals
3.25 marks
0.75 goals
4.5 tackles
5.5 inside 50s

Just itching for a full break out, but wowee, very happy with this kid. 

How special are Petracca and Oliver going to be? 20s for Petracca and 18.9 for Clarry. At this stage, Truck makes too many little errors and Clarry rarely makes any errors. They'll both end up being different types of players, but we have two absolute gems there.

[Deestroy All 14,262]

His tackles are vice like. Powerful young fellow. 

[whatwhat say what 22,196]

kid looks a jet in the making.

 

should've nailed at least three of his four points today.

[What 18,810]

Petracca leads the MFC in Goal Assists per game and Inside 50's per game.  What an impact and he hasnt even warmed up yet.

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,283]

Petracca or Stretch for Rising Star this week?

Is Stretch eligible after playing 11 games last season?

[Ethan Tremblay 30,033]

9 minutes ago, Is Dom Is Good said:

Petracca or Stretch for Rising Star this week?

Is Stretch eligible after playing 11 games last season?

1 game too many. Has to have played 10 games or less in the previous season.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Ethan Tremblay

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

With every game he is picking up the pace better and better, he doesn't have the natural football smarts that Oliver does (few in the AFL do) but he more than plays his role.

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,283]

1 minute ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

1 game too many. Has to have played 10 games or less in the previous season.

That's pretty disappointing as if he had been eligible we could be going for 4 or 5 nominations this season!

[Damo 3,254]

Am I the only one who doesnt really care if we dont have that many nominations? 2 or 3 are plenty.