Christian Petracca

[48 Year Now 69]

I have no inside information but here is my take. Trac was very likely told by doctors he had severely put him self at risk by going back into the ground. At the very least he would have been told he suffered a serious injury. I feel he went back on because he felt we wouldn’t win without him. A fairly realistic assessment. 
However spending time in hospital would have had him think about the clubs negligence in regard to his welfare. It didn’t need a doctor to tell you he was badly hurt. It looked very similiar to the hit Dipper received in the 87 grand final. 

All this would have been reinforced when he was told how strict he needed to comply with doctors orders in his recovery and return to fitness. So in summary he is looking at it thinking I very nearly put my life on line for the club all the while others are taking the [censored].

 

[Roost it far 7,348]

2 hours ago, Older demon said:

Seriously why cant we take the club at face value. Trac has been traumatised is a bit out of sorts and has a lot of work to regain his physical status back as well as his emotional stability.

But for a bit of fun if you wanted a swap maybe Mr King at St Kilda. Prior to his shoulder op he looked disinterested and dispirited playing in the saints forward line. Haven't heard a peep out of St Kilda. Papley wanted out of Sydney a few years ago and carlton could get him. Look at the situation now. Keep calm and let it sort itself out

Where’s the fun in that.

i do find it interesting that he’s said nothing to us, the supporters, to alleviate the obvious concerns. The longer that silence lasts the closer he is to being traded……at least that’s becoming my take on the matter. His silence has meaning no??

Edited August 16 by Roost it far

[Gawndy the Great 9,008]

28 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

Where’s the fun in that.

i do find it interesting that he’s said nothing to us, the supporters, to alleviate the obvious concerns. The longer that silence lasts the closer he is to being traded……at least that’s becoming my take on the matter. His silence has meaning no??

 it could also be a bluff to ensure the maximum effect of the review. If he backs of now, they may make less impactful decisions, but if he holds this over them, it’s possible that they are forced to act on certain things.

[drysdale demon 4,673]

2 hours ago, BoBo said:

Haven’t heard OX’s claims about players getting ‘up to no good’ during preseason being countered by anyone so that’s obviously true too. 
 

 

2 hours ago, BoBo said:

Haven’t heard OX’s claims about players getting ‘up to no good’ during preseason being countered by anyone so that’s obviously true too. 

I wills say it twice then , why would you even bother replying to his claims.

[Roost it far 7,348]

2 minutes ago, Gawndy the Great said:

 it could also be a bluff to ensure the maximum effect of the review. If he backs of now, they may make less impactful decisions, but if he holds this over them, it’s possible that they are forced to act on certain things.

I’d be shocked if the club wasn’t aware of the issues that need addressing. I just don’t see how this helps considering how much conjecture about the club has been swirling around for the last 12 months. Ideally he’d want to be captain and drive the standards from there. I don’t see how he can be now which is another reason why I’m starting to think he may just be trying to force a trade.

[Demonsone 1,941]

2 hours ago, Sir Why You Little said:

I don’t think Tracc wants to leave at all, he has given the Club a Rocket to get its act together 

This has all been festering (multiple issues) for a long time. 
The Decks have got to be cleared, we need a change of some philosophies within The Football Department 

I maybe in the minority, but i am quietly happy it has come out. I hope the Review is thorough and fair. We have got to get better 

Not sure what the issues are with trac if any but hypothetically if he’s upset with what’s happening on or off the field and rightly so as a leader needs to be part of the solution as all clubs go through this, as the same club with the same people took him to the ultimate success of a flag  and rewarded him with the a huge contract, in terms of his injury it took 2 scans in an hospital to diagnose his injuries so not sure what I’m missing 

Edited August 16 by Demonsone

[BoBo 2,912]

18 minutes ago, drysdale demon said:

 

I wills say it twice then , why would you even bother replying to his claims.

Can you clarify what you’re saying please? 

[Gawndy the Great 9,008]

15 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I’d be shocked if the club wasn’t aware of the issues that need addressing. I just don’t see how this helps considering how much conjecture about the club has been swirling around for the last 12 months. Ideally he’d want to be captain and drive the standards from there. I don’t see how he can be now which is another reason why I’m starting to think he may just be trying to force a trade.

You are probably right. It’s Gold Coast or Freo. Don’t see how any other club can get it done.He can forget the Pies, the club would walk him to the draft.

[dees189227 12,020]

I know what happened to trac was terrible & he suffered but maybe he would like to have a conversation with Jason winderlich & the massive uphill battle he faces. 

[BoBo 2,912]

1 hour ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Once he has made the statement, he doesn’t need to say anything else 

As long as the Club make the right changes in the offseason. 
 

The Media will have different stories next week 

Ok, so he hasn’t made a statement, why is that? Considering there’s a rumour out there that he wants to leave the club?

It’s the kind of claim that DOES DAMAGE the longer you don’t address it.

[BoBo 2,912]

1 hour ago, DeeZone said:

I understand where you are coming from BoBo but I am old school, if and when Tracc comes out and says I don’t want to play for MFC and I want to be traded, then I will believe what I am hearing and wish him all the best in his future pursuits. But until that happens I will remain attached to him like a limpet mine.

Ok that’s fair enough. I would prefer him or the club to state that it isn’t true within 3 days, if they don’t, I can only infer that it is true until I hear different.

We just disagree and that’s fine

[fr_ap 2,425]

Those saying Collingwood have no leverage, or that Trac is contracted haven't been paying attention for some time now. 

It. Does. Not. Matter. 

If he says that's where he wants to go, they will move heaven and earth to get him, including catapulting their salary cap if need be, and the media will pressure us to accept their best offer by saying that we shouldn't be holding a club champion against their will. 

ANB signed for 3 years last year. Houston is contracted. Contracts are not a barrier to any player leaving. 

As for "what has happened to this club since 2021?" - I and many others on here tried telling you. I wrote a widely smashed thread called 'its the culture' at the end of 22. My observations were pretty surface-level in hindsight but I always felt they were early symptoms of something changing and bubbling. We've shown flashes on and off of something returning, but it's never felt or looked the same since mid-22. 

At the start of this year I specifically said we were a petracca injury away from bottom 6. So many thought it was a ridiculous idea, failing to see that Laurie, Woey and Tholstrup is not the midfield depth of a top 4 or 8 side. The types of characters we've brought in through trade since 21, the lack of integrity at selection, the falling standards on and off field, the talent we've been unable to hold onto, the lack of our brilliant '21 team defense, the loss of all functional depth, the re-emergence of selfish patterns of play, ageing of our best players and most tellingly, the absolute arrogance of management declaring nothing was wrong in the face of irrefutable evidence. It's all pointed in a certain direction for a reasonable period of time.

I swear I don't know how so many can devote so much to something and fail to see the patterns emerging. You can all see within 5 minutes of play starting how the team has rocked up. Hell, half of us know the body language of the warm up we follow this team so closely. So why are you so surprised? 

Edited August 16 by fr_ap

[dazzledavey36 52,690]

 

[Fat Tony 5,071]

11 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

Is there a bigger lightweight than Sam McClure?

[BoBo 2,912]

21 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

The biggest revelation coming out of this is Martin Pike head butted the CEO, haha

Edit: sorry I should clarify, Martin Pikes head came a bit too close to the CEO’s nose says Leigh Matthews, who is part of the Lügenpresse.

Edited August 16 by BoBo

[Ollie fan 3,031]

15 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

Absolutely nothing in that at all. Once they include ANB in the discussion you know it is rubbish, because his situation is not one of "culture" or dissatisfaction at all. 

[gs77 3,915]

9 minutes ago, Fat Tony said:

Is there a bigger lightweight than Sam McClure?

No.

[At the break of Gawn 4,400]

3 hours ago, Jaded No More said:

This 100%

Trac is within his rights to be upset or unhappy with the direction of the club or the handling of his injury. But to play it out so publicly at the expense of the club that made him the highly paid star that he is, is simply immature and selfish.

Either he thinks that if he does enough damage we will relent and trade him, or he’s simply more worried about his own brand than the club’s. 
 

I suspect that in time he will regret the way he’s handled it. 

I’m so glad that posters are now realising how poorly Trac has handled this whole situation. Putting his brand above the club will severely damage any hope he has of being captain. He has a lot of growing up to do. 

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,283]

lol let’s look at Sam Mclure’s history this past 12 months:

- The eagles are not selecting Harley Reid he’s told them he doesn’t want to go. Eagles selected Reid.

- Said ‘if Carlton aren’t the flag favourites then you haven’t been watching properly’. The next week when asked who he thinks will play in the GF he said Port and Collingwood.

He’s more untrustworthy than any other journo out there.

[adonski 10,787]

3 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

lol let’s look at Sam Mclure’s history this past 12 months:

- The eagles are not selecting Harley Reid he’s told them he doesn’t want to go. Eagles selected Reid.

- Said ‘if Carlton aren’t the flag favourites then you haven’t been watching properly’. The next week when asked who he thinks will play in the GF he said Port and Collingwood.

He’s more untrustworthy than any other journo out there.

Morris seems to get excellent Dees mail

Mcclure on the other hand seems to make stuff up as he goes

[DistrACTION Jackson 8,283]

9 minutes ago, adonski said:

Morris seems to get excellent Dees mail

Mcclure on the other hand seems to make stuff up as he goes

He’s copying Morris but adding his own ‘spin’ to cash in on the current trending news stories. That’s the way he operates and I view him as the very bottom of the journo barrel.

[daisycutter 29,288]

1 hour ago, dazzledavey36 said:

 

read the replies.

they say it all better than i could

every one negative re mcclure

[titan_uranus 24,556]

My read on the Trac situation (all based on the reports with no inside knowledge):

1. Prior to KB Trac wasn't happy with certain things - I'm going to assume this is broader than just "we're not winning" and spill into things like fitness, training, dedication, 1%ers, stuff like that
2. The KB injury occurs and Trac probably feels poorly treated by the club, if not the decision to go back on the ground then the aftermath (e.g. the social media post or the messaging around what happened to him)
3. Sitting at home in isolation watching us continue to lose and our season fall apart exacerbates the feelings that have been bubbling away the previous few months
4. He starts saying things out loud about his dissatisfaction, whether to friends/family or being overheard in public
5. At some point he approaches the club to discuss his views, and either says flat out "I want out" or something more like "I'm not happy with where things are going and it's making me consider my future here"
6. The club says something like "well you're here for the next five years so we better work on it"
7. That correspondence doesn't sit well with Trac
8. It gets out to Morris
9. The club's statement only says he'll be here because he's contracted because that's the line we're running - no denial of his unhappiness, nor of him wanting out or suggesting it's heading that way, because that part is true
10. Trac doesn't say anything, in part because it's true that he's unhappy and/or wants out and/or has suggested he will be reconsidering in the future if things don't change, and in part perhaps because he feels a bit sheepish or caught out for mouthing off and it got out into the public

The natural response from many is to either side with Trac, and say it's the club's fault for standards slipping or promoting/failing to address poor cultural issues, or to side with the club and say Trac's sooking.

IMO, if the above is even remotely close to the truth, it's a combination of both.

No player like Trac should find themselves in this position. If he had issues, he needed to keep them in house.

But the club has failed to contain a series of genuine problems over the last 12-24 months and finds itself now in a terrible position. We're copping it everywhere and we have no way to respond. How does this look for target players, or sponsors, or our fixture chances in 2025, or our 2025 crowds and membership figures, or our ability to retain home games at the G, or all those things that matter.

This needed to say in house, but whatever is going on, it needed to be raised and dealt with. At least now the club has no choice but to confront these problems. If that means assistant coaches go, good. If that means Pert, Richardson or board members go, good. If that means our fitness program is overhauled, good. Whatever it is, it needs to happen. The only thing we can't do from here is nothing.

[Ethan Tremblay 29,967]

37 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

He’s copying Morris but adding his own ‘spin’ to cash in on the current trending news stories. That’s the way he operates and I view him as the very bottom of the journo barrel.

Yup. In that audio clip above, McClure runs with Morris’s “story”, adding that Petracca has already requested a trade and that it’s been knocked back. It’s near the beginning of the clip and is a very quick statement. If there’s any truth to what he claims, we would’ve heard and would be hearing, much more on it. As you said, McClure just adding his own “spin”.

[The Lobster Effect 875]

Just wondering if any of you would trade Trac for Harley Reid under a hypothetical? Reid hasn't done anything yet and Trac is a proven all-australian champion and norm smith winner but he will be 29 before next season. Not that Trac will end up leaving and obviously not for Reid but was just curious re those in the win while we're in the window camp vs extend our window over the long-term...