52 minutes ago, ProDee said:

Yes, I've seen Goodoil make that comparison. 

Clearly, I disagree. 

Edit: I should add ... Sylvia was very talented, but a poor mid.  He wasn't creative and lacked footy smarts. There's also the matter of application. We've already seen how driven Petracca is. 

Why Petracca can't be evaluated on his own merits is beyond me. 

There will always be a "Sylvia" to compare to anyone.  It's a pointless exercise.  We all know nothing is guaranteed. 

I'm only comparing the two as Juniors, there are a lot of similarities in the two from an under age footy prospective.  Petracca will be evaluated on his on merits and number 1 is playing a match in the VFL, then two matches, then a third and really starting to stake a claim.  At the moment he has no merit only past junior history.  No one on this site wants him to be another Col Sylvia, far from it we want him to come in and realise his potential and not waste it.

Every player needs to earn a match, no exceptions he will need 4 runs at a lower level minimum, build him into the season.  It wouldn't harm him to spend 8-12 weeks at Casey, make him get 3 or 4 times in the best before he gets a crack at AFL.

 

4 hours ago, Petraccattack said:

 

I think they also have a similair size and body shape too. Both explosive off the mark and very strong in the body. Big backsides..  Everyone has Petracca pegged as a midfielder but I feel hes going to be an enigmatic  superstar forward much like Jaka.

Can anyone say ''Modern Day Gary Ablett Snr'' in the making?

 

Powerful trio Trac, Oliver and Vanders. All Pavlich like in build and not far off key position size.

1 hour ago, drdrake said:

I think Old Dee's position is spot on.  We had a player not so long ago that came to us with all the same if not better attributes this guy has, like him  missed early football because of injury and was one of the most talented frustrating players on our list, then Fremantle took him off our hands before he was walked.  If you compare Trac and Col Sylvia when he was drafted they are exactly the same.  Hopefully Trac makes the most of his talent.

The only thing they have in common is they are a similar build.

After that they are nothing alike; Apart from lack of application, Silvia also had no footy nous and absolutely no peripheral vision and no idea what was going on around him.

Petracca is a gun basketballer, you can't be good at that sport without almost having eyes in the back of your head.

'Ox', not one known for the overstatement said Trac was the 2nd coming of Ablett....Snr

If he's half as good he will be more than ok...

Heard from someone at Casey that the only concern with Trac is his kicking. Needs work apparently.

I was at training this morning and saw the fragile Petracca.

photo 1 was him tackling coach Crossy. Who was lucky to come out alive.

photo 2 was just the usual bag hangar he does. And by the way his little pinky never gave a Yelp.

53 minutes ago, drdrake said:

I'm only comparing the two as Juniors, there are a lot of similarities in the two from an under age footy prospective.  Petracca will be evaluated on his on merits and number 1 is playing a match in the VFL, then two matches, then a third and really starting to stake a claim.  At the moment he has no merit only past junior history.  No one on this site wants him to be another Col Sylvia, far from it we want him to come in and realise his potential and not waste it.

Every player needs to earn a match, no exceptions he will need 4 runs at a lower level minimum, build him into the season.  It wouldn't harm him to spend 8-12 weeks at Casey, make him get 3 or 4 times in the best before he gets a crack at AFL.

 

I couldn't disagree more.

If he spends  anymore than 2 weeks at Casey I will not drink alcohol until he does debut 

50 minutes ago, Barney Rubble said:

Aww, I feel for Crossy a bit. Dearly wanted to be out there and instead is a crash test dummy for tracc.

Ly Crossy. Such a champ.

I have no real basis for this opinion, so please feel free to treat it with the respect any totally uninformed opinion deserves, but I have developed the impression that he hasn't really figured out the degree of dedication required to be an elite player yet.  This could just be a response to his reportedly relaxed and happy demeanor.  Who knows? We'll see. 

9 minutes ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

I have no real basis for this opinion, so please feel free to treat it with the respect any totally uninformed opinion deserves, but I have developed the impression that he hasn't really figured out the degree of dedication required to be an elite player yet.  This could just be a response to his reportedly relaxed and happy demeanor.  Who knows? We'll see. 

Mmm I have also been considering that one. He just, from the outside, seems a bit immature and not as professional as someone like say a Viney or a Brayshaw, almost has a bit of lad in him. Not to say that's a bad thing (we need that in our team), but he needs to focus on just getting out on the park.

I want to see trac in the side round one. He is a gun with a body ready for afl. He'll learn more in the afl than the vfl.

1 hour ago, Barney Rubble said:

I was at training this morning and saw the fragile Petracca.

photo 1 was him tackling coach Crossy. Who was lucky to come out alive.

photo 2 was just the usual bag hangar he does. And by the way his little pinky never gave a Yelp.

I arrived late at training but he looked bloody good and raring to go. His kicking certainly looked OK to me and the NAB Challenge with its 9-pointers seems an ideal arena for him to debut.

Assuming he's in no danger of re-injuring his knee, and he's fit enough to do full training session, why wouldn't we have him as one of 8 on the bench and give him a couple of quarters against the doggies?

13 minutes ago, PaulRB said:

Assuming he's in no danger of re-injuring his knee, and he's fit enough to do full training session, why wouldn't we have him as one of 8 on the bench and give him a couple of quarters against the doggies?

Because he hasn't played footy, any footy, for over 12 months, and because he's had zero match practise or training in match situations with the team.

It's not just about fitness, or even ability

 

7 hours ago, ProDee said:

You're just advertising the fact that you have zero clue about this player.

If you had any understanding of his history or talent you wouldn't post what you have.

Just like Morton, Toumpas etc

Oh no it's different this time

 

36 minutes ago, Curry & Beer said:

Just like Morton, Toumpas etc

Oh no it's different this time

Just like Hogan, Brayshaw, Viney etc.

Goes both ways.

16 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

I have no real basis for this opinion, so please feel free to treat it with the respect any totally uninformed opinion deserves, but I have developed the impression that he hasn't really figured out the degree of dedication required to be an elite player yet.  This could just be a response to his reportedly relaxed and happy demeanor.  Who knows? We'll see. 

I'm not sure why you feel this way.

He used to regularly run with his Mum to improve his endurance:

Elvira, who used to run marathons, played a part in helping him improve his endurance. The pair ran many times over summer around the 10-kilometre Beasley's Nursery track near their Warrandyte home in Melbourne's north-east. "She beats me in the longer distance but she's lost her sprint," Petracca says.

He also watched vision post games with his Brothers:

Every Monday after a game, Petracca brings home a DVD with his match edits, and sits around the dinner table with his brothers and studies the vision. Julian and Rob play for Mitcham in the Eastern Football League but are midfielders, which Christian also wants to be. 

He has an upbeat personality that suggests he'd never want to let his teammates down:

"He's cheeky and fun-loving. His teammates next year are going to enjoy being around him. He reminds me of a young 'Dipper'. He's happy, he's fun, he's excitable and he'll do anything for his teammates. You'd go to war with him," the recruiter says.

And the reports during the off-season suggested that while others were still on holiday Petracca was busy rehabbing at the club.

He's only 20, so he's on a learning curve and no doubt will have his up and down times, but everything I've read about him paints a picture that is at odds with your assessment.

The story of Petracca's toe is exactly why Demon fans are skeptical when an injury is first announced and a time line is given.

The thread opened on 5 January and we were told it was a four week injury. That was 9 weeks ago and Petracca only joined the main group for training this week and we are now told that he won't be playing in the Demons side until at least round 2 making it about 12 - 13 weeks.

Even allowing for the delay in his rehab, this sounds a bit much..

12 hours ago, drdrake said:

 

Every player needs to earn a match, no exceptions he will need 4 runs at a lower level minimum, build him into the season.  It wouldn't harm him to spend 8-12 weeks at Casey, make him get 3 or 4 times in the best before he gets a crack at AFL.

 

I just don't understand this. It may not do him harm to spend 8-12 weeks at Casey but if he is a talent and better than other footballers in the  seniors then it will do the MFC who are trying to win every game harm ! I absolutely agree he must play games to get match fit and test his skills etc under match conditions. But what if he plays one game at Casey, 85% game time with no ill effect, works hard and tears it up ? Unless the medico's want him to ease him in with limited game time for a week or two and build him up, in my opinion if he is match fit, and if he shows good enough form to warrant it  you pick him in the seniors.  

11 hours ago, RalphiusMaximus said:

... but I have developed the impression that he hasn't really figured out the degree of dedication required to be an elite player yet.  This could just be a response to his reportedly relaxed and happy demeanor...

Ralphy, In my lone training report I surmised that a few players were lackadaisical in their approach to training that day.

I highlighted Watts and Petracca - who wasnt in the main group, as 2 who seemed very happy and relaxed in contrast to Trengove and ANB who seemed dedicated to their task.

There may have been others who had said the same thing, but I withdraw my comments.

After watching the Port game on the weekend and Watts efforts around the ground and his endevours to go up in front of packs for marks, I was happy to be wrong.

The glass is a lot more full for me after last Saturdays game. I expect the Tracc to thrill me soon.

 

 

52 minutes ago, Chelly said:

The story of Petracca's toe is exactly why Demon fans are skeptical when an injury is first announced and a time line is given.

The thread opened on 5 January and we were told it was a four week injury. That was 9 weeks ago and Petracca only joined the main group for training this week and we are now told that he won't be playing in the Demons side until at least round 2 making it about 12 - 13 weeks.

Even allowing for the delay in his rehab, this sounds a bit much..

To me it's not mistruths coming from the club but highlights the difficulty of making fully accurate assessments about injury/rehab time. Injury recovery is not an exact science particularly when it involves foot injuries. Diagnostic assessments are as much about intuition as science. Recovery rates will also vary according to the physiological differences between individuals. These injuries are hard to manage particularly in professional sport with the intense pressure to get an athlete/footballer back on the track/field as quickly as possible. 

1 hour ago, Chelly said:

The story of Petracca's toe is exactly why Demon fans are skeptical when an injury is first announced and a time line is given.

The thread opened on 5 January and we were told it was a four week injury. That was 9 weeks ago and Petracca only joined the main group for training this week and we are now told that he won't be playing in the Demons side until at least round 2 making it about 12 - 13 weeks.

Even allowing for the delay in his rehab, this sounds a bit much..

True but at the stage he did his toe he was still in the late stages of rehab with his knee. I believe I read one of the coaches pointing to the fact that while the toe will heal in 4 weeks it will put his program for his knee behind. Ultimately I wouldn't read too much into the time frame with the latest set back, I feel the club is really taking their time with him just to be sure, much the same way they did with Jesse.

Also consider that the jump from joining main group to playing (NAB or VFL) might not be that much if he impresses enough on the track.

13 hours ago, KrazyJay said:

Can anyone say ''Modern Day Gary Ablett Snr'' in the making?

 

If he could produce anything like GA(S) did on the field it would be huge for MFC: if he could produce a F/S heir like he did it would be mind boggling. 

I guess I could be accused of getting a little ahead of myself ?

2 hours ago, monoccular said:

If he could produce anything like GA(S) did on the field it would be huge for MFC: if he could produce a F/S heir like he did it would be mind boggling. 

I guess I could be accused of getting a little ahead of myself ?

probably about 40 years until we can talk about whether Christian Snr was better than Christian Jnr, so yeah, maybe just a touch :D