What to do with Petracca?

[Beetle 4,348]

Relax guys, he’ll fill out as the season goes on. This is just pre season light weight conditioning.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

Just a player.

[DeeSpencer 23,642]

I get the concerns over his body and fitness but the guy had plenty of tackles and pressure acts and really looked to me like someone who has somehow lost all confidence with his play. Defensively and repeat efforts he seemed fine to me.

Fumbling, dropping sitters, not going for the ball, bad decision making. He's all at sea when it comes to getting and using the ball.

He's also playing full forward a fair chunk of the game because it looks like we're looking to rotate multiple players through that role but don't have a reliable option that doesn't badly weaken the side. Tracc's never looked comfortable in that role. 

I would've put in at half back for the last quarter to see if he could get a few easy touches but otherwise I'm not sure what to do now. We need him in the side, even a shocking game like tonight beats the alternative, but then again maybe for his own confidence he needs to go back to Casey and tear it up for a couple of weeks.

 

[Wadda We Sing 10,685]

I pointed out a few months back at training he looked a few kgs over and was struggling to run. I dont know why that was. I was howled down for this observation of course by people that dont go to training and rely on a few happy snaps to assert their observations. Anyway. He didnt look confident then and still doesnt.

Weve all seen him play a lot better. The answer my friend....

Edited March 30, 2019 by Wadda We Sing

[Skuit 9,382]

8 hours ago, TGR said:

Agree with most of the comments here.  Nightmare of a game.

I am sticking fat though.

So is Christian.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Skuit

[Bring-Back-Powell 13,623]

If his career doesn’t work out, at least he can say he had a beer with Le Bron James.

[Lucifers Hero 37,524]

I'm going out on a limb and say his game was good not terrible. 

Squibbing the mark in 4th qtr was awful but then Max squibbed a contest with Ryder last week.  Pertacca dropped an easy mark but so did Jones last week.  Sh-t happens.

I know stats aren't everything but they warrant consideration:  16 possessions (@ 81.3% efficiency) of which 11 were contested, 3 clearances, 7 tackles (4th highest) and 7 inside 50 (also 4th highest).  That describes someone who was aggressive, worked hard and was relatively clean with the ball.  Folks notice the 3 clangers but they don't undo his good work.

He played on the ball where he did a serviceable job as his statistics show.  He played deep in a forward line that hasn't a clue what it is doing and the ball rarely got far enough in fwd 50 so he didn't score. 

The club needs to decide if he is an on-baller or a forward.   This 'hybrid' role isn't working for him or the team.  

He won't be nor should he be dropped.

[Dr. Gonzo 22,786]

2 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I'm going out on a limb and say his game was good not terrible. 

Squibbing the mark in 4th qtr was awful but then Max squibbed a contest with Ryder last week.  Pertacca dropped an easy mark but so did Jones last week.  Sh-t happens.

I know stats aren't everything but they warrant consideration:  16 possessions (@ 81.3% efficiency) of which 11 were contested, 3 clearances, 7 tackles (4th highest) and 7 inside 50 (also 4th highest).  That describes someone who was aggressive, worked hard and was relatively clean with the ball.  Folks notice the 3 clangers but they don't undo his good work.

He played on the ball where he did a serviceable job as his statistics show.  He played deep in a forward line that hasn't a clue what it is doing and the ball rarely got far enough in fwd 50 so he didn't score. 

The club needs to decide if he is an on-baller or a forward.   This 'hybrid' role isn't working for him or the team.  

He won't be nor should he be dropped.

He needs to play primarily as a mid. We have enough forwards and his creativity kicking into the forward 50 is sorely needed. Probably won't happen this year on the back of an interrupted preseason but he is definitely not a bust.

[Smokey 4,210]

21 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I'm going out on a limb and say his game was good not terrible. 

Squibbing the mark in 4th qtr was awful but then Max squibbed a contest with Ryder last week.  Pertacca dropped an easy mark but so did Jones last week.  Sh-t happens.

I know stats aren't everything but they warrant consideration:  16 possessions (@ 81.3% efficiency) of which 11 were contested, 3 clearances, 7 tackles (4th highest) and 7 inside 50 (also 4th highest).  That describes someone who was aggressive, worked hard and was relatively clean with the ball.  Folks notice the 3 clangers but they don't undo his good work.

He played on the ball where he did a serviceable job as his statistics show.  He played deep in a forward line that hasn't a clue what it is doing and the ball rarely got far enough in fwd 50 so he didn't score. 

The club needs to decide if he is an on-baller or a forward.   This 'hybrid' role isn't working for him or the team.  

He won't be nor should he be dropped.

Finally an intelligent and considered observation. 

And to all you armchair personal trainers commenting on his weight, try to understand that manipulating ones body mass can be incredibly more difficult for some. Conversely, look at Jeffy - he spends just as much time in the gym as anyone else in the team and has arms like toothpicks. 

Petracca wasn’t even our worst and some of you ought to be ashamed for the way you are talking about a fellow human right now. Bunch of bloody keyboard warriors, love to see you lot go down to training this week and share these comments with him in person. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by Smokey

[Dr.D 1,771]

1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I'm going out on a limb and say his game was good not terrible. 

Squibbing the mark in 4th qtr was awful but then Max squibbed a contest with Ryder last week.  Pertacca dropped an easy mark but so did Jones last week.  Sh-t happens.

I know stats aren't everything but they warrant consideration:  16 possessions (@ 81.3% efficiency) of which 11 were contested, 3 clearances, 7 tackles (4th highest) and 7 inside 50 (also 4th highest).  That describes someone who was aggressive, worked hard and was relatively clean with the ball.  Folks notice the 3 clangers but they don't undo his good work.

He played on the ball where he did a serviceable job as his statistics show.  He played deep in a forward line that hasn't a clue what it is doing and the ball rarely got far enough in fwd 50 so he didn't score. 

The club needs to decide if he is an on-baller or a forward.   This 'hybrid' role isn't working for him or the team.  

He won't be nor should he be dropped.

for me it's his fumbling. It's an absolute momentum killer. So many instances where he fumbled at critical stages after our team worked so hard to get the ball in the clear and he'd find a new way to butcher it. He has no composure and the more of the ball he gets the more mistakes he's going to make. I dont think he'll be a bust but he is a fringe player at the moment and all of last season also.  I'm glad to see Melbourne supporters finally seeing what I've seen for 2 seasons.

[Dr.D 1,771]

1 hour ago, Smokey said:

Finally an intelligent and considered observation. 

And to all you armchair personal trainers commenting on his weight, try to understand that manipulating ones body mass can be incredibly more difficult for some. Conversely, look at Jeffy - he spends just as much time in the gym as anyone else in the team and has arms like toothpicks. 

Petracca wasn’t even our worst and some of you ought to be ashamed for the way you are talking about a fellow human right now. Bunch of bloody keyboard warriors, love to see you lot go down to training this week and share these comments with him in person. 

I haven't played footy in years but I reckon if you rolled 100 wet weather footies to petracca and I, he would fumble more of them. Pathetic game. I think his work ethic is there but his level of skill and composure is lacking big time. 

[dazzledavey36 49,742]

29 minutes ago, Dr.D said:

for me it's his fumbling. It's an absolute momentum killer. So many instances where he fumbled at critical stages after our team worked so hard to get the ball in the clear and he'd find a new way to butcher it. He has no composure and the more of the ball he gets the more mistakes he's going to make. I dont think he'll be a bust but he is a fringe player at the moment and all of last season also.  I'm glad to see Melbourne supporters finally seeing what I've seen for 2 seasons.

Not sure if you realised but it rained the whole game... everyone fumbled, Viney, Gawn Jones and Brayshaw all had the fumbles at some stage throughout the game. Unfair to  single him out individually. 

2 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I'm going out on a limb and say his game was good not terrible. 

Squibbing the mark in 4th qtr was awful but then Max squibbed a contest with Ryder last week.  Pertacca dropped an easy mark but so did Jones last week.  Sh-t happens.

I know stats aren't everything but they warrant consideration:  16 possessions (@ 81.3% efficiency) of which 11 were contested, 3 clearances, 7 tackles (4th highest) and 7 inside 50 (also 4th highest).  That describes someone who was aggressive, worked hard and was relatively clean with the ball.  Folks notice the 3 clangers but they don't undo his good work.

He played on the ball where he did a serviceable job as his statistics show.  He played deep in a forward line that hasn't a clue what it is doing and the ball rarely got far enough in fwd 50 so he didn't score. 

The club needs to decide if he is an on-baller or a forward.   This 'hybrid' role isn't working for him or the team.  

He won't be nor should he be dropped.

This × 10

[Dee Zephyr 18,220]

2 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

I'm going out on a limb and say his game was good not terrible

 Bravo Luci, we watched him closely last night as we had a decent view from the ground. He tried his guts out last night, Trac was outnumbered numerous times and still we kicked to him. The guy never gave in even when the oppo were jabbing and shoving him behind the play. 

Geelong realised early Trac was a threat and reacted accordingly by throwing an extra or two around him. 

A spell at Casey? Please, give us a spell.

[rjay 24,185]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

We have enough forwards

At the moment I would say we only have one forward, Melk...

...and as you say Trac is probably more suitable playing mid but he's our next best forward. At least he's providing some forward pressure.

[Adzman 2,086]

I don't think Petracca is the problem. The problem runs deeper than a top pick who hasn't turned out to be a world beater. 

Our forward entry is dirtier than Donald Trump's black book. I don't know how to fix it, but our entry to our forward line is dirtier than "two girls, one cup".

[PJ_12345 1,098]

Goodwin able to call Roos for some free ManShakes?

[Return to Glory 7,846]

I've been critical of Petracca of late so I won't sink the boots in. I do, however, want to know if others have made the same observation that I have about his kicking style. It always seems to me that his ball drop starts from very high and therefore seemingly lacks any great control. This is particularly so when he looks to kick around his body and, invariably, he takes too long to get the ball from hand to foot.

Now he's not a midfielder, I think we see that now. Perhaps he needs to look at (don't shout me down here) how a guy like Hawthorn's Puopolo goes about it in the forward half. The post about him not being a hybrid is spot on imo. Petracca is a burst player.

[david_neitz_is_my_dad 3,995]

Hasnt won a one-on-one since 2016

[Lucifers Hero 37,524]

10 minutes ago, david_neitz_is_my_dad said:

Hasnt won a one-on-one since 2016

Given that 11 of his 16 possessions last night were contested, I guess he won 11 possessions when it was 2:1 or 3:1?  Not a bad effort then seeing off 2 or 3 opponents rather than just 1, don't you think?

[Dee Zephyr 18,220]

14 minutes ago, david_neitz_is_my_dad said:

Hasnt won a one-on-one since 2016

Do that GIF thing you do and look who set up our first goal last night.

[nosoupforme 3,085]

Petracca has an attitude about him you can read his body language, however he is not the only issue here. His form is not great and seems to be going through the motions. Last night's game he played in was his worst l seen him involved in and that goes for many others.

Petracca can turn it around as he has that ex factor. For me he wasn't out there last night for one reason or another and as the saying goes a week is a long time in football.  Lets give him the opportunity to redeem himself because really he is one of our better players and really after 2 games he is not the problem alone.

Let's get off his back  and the remarks towards him   the silly lets get rid of him or drop him or his hopeless or can't play is just anger talking. We have bigger fish to fry this week and we need to turn it around collectively. Look to Essendrug Friday night  to get our first win and put us on our way.

[beelzebub 22,708]

Cut our losses...put the For Sale up !

[david_neitz_is_my_dad 3,995]

35 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Given that 11 of his 16 possessions last night were contested, I guess he won 11 possessions when it was 2:1 or 3:1?  Not a bad effort then seeing off 2 or 3 opponents rather than just 1, don't you think?

Still not a one-on-one such as when we bomb it on his head 15 times a game

[Dockett 32 1,213]

51 minutes ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Given that 11 of his 16 possessions last night were contested, I guess he won 11 possessions when it was 2:1 or 3:1?  Not a bad effort then seeing off 2 or 3 opponents rather than just 1, don't you think?

Yep. Only Tom McDonald and Trac command any sort of attention up forward.

So what do you do about Petracca?

Pruess in and changes at Ff with Max, T.Mac to  CHF,  Stretch in  and out Weideman and Jones.

Petty and Keilty should no longer be looked over either IMO

 

[Hunt29 258]

Trac wasn’t our worst last night. But he looks bereft if confidence. Made some uncharacteristic fumbles and lacked the flair he has shown prior. 

I was thinking a Brayshaw type run at Casey could help. Just to get some confidence.