This might not be popular opinion but...

We've all been waiting for Christian Petracca to announce him self on the big stage...waiting for the big break out game.

I think he's actually done it through the back door.

No break out game but just some really good footy over the last period.

Little by little.

He's trusting himself more to take the shots, to break the packs, take on the game and he's hitting the scoreboard.

He might not become elite or the player some had hoped for but he's heading towards "A' grade very quickly.

He's a very good and important player to the team.

Now...if he could fix up his set shots the sky would be the limit.

Is that like rolling thunder or more crackers on a wet night

I think Tracc has had a really solid year. 

It is sometimes hard to appreciate all his work in such a frustrating year. 

Yes he still has improvements to achieve 

Trac just needs to fix his set shot goal kicking. Other than that, he's been playing some good footy the past month or two. This season he's averaged 18 disposals and one goal. He's missing most of his set shots though (set shot accuracy of 32%). If he nailed more of those, he'd already be a 18 touch 2-3 goal a game player. That's the difference between good and great for him - set shots. It's all in his head, as when he's playing on instinct he hits the goals nearly every time!

I don't think he's ever going to a superstar of the competition like we first hoped, but if can lift his output to average 20 disposals and 2 goals a game for remainder of his career, he'd be deemed a gun half forward and very important part of our team.

When he lined up for goal after kicking 2 nice goals I thought in my head "B-b-b-b-break-out  Game??"

then he somehow missed the goal and I came back to earth.

I do agree however that is playing well and is improving all the time.  he just needs to add some mental grit and confidence to believe he could be anything.  he can kick goals from 55, take big grabs, break tackles. if his mental side of his game improves he will stay in games for longer and be a A grader

Love ya Tracca

There's not much better for a young player than to put together a string of consistently good games.

Since about round 8 he has been at least respectable in every game.

Good signs.

  On 08/07/2019 at 05:49, Little Goffy said:

There's not much better for a young player than to put together a string of consistently good games.

Since about round 8 he has been at least respectable in every game.

Good signs.

Has definitely been one of the few bright lights this year. Hard to think of  other players from 2018 who are playing as well let alone better this year than last... perhaps Salem and Frost

  On 08/07/2019 at 04:28, rjay said:

This might not be popular opinion but...

We've all been waiting for Christian Petracca to announce him self on the big stage...waiting for the big break out game.

I think he's actually done it through the back door.

No break out game but just some really good footy over the last period.

Little by little.

He's trusting himself more to take the shots, to break the packs, take on the game and he's hitting the scoreboard.

He might not become elite or the player some had hoped for but he's heading towards "A' grade very quickly.

He's a very good and important player to the team.

Now...if he could fix up his set shots the sky would be the limit.

Agreed, if he can fix his kicking for goal, he'll be a very good player. I'll back him from here.

Petracca is getting better by the year but I'd like to see him play in the midfield a lot more.

He's a rare talent and I see him as more of a big bodied utility who could play anywhere.  Use him as we see fit should be the modus operandi.

And in the off-season a reconstruction of his kicking action is required.  Work could be started on it now of course so why not now?  There's no time like the present. 

I thought this was about @Bitter but optimistic's staff hiring policy at the manor.

That ball drop in his kicking style almost begins at neck-level. If it was working I'd say leave it alone, but it really ain't. Otherwise I'm a fan and would hate to see him go.

  On 08/07/2019 at 05:09, DubDee said:

When he lined up for goal after kicking 2 nice goals I thought in my head "B-b-b-b-break-out  Game??"

then he somehow missed the goal and I came back to earth.

I do agree however that is playing well and is improving all the time.  he just needs to add some mental grit and confidence to believe he could be anything.  he can kick goals from 55, take big grabs, break tackles. if his mental side of his game improves he will stay in games for longer and be a A grader

Love ya Tracca

I liked the fact Goodwin was trying something different with him when he tried the tennis ball training however it probably emphasized the short kick problems. Trac is a pretty good  kick from outside 50 and I would love to see how he would go simply treating every kick like it was outside 50. I would have him blindfolded for a while and just move him around saying x is how far out you are. It might stop him incessantly flipping the ball around as well.

Edited July 8, 20195 yr by dworship
Additional comment

  On 08/07/2019 at 12:48, dworship said:

I liked the fact Goodwin was trying something different with him when he tried the tennis ball training however it probably emphasized the short kick problems. Trac is a pretty good  kick from outside 50 and I would love to see how he would go simply treating every kick like it was outside 50. I would have him blindfolded for a while and just move him around saying x is how far out you are. It might stop him incessantly flipping the ball around as well.

Max and Hunt suffer from the same issue, in fact I don't think it's an uncommon problem among AFL listed players.

One of the key off season coaching emphasis should be players getting their goal kicking right.

  On 08/07/2019 at 12:34, Mel Bourne said:

That ball drop in his kicking style almost begins at neck-level. If it was working I'd say leave it alone, but it really ain't. Otherwise I'm a fan and would hate to see him go.

What gets me about this is that his kicking around the ground he keeps the ball so much lower. Which is why he's a relatively reliable kick everywhere else. His set shot routine has him completely change his kicking style. I don't get why he does it.

As I posted on the post match thread - Appart from the odd game, Trac's form has been very solid all year.  A few of Trac's stats give an indication of that:

3rd leading goal kicker;

1st in score involvements;

2nd in goal assists (interestingly,  Melksham still leads this stat, despite missing a big chuck of the season now - shows how good he is in that department and how much we are missing him).

By my assessment, Trac will easily finish top 10 in our B&F, if not top 5 or better.

I do think Trac will go Bang and become reconised as an elite player when the fortunes of the team swing back to being more compeditive.  Whilst his influential performances might have been flying a little under the radar of even our supporters this season, I hardly think his value to our side would have been unnoticed by our opposition's analysts and coaches, who would be targeting him with their best mid sized defender most weeks, particularly with Melksham out of the side.  That he has performed consistently well in an underperforming side is a mark of some mental toughness and maturity.

I am looking forward to him really busting things up once the side is back in full flight, I think he will ride that wave of confidence and his natural (Italian genetically inherited) exuberance will get right up the noses of our opposition.

Edited July 9, 20195 yr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

He's starting to look more balanced with the ball and hit up short kicks around half forward, trusting his technique to hit a target. If he can get his field kicking right - and I think he's on the right path - then I think the goal kicking will eventually flow. 

With his set shots he's so focused on a good ball drop he loses momentum in his run up, when he has momentum he'll either kick it straight or mess the drop and spray it. As long as he keeps going as is he should hopefully get the momentum and ball drop timed up together.

It was so nice to see him use his speed and power to burn off Jones and kick that goal, really hoping to see more of that.

If you compare his numbers to Jordan de Goey this year its a pretty good case to say he is tracking as well. Maybe not as dynamic but not far off the De Goey numbers who people really rate (as do i) 

What i loved was a little thing he did on Sunday, took the ball, saw it was Jones and took him on..  that is the surest sign of a player finding his place, having confidence and knowing his game.

 

All really good signs.

  On 09/07/2019 at 01:40, DeeSpencer said:

He's starting to look more balanced with the ball and hit up short kicks around half forward, trusting his technique to hit a target. If he can get his field kicking right - and I think he's on the right path - then I think the goal kicking will eventually flow. 

With his set shots he's so focused on a good ball drop he loses momentum in his run up, when he has momentum he'll either kick it straight or mess the drop and spray it. As long as he keeps going as is he should hopefully get the momentum and ball drop timed up together.

It was so nice to see him use his speed and power to burn off Jones and kick that goal, really hoping to see more of that.

Agree on all points. On short shots in addition to losing momentum on his rum in he leans back.

Would love him to back himself in and go for goal more often. As I hav2 said before goody should encourage him to do so.

Tracca has been excelling in his ability to win the ball and deliver to advantage when in crowded situations.

Seems to me he needs to learn the same for when he is free.

He knows how to get to where the ball is so let him focus and this and worry less about goal kicking. He can play outside 50m arc and still be effective.

Agree with the OP.

We haven't had too many players who have improved on last year but I think Petracca is one.

For someone who is such a confidence player, I would love to see him fix up his goal kicking technique. The effect of nailing easy shots (or more importantly not having the deflation of missing easy shots) could be quite significant for him.

What was a clear sign for me, and something I’ve been looking for for some time, was the aggression he showed. Petracca seems like he’s finally got to the point where he’s going to grab hold of the opportunity and make something happen. I’m waiting for the breakout. He has been building, but there’ll be a game where the competition sits up and takes notice.

  On 09/07/2019 at 01:49, Demon3 said:

If you compare his numbers to Jordan de Goey this year its a pretty good case to say he is tracking as well. Maybe not as dynamic but not far off the De Goey numbers who people really rate (as do i) 

What i loved was a little thing he did on Sunday, took the ball, saw it was Jones and took him on..  that is the surest sign of a player finding his place, having confidence and knowing his game.

 

All really good signs.

Except that DeGoey has kicked 30 goals to Trac's 17 this year from two less games. IMO DeGoey is elite, Trac is not there yet.

But yes, really good signs for Trac.

  On 10/07/2019 at 04:20, Moonshadow said:

Except that DeGoey has kicked 30 goals to Trac's 17 this year from two less games. IMO DeGoey is elite, Trac is not there yet.

But yes, really good signs for Trac.

Yeah true Moon, the Goals differential is obviously the big difference, probably symptomatic of the club as whole taht Goals are hard to kick.  He is trending up which is great because it looked at one stage like he may just not find a consistency his game needs.  Can only improve from here as well.

It’s been easier for De Goey this year being at a club with more stability in terms of winning and not having to fill gaping holes in their forward line. Trac will come good in time. 

So that big breakout game.... No TMac, No Weid. Would really come in handy this week