Christian Petracca

[dazzledavey36 52,690]

1 minute ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Which one for you?

I'd keep Trac.

[Lexinator 1,494]

Can't be consumed by these kind of topics, it's not good for your health 🤣. It's a 'will believe it when I see it' type scenario.

Next year he'll either be 'was a champion' or 'still a champion' for the MFC, it's as simple as that.

[BringBackTheDemon 104]

1 minute ago, Sydee said:

We have gone backwards this year primarily because we lost Smith , Melk and BB can’t get on the park - add to this a weakened midfield for all the reasons we already know and there is the reason 2024 scoring has dried up 

Dont buy it, JVR and Kozzy coming into their prime, Fritsch still in his while playing all the games this year and missing over a month of footy last year out weighs the loss of Smith and two guys at the end in Melksham and Brown (who lets be honest wouldnt have been here if not for his contract)

Ill give you the midfield but Oliver (off field issues) and Viney (age) having a down year was always on the cards.

[FreedFromDesire 583]

1 minute ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Which one for you?

Sorry, that was more ambiguous than intended!

I believe Petracca should be our next captain. I posted at length about why in the captaincy thread, but short version is - His care for people and the club, his authenticity, his standards and his incredible will to win.

Oliver has been my favourite player at different stages, and I really don't think it will ever come to it, but if it was that doomsday scenario then I would be choosing Trac every time.

Let's hope though that the club makes moves to improve where they need to and it never gets to that though.

[reynolds46 1,039]

1 minute ago, dazzledavey36 said:

I'd keep Trac.

Has there actually been any solid info connecting petracca's concerns directly to Clayton Oliver?

[praha 11,100]

12 minutes ago, Sydee said:

Not sure our attack was the problem in 2022 or 2023 given the players available (with the obvious exception of poor accuracy in the two 2023 finals) 

We have gone backwards this year primarily because we lost Smith , Melk and BB can’t get on the park - add to this a weakened midfield for all the reasons we already know and there is the reason 2024 scoring has dried up 

Smith, Melksham and Brown aren't making us offensive gods. 

Our forward woes have been structural and gameplan for a while. We could bring in the best key forward and it wouldn't make a difference. 

Take a look at Carlton. Two key forwards and can barely score themselves. Voss and Goodwin don't coach all that differently. Give either list to Longmire or Scott (either of them) and they're probably the highest scoring team in the league.

[sue 9,000]

46 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

On OTC last night Lyon said Oliver's hand is a mess.  He is being played because it is good for him or words to that effect.  He has said similar in past episodes.It might be in Oliver's best interests but is that in the best interests of the team, of a winning culture, of the club?This isn't directly related to Christian but I can understand if players are frustrated by Oliver's selection.  And I also wonder how good it is for Oliver given the bashing he gets in the media.

Yes, it is something to wonder about, but as usual we dont' really know.  Maybe the bashing in the media means nothing to him compared to getting out there and playing, however badly.    Whether it is worth it for the club overall is another matter which presumably has been considered.

Edited August 12 by sue

[Sydee 4,182]

5 minutes ago, BringBackTheDemon said:

Dont buy it, JVR and Kozzy coming into their prime, Fritsch still in his while playing all the games this year and missing over a month of footy last year out weighs the loss of Smith and two guys at the end in Melksham and Brown (who lets be honest wouldnt have been here if not for his contract)

Ill give you the midfield but Oliver (off field issues) and Viney (age) having a down year was always on the cards.

Whatever but the facts are facts 

JVR has been thrown into ruck (so too Petty) because we have no back up ruckman worth a cracker atm - that means our KOF stocks further eroded 

midfield you have also forgotten about no Gus and Trac missing now since KB

[Pennant St Dee 12,643]

10 hours ago, middleagedemon said:

Regardless of the validity of the reporting, only good things can come of this imv

No damage done, as long as the correct changes are made, none of this will be remembered come round 1 next year and we'll be on our way. 

 

And that in a nutshell is the crux of it. So many posters losing it over this story which is an everyday occurrence in AFL at clubs. 

Is there some substance in it, I would say yes

Has Tom Morris taking journalistic license and talked it up while adding mayo, I would say yes

Does Roffey or Pert need to come out - absolutely not 

Deal with it internally and leave it at that 

[D Rev 592]

Woke up this morning and saw this headline, dug deep to find the energy to read the next line to find out it was an article by Tom Morris' colleague interviewing Melbourne insider....Tom Morris.

Really managed to push all my angry dragons back into the basement of my soul to read a little bit further and found the line (and I'm paraphrasing) "he isn't upset with Goodwin".

Can everyone take a breath here?  This is 100% click bait.  The less oxygen we give this flaming pile or garbage, the less of it we will get.

Yes, Christian may be frustrated with the club doing poorly, but he is hardly Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball there.

Has Christian actually come out to any reputable source to talk about this?  Do any of his actions to date make him seem like a whinger that is afraid of hard work?

The majority of the footy media loves punching down on us because it's so easy.  Our past players go to the media, cap in hand, wanting a job and will give up allegiance for a few shekels.

Seriously folks, we have a lot of positives to focus on, not this nonsense.

 

[BringBackTheDemon 104]

5 minutes ago, Sydee said:

JVR has been thrown into ruck (so too Petty) because we have no back up ruckman worth a cracker atm - that means our KOF stocks further eroded

If only they could have seen this coming at the time they traded Grundy and done something. IF ONLY. 

[SFebes 4,860]

Whether its injury management, team selection, game plan, recruiting, game day nous, culture etc, there is one common denominator and that is Simon Goodwin, he has a hand in it all. 

[picket fence 16,631]

21 minutes ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Which one for you?

Dont want and should'nt get to that and IF it does, the club has major problems!

[Jaded No More 67,598]

17 minutes ago, reynolds46 said:

Has there actually been any solid info connecting petracca's concerns directly to Clayton Oliver?

There is nothing solid about any of these reports.

Is there some discontent in the Trac camp? I would say that's highly likely.

Is there any actual suggestions that Trac:

- Wants out

- Hates Oliver

- Blames the club for his injury

- Doesn't like our game plan

- Thinks our attendance figures are terrible

- Dislikes Goody or the rest of the coaches

- Thinks our fitness staff is bad

No, there is no solid evidence to suggest any of the above is true.

He is a competitive beast, he's watched us have a bad season, while nursing a life threatening injury. He is emotional, he is frustrated, he is annoyed. He is human.

I am sure that whatever it is that is upsetting him can be resolved. He is not the first or last player to have issues with his club.

[Flowergirl 422]

9 hours ago, Storm Boy said:

I will help you out Flowergirl. Picket Fence knows Bernie Dunn and Bernie Sheedy. Bernie Sheehy coached Essendon Reserves under Kevin Sheedy and coached Fitzroy Reserves. Both Bernie Dunn and Bernie Sheehy have strong connections with the Melbourne Football Club.

I'm a bit more old fashioned and go to the people are involved inside the club. I went to the AFLW match between Carlton and Melbourne last Friday afternoon and had a quick discussion with Todd Patterson but he didn't give me much information when I asked him to get straight to the point. 

However, I did speak with Tim Lamb when we played against the Giants and had a good discussion with him during half time. But I don't come on here and tell everyone what he told me. There are so many variables will change between now until draft night. 

So are you saying to take what Picket Fence says with a grain of salt?

[Jaded No More 67,598]

Just now, Flowergirl said:

So are you saying to take what Picket Fence says with a grain of salt?

Have you seen his posts about Jefferson?

 

Just kidding PF, I love your PASSION

[ElDiablo14 4,903]

1 hour ago, pitmaster said:

I don't really want to fuel this thread but if Trac is concerned about the direction of the club - one of the vague accusations that's been levelled - maybe he is dispirited by the lousy crowd attendances since he started paying attention again...

It can't be the contract extensions and new signings of valued and young players.

We do have a healthy supporter base from a membership number points of view.

I am sure we can crack 75k+ every year if the team is in contention.

Add to that the fact that our 2018 finals run at home demonstrates that we can draw a good crowd.

We just missed the 2021 run.

Although our turn out during the 2022 and 2023 finals should've been better.

[Deez21 158]

Petracca has done this before, before the 2021 season he had a very decent offer from Collingwood (and Oliver had one from Carlton) and both expressed their concerns to the club and told them they were considering it. Both of them signed long term deals after a premiership. We have plenty of time to iron this out, I believe the club is still in a good position heading into next year and it's a pity Petracca hasn't taken the unfortunate circumstances surrounding this year (including his own absence) and given the club benefit of the doubt. If things don't fix next themselves next year however...

Petracca is a highly competitive individual but this seems like he has the same issues with the clubs we as fans do. Luckily he has a 5 year deal and we can tell him to focus on his recovery because he isn't going anywhere. 

I expect that changes will be made below Goodwin however, and with player recruitment. 

It's a pity those close to Petracca decided to go to the biggest snake in the media with these concerns

[drdrake 3,115]

The end of the day he has a contract so unless the dees agree to trade him he plays for us.

What I hope this does is get the change, start with assistant coaches, Chaplin and Stafford been there a long time we need fresh ideas.  

Mark Williams worked hard on our foot skills in 2021, our skills by foot are extremely poor, we just can't kick.

The club won't trade Trac

[John Crow Batty 8,763]

Despite all the turmoil at the club it does appear the players are still having a red hot go most games. I take heart in that though everything else talked about our club is becoming exhausting. 20 pages of comments in 15 hours must near a record for DL. I can’t wait to hear if and when the great man has anything to say. We may know in a couple of weeks.
 

And what’s all the talk of Petracca’s family not happy with the club? This rumour has surfaced a few times in the past and not just this season. I don’t know if connected or true but it was reported in the years around the time of Petracca’s drafting that a certain players family were unhappy their son was drafted by the lowly Demons. Apparently they went to the AFL to complain to why their son couldn’t go to a premium club like Collingwood. 

Edited August 13 by John Crow Batty

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,283]

I think Goody has good relationships with the players and is a very good man manager, which I believe is now the key role of a head coach. I also think the players like playing for him and he is the right person to lead the club forward.

Where I don't think he is doing well is the following:

- Selection integrity has been poor. This may be a bi-product of our lack of depth this year, however the same could be said in 2022 and 2023 when we didn't have depth issues.

- Use of the sub has been shocking dating back to Schache in the semi final. Stop using key position players as the sub, everyone else uses a small and then outruns us in the last quarter.

- Tactical coaching. I think he is very good at coming up with a game  plan going into a game (the recent Port game as an example), however because he likes to coach from the bench he can't make tactical decisions well during the game. We need to bring in the best tactical coach we can to be up in the box and provide this.

[frankie_d 1,467]

1 hour ago, daisycutter said:

but he didn't have a splenectomy.  badly lacerated spleen

OK - thanks. I thought he did.

He's spoken about vaccinations - must have had embolization for the high-grade injury.

[biggestred 4,766]

15 minutes ago, drdrake said:

The end of the day he has a contract so unless the dees agree to trade him he plays for us.

What I hope this does is get the change, start with assistant coaches, Chaplin and Stafford been there a long time we need fresh ideas.  

Mark Williams worked hard on our foot skills in 2021, our skills by foot are extremely poor, we just can't kick.

The club won't trade Trac

this has just reminded me. i went to a  preseason session back in january. the foot skills then were horrible. balls hitting the deck under no pressure. the writing was on the wall for this season then, should have seen it coming!

[Gawndy the Great 9,008]

46 minutes ago, praha said:

Smith, Melksham and Brown aren't making us offensive gods. 

Our forward woes have been structural and gameplan for a while. We could bring in the best key forward and it wouldn't make a difference. 

Take a look at Carlton. Two key forwards and can barely score themselves. Voss and Goodwin don't coach all that differently. Give either list to Longmire or Scott (either of them) and they're probably the highest scoring team in the league.

It is a million percent game plan. I agree with you. Getting either of the King bros or Jesse or Curnow himself is not changing anything. 
 

We don’t have connection between midfielders so when we generate a turnover in any part of the ground we don’t know what to do. Look at Hawks, their ball movement looks so fluid and harmonious. But all it is is spread and working together to create space. Don’t even need elite kicks.

when we get the ball, it’s all about structure and contest. Stoppage to stoppage. It’s sloppy boring and slow. 
 

It needs to change and that folks, will take time. 

[drysdale demon 4,673]

51 minutes ago, reynolds46 said:

Has there actually been any solid info connecting petracca's concerns directly to Clayton Oliver?

Probably not, but hey this is demonland so it doesn't matter if it is true or not.