Christian Petracca

[Dr Don Duffy 103]

4 hours ago, waynewussell said:

Thanks for coming clean DDD! Let me get this right... A former president was the catalyst for us to become wilderness wanderers. Then a CEO in modern times steered us out of the wilderness to the Holy Grail... and now, just three years later, you want to slash and burn in order to stay out of the wilderness!

Not sure how do answer that, wayne. A former president did preside over our slide into mediocrity (actually, I craved rising to mediocrity during the decades that followed 1965!). “Slash and burn” isn’t on my wishlist, and while the Peter Jackson did lead us out of the wilderness, he was not allowed to savour the fruits of his work and continue his good work. 

I think you have put a false paradigm there. 

[He de mon 942]

8 minutes ago, Dr Don Duffy said:

What I can say, Hdm,  is that I will continue to support our club, as I have since I can remember as a 5yo. Boards and senior management come and go, and we have to hold them to account as we do the FD and the players who represent our beloved team. 

Your opening proposition is a little difficult to answer as a hypothetical as I would be surprised if a proper review didn’t recommend personnel change.

Given it’s a hypothetical, it shouldn’t be that difficult to answer. Sounds like you have already made your mind up, and anything that doesn’t match the narrative won’t be good enough.

[Dr Don Duffy 103]

12 minutes ago, He de mon said:

Given it’s a hypothetical, it shouldn’t be that difficult to answer. Sounds like you have already made your mind up, and anything that doesn’t match the narrative won’t be good enough.

I’ll tell you what I do know is that both Roffey and Pert have been sadly not up to scratch in their public utterances. If a fair dinkum review (not just run by them) were to be conducted and found that “behind the scenes” they were great, I would assess the quality of the outcome of the report accordingly. 

To paraphrase John Maynard Keynes, if circumstances change I may need to change my view. What do you do?

[He de mon 942]

3 minutes ago, Dr Don Duffy said:

I’ll tell you what I do know is that both Roffey and Pert have been sadly not up to scratch in their public utterances. If a fair dinkum review (not just run by them) were to be conducted and found that “behind the scenes” they were great, I would assess the quality of the outcome of the report accordingly. 

To paraphrase John Maynard Keynes, if circumstances change I may need to change my view. What do you do?

Public utterances are not a sackable offence. I support an independent external review, and any recommendations should be acted upon. 

[Dr Don Duffy 103]

5 hours ago, Adina88 said:

 CP is just venting his spleen about anything and everything 

Wouldn’t have been the metaphor that I would have reached for at first instance in the circumstances, but hey - to each their own!

[BDA 22,866]

10 minutes ago, He de mon said:

Public utterances are not a sackable offence.

They are an indicator. together with the other noise around the club there's sufficient evidence to justify a review.

If the results find Gary Pert if still the man for the job then i'll accept the findings. I would like to know terms of reference and who is conducting the review. If that stacks up then no reason to question the review recommendations

[The Jackson FIX 3,210]

True story: Trac and Goody crossed paths in the gym this morning. 

Nervously I asked what the mood/interaction was like and the response from the observer was ‘very warm, familiar and friendly’.

Apologies for the mundane update, just doing my bit to lift page count on this thread. 

[Ollie fan 3,468]

35 minutes ago, Dr Don Duffy said:

I’ll tell you what I do know is that both Roffey and Pert have been sadly not up to scratch in their public utterances. If a fair dinkum review (not just run by them) were to be conducted and found that “behind the scenes” they were great, I would assess the quality of the outcome of the report accordingly. 

To paraphrase John Maynard Keynes, if circumstances change I may need to change my view. What do you do?

Roffey had one poor interview. Other than that, she has generally presented pretty well but she is not a media-hogger like Kennett or Maguire. Pert says what needs to be said: Surely you don't expect him to say publicly (even if it were true which I don't think it is) , " The club is a mess, we will be wooden-spooners next year etc etc etc" - he deflects questions and gets on  with his job - which includes financial viability, record membership, and generally excellent on field results, but for this year (and the reasons for that have been discussed ad nauseam).

[Sir Windsor 219]

6 hours ago, Adina88 said:

But that was then, this in now. Is Clarry going to be forever 'punished' for last year?  Is May going to be forever 'punished' for the Entrecote incident 2 years ago?  CP is just venting his spleen about anything and everything to soothe his massively bruised ego that he's not as hardcore as he thought he was, and that the team won games this year without him.  He's learnt the hard way that he's no indispensable, and shopping himself around for a giant trade before he can ever get his heartrate above 100 again is part of proving to himself (and everyone else) that he's still 'IT'.  Barring a persistent hand injury, Clarry has had an incident-free year.  If I recall, it was Clarry who did a pretty amazing team thing and travelled out to Kossie's home town with him and carried his nana up the dam, not CP.  It's not just about performance on the field, it's about what you contribute off the field too.  If CP can't acknowledge what positive improvements have been made this year, because he just wants the world to burn, then someone needs to sit him down and have a word.  

POTY contender. Well said.

[KozzyCan 764]

8 minutes ago, Ollie fan said:

Roffey had one poor interview. Other than that, she has generally presented pretty well but she is not a media-hogger like Kennett or Maguire. Pert says what needs to be said: Surely you don't expect him to say publicly (even if it were true which I don't think it is) , " The club is a mess, we will be wooden-spooners next year etc etc etc" - he deflects questions and gets on  with his job - which includes financial viability, record membership, and generally excellent on field results, but for this year (and the reasons for that have been discussed ad nauseam).

She popped up plenty of times in 2021 and 2022. Disappeared when things started to go awry late last year.

[monoccular 17,569]

5 hours ago, Ugottobekidding said:

We need to see the back of trac. No way we can be successful next year with what has gone down.

 

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

The Coleman medallist said his phone “went ham” with messages from family, friends and teammates during a chaotic 48 hours after his name first emerged in trade rumours.

“I think sometimes we need to have more awareness around throwing a name (around) hypothetically up and not understanding the collateral damage that has sometimes,” McKay said on the Ben and Harry podcast.

McKay’s manager David Trotter, quickly shut down a potential trade, while Petracca has since committed to the Demons.

The gun Blues forward shared a story of a young Carlton fan imploring him to stay at the club.

“I remember the next day, I was leaving the club and there was a young family – a mum and three daughters – were there and had their Carlton jumpers on,” McKay said.

“(They were) asking for a photo and an autograph. The young girl would have been six or seven, but when I was signing she was like, ‘are you getting swapped to Melbourne? Please don’t say you’re getting swapped to Melbourne’.”

McKay, who’s one of multiple potential Blues ins for their elimination final clash with Brisbane, said the support he received from Carlton people is a “really good sign of a really good culture”.

“Everyone at the club was awesome,” the 26-year old said.

“When key stakeholders and people are ringing me straight away, nearly having a laugh about it, saying like, ‘there’s no merit to anything. Mate, you’re super valued’. And it was nearly just we were having a bit of a laugh about it.

“It was really good from that point of view and I think the club was great.”

Were he a MFC player that would be interpreted, by the footy media, hungry for something to talk about during the ridiculous knee jerk per finals bye week,  as "he hates the clubs and is desperate to be traded" 

51 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

True story: Trac and Goody crossed paths in the gym this morning. 

Nervously I asked what the mood/interaction was like and the response from the observer was ‘very warm, familiar and friendly’.

Apologies for the mundane update, just doing my bit to lift page count on this thread. 

... so they are both looking for a trade out to the same club??  Obviously. 🙄

[daisycutter 29,701]

trac has already started pre-season training

[John Demonic 5,848]

1 hour ago, The Jackson FIX said:

True story: Trac and Goody crossed paths in the gym this morning. 

Nervously I asked what the mood/interaction was like and the response from the observer was ‘very warm, familiar and friendly’.

Apologies for the mundane update, just doing my bit to lift page count on this thread. 

But did he initiate it, or did he pretend to not see him before that? #AskingTheHardQuestions #SocialAnxiety

Edited September 5 by John Demonic

[Lucifers Hero 40,309]

7 hours ago, Adina88 said:

But that was then, this in now. Is Clarry going to be forever 'punished' for last year?  Is May going to be forever 'punished' for the Entrecote incident 2 years ago?  CP is just venting his spleen about anything and everything to soothe his massively bruised ego that he's not as hardcore as he thought he was, and that the team won games this year without him.  He's learnt the hard way that he's no indispensable, and shopping himself around for a giant trade before he can ever get his heartrate above 100 again is part of proving to himself (and everyone else) that he's still 'IT'.  Barring a persistent hand injury, Clarry has had an incident-free year.  If I recall, it was Clarry who did a pretty amazing team thing and travelled out to Kossie's home town with him and carried his nana up the dam, not CP.  It's not just about performance on the field, it's about what you contribute off the field too.  If CP can't acknowledge what positive improvements have been made this year, because he just wants the world to burn, then someone needs to sit him down and have a word.  

Re this "It's not just about performance on the field, it's about what you contribute off the field too"

I think some facts around Christian's off field contributions have been forgotten.  Some that I am aware of:

 

In 2016 before Christian had even played a single game he befriend a young lad, Lucas Peters, at training.  .  Lucas suffered from MDT.  Their friendship continued and Christian kept in touch with him, and made his dream come true - Christian invited him to the 2021 GF.

 

In 2023 Christian took a road trip with Kozzie to Raukken - The Meeting Place. to better understand Kozzie's background and indigenous culture

 

 

In 2024 Christian befriended 4 yo, Eddie at training.  There are various videos of the two of them together.  In this link is an adorable and entertaining video of them.

https://www.instagram.com/melbournefc/reel/C5k6sR1yiAw/

 

I'm not suggesting the above deeds are anything special as many players contribute to fans and the community in a variety of ways.  But they shouldn't be forgotten when comparing him to other players be they mfc or other teams.

I get folks are angry.  I am too.  And I'm not happy with how he has conducted himself over recent weeks.  Nonetheless, it doesn't imv, wipe out all the good he has done and the joy he has brought fans on and off the field over the years. 

I hope everyone's anger eases soon and a more balanced narrative develops around him.

 

Edited September 5 by Lucifers Hero

[Ollie fan 3,468]

1 hour ago, KozzyCan said:

She popped up plenty of times in 2021 and 2022. Disappeared when things started to go awry late last year.

She "popped up" at the football - which, regrettably, is finished for the year, for us.

[daisycutter 29,701]

21 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Re this "It's not just about performance on the field, it's about what you contribute off the field too"

I think some facts around Christian's off field contributions have been forgotten.  Some that I am aware of:

 

In 2016 before Christian had even played a single game he befriend a young lad, Lucas Peters, at training.  .  Lucas suffered from MDT.  Their friendship continued and Christian kept in touch with him, and made his dream come true - Christian invited him to the 2021 GF.

 

In 2023 Christian took a road trip with Kozzie to Raukken - The Meeting Place. to better understand Kozzie's background and indigenous culture

 

 

In 2024 Christian befriended 4 yo, Eddie at training.  There are various videos of the two of them together.  In this link is an adorable and entertaining video of them.

https://www.instagram.com/melbournefc/reel/C5k6sR1yiAw/

 

I'm not suggesting the above deeds are anything special as many players contribute to fans and the community in a variety of ways.  But they shouldn't be forgotten when comparing him to other players be they mfc or other teams.

I get folks are angry.  I am too.  And I'm not happy with how he has conducted himself over recent weeks.  Nonetheless, it doesn't imv, wipe out all the good he has done and the joy he has brought fans on and off the field over the years. 

I hope everyone's anger eases soon and a more balanced narrative develops around him.

 

yes, luci.

i'm looking forward to trac winning the j.j. liston trophy next year

 

just kidding

[bing181 9,328]

8 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The fact our best player and one of our senior leaders who takes his job as a pro athlete seriously had such grave concerns he wanted out

If he just wanted out he would have gone to North or Richmond. 

You're giving someone who by his own admission is struggling with his mental health and trauma a lot more credibility than he deserves. The fact that he blames the club in some way for ANB leaving shows just where he's at at the moment.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,266]

35 minutes ago, bing181 said:

If he just wanted out he would have gone to North or Richmond. 

You're giving someone who by his own admission is struggling with his mental health and trauma a lot more credibility than he deserves. The fact that he blames the club in some way for ANB leaving shows just where he's at at the moment.

You're right, there's no issues, everything is hunky dory off field, no need for concern re player/staff behaviour, focus, preparation, no issues with stories leaking to the media, no issues with our performance since the flag - it's all just a massive beat-up by the meanies in the media who just hate MFC for some reason.

[bing181 9,328]

24 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

You're right, there's no issues

Except I didn't say that did I.

A predictable response, also a massive red herring which doesn't even attempt to refute the points I made in response to yours re Petracca.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,266]

18 minutes ago, bing181 said:

Except I didn't say that did I.

A predictable response, also a massive red herring which doesn't even attempt to refute the points I made in response to yours re Petracca.

I don't think the points were well made at all though. Regardless of whether Petracca is in a good headspace, regardless whether ANB is or isn't leaving due to cultural issues, the fact he didn't want to go to a bottom feeder club - none of that dismisses the fact we have a number of big issues we need to clean up both off field and on if we are to become a serious footy club. It's just noise.

[Hellfire Dub 165]

Disregarding recent events, I'm glad our team has had guys like Petracca (and Nibbler) driving standards. 

His ambition has been a great asset to us until the fiasco around his injury. 

He's clearly the type of person who's pushed himself to the limits of his potential with the overseas training camps etc.  

Look at how far he's come. 

I remember when I first started reading Demonland and people thought he was pudgy and heavy and falling far short of expectations from his high draft position.  

I think his humility around the Norm Smith was knowing that his was an outstanding performance, but it was within a shared team result.  

So the brand thing and his earnings are a selfish motivation, but to be a professional athletes requires a certain selfishness and ruthlessness.  An ambition and determination to improve and win.  By contrast we can all name plenty of other players that were happy enough to turn up and go through the motions.  I've never got that sense from him in any game I've seen him play.  

The injury and recovery would have caused the sudden realisation of his mortality and the short duration of his precarious career.  He's also witnessed Gussy's career cruelly and unjustly ended.  That must have driven him to maximise his income in his last few playing years.  He's messed that up really badly unfortunately.  It will have burned younger players, and those on the periphery and not earning his level of income.  That's going to cause resentment.  

There's also an associated mental health issue after the trauma that may explain his rash behaviour.  I'm totally prepared to overlook that aspect.  We're humans and fallible and vulnerable and actions taken in dark moments can't be explained or justified when someone is well again.  

The guy is young and ambitious and wants to win premierships.  Until this season he's believed that was possible with us.  And he's right, it should be possible with us.  

So even though I doubt he'll be a Demon beyond 2025, I truly hope his concerns and recommendations are acted upon.  

He's got to have seen or heard of some unprofessional and concerning behaviours and shenanigans. Most of us regularly hear rumours and innuendo about our club and I've no idea whether it's justified, nor whether it's true of only us or of all AFL teams.  

I don't see our club management as proactive or exemplary.  We've been in the wilderness forever without a home base near Melbourne as an example. 

I hear a lot of real nonsense management speak and not just the strategic post game interview where the same nothings are repeated ad nauseum. 

We need to be better and do better.  There were excuses in some of the other years, but lots of the stuff this year was inexcusable.  Poor football, poor effort, poor attitude, poor gameplan, poor management, poor communication. 

I'm sure Trac will have raised some of these things.  Let's hope it brings about some change for the better.  And more exciting football with plentiful goals for us, more finals, more Norm Smith medals, and more flags.  

[chookrat 4,267]

2 hours ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Re this "It's not just about performance on the field, it's about what you contribute off the field too"

I think some facts around Christian's off field contributions have been forgotten.  Some that I am aware of:

 

In 2016 before Christian had even played a single game he befriend a young lad, Lucas Peters, at training.  .  Lucas suffered from MDT.  Their friendship continued and Christian kept in touch with him, and made his dream come true - Christian invited him to the 2021 GF.

 

In 2023 Christian took a road trip with Kozzie to Raukken - The Meeting Place. to better understand Kozzie's background and indigenous culture

 

 

In 2024 Christian befriended 4 yo, Eddie at training.  There are various videos of the two of them together.  In this link is an adorable and entertaining video of them.

https://www.instagram.com/melbournefc/reel/C5k6sR1yiAw/

 

I'm not suggesting the above deeds are anything special as many players contribute to fans and the community in a variety of ways.  But they shouldn't be forgotten when comparing him to other players be they mfc or other teams.

I get folks are angry.  I am too.  And I'm not happy with how he has conducted himself over recent weeks.  Nonetheless, it doesn't imv, wipe out all the good he has done and the joy he has brought fans on and off the field over the years. 

I hope everyone's anger eases soon and a more balanced narrative develops around him.

 

What has happened to young Eddie? Seems to have gone to ground since the Tracc rumours started and haven't heard a peep out of him since. Pretty disappointing that he refuses to tell us what is going on.

[praha 11,240]

4 hours ago, Dr Don Duffy said:

I’ll tell you what I do know is that both Roffey and Pert have been sadly not up to scratch in their public utterances. If a fair dinkum review (not just run by them) were to be conducted and found that “behind the scenes” they were great, I would assess the quality of the outcome of the report accordingly. 

To paraphrase John Maynard Keynes, if circumstances change I may need to change my view. What do you do?

If I had a dollar for every CEO and Board member I've worked with that were less inspiring than a piece of cardboard when speaking with the media... I'd have about $10 but that's a good strike right.

As has been the case for a while, the club's marketing and comms teams have been lacking. I'm not sure if it's the environment that breeds that sort of outcome or what but we seem to handle these sort of scenarios in an amateurish way compared to other clubs.

[Wizard of Koz 1,127]

On 04/09/2024 at 09:47, Neil Crompton said:

The Club needs to ask Tracc one simple question: “Baring injury, can you right now, put your hand on your heart and commit to the Dees for a minimum of 3 years?”. If he can’t, or he hesitates at all, I don’t care how good a player he was, get rid of him, now. If he cannot commit, there will be no player trust. If no player trust, then I think he’ll be a cancer within the team this year. Brand Tracc is [censored] as far as I am concerned, and he’s done it to himself.

Ridiculous. Heaps of superstars in all sports have these moments and get over it.

[Willmoy1947 4,140]

In my OP i think there has been some pretty highbrow meetings taken place in the last week, between The AFL, the MFC and of course The Media Executives , not the S kickers. The result of which it seems to me that The S kickers have been told in no uncertain terms to Drop Off and make it a clean break.

Let's see.