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Christian Petracca



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8 hours ago, The Lobster Effect said:

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...

If he genuinely wanted to leave I probably would…

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9 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

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.

This is a reasonable assertion of likely order of events.

That said, the main issues with our declining standards have been the issues surrounding our other star player. I find it hard to believe Petracca's issues are assistant coaches or management. Petracca's issues are most likely to be:

  • the coach, and Goodwin is not going anywhere given his contract (and nor should he); or
  • the medical staff (which I think is harsh); or
  • unprofessionalism amongst the players (mostly Oliver, who would be difficult to trade given his contract and the hope that he will bounce back with a full preseason).

None of these changes can just happen because Petracca demands it. And none would be easy.

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TRAC NEEDS TO KEEP HIS THOUGHTS IN HOUSE 

DEES NEED TO SORT OUT HIS ISSUES - WHAT EXACTLY IS IT??

TRAC SIGNED A LONG TERM CONTRACT AND SHOULD HONOUR THAT COMMITMENT

TRAC IS A LEADER - THIS IS NOT A GREAT EXAMPLE 

DEES NEED TO STOP THE MEDIA LEAKS

DEES NEED TO SERIOUSLY LOOK AT TRAINING ARRANGEMENTS AND DECIDE ON NEXT MOVE 

KATE ROFFEY NEEDS TO SPEAK 

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11 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

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.

I reckon most people that are saying Trac shouldn't have done it through the media and crudely he "looks like a sook", also acknowledge that there are clearly issues at the club, and obviously these are issues that have been festering for a while and previously not dealt with properly.

Otherwise, I agree with your sentiment.

I don't however trust our admin, so I wouldn't expect changes there.

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12 hours ago, Ollie fan 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. 

The article just highlights what a cesspool the media is with  McLure and Morris and others of their ilk invoved in it.

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11 hours ago, drysdale demon said:

The article just highlights what a cesspool the media is with  McLure and Morris and others of their ilk invoved in it.*

Why,  Morris at least is  just reporting what he has been told.  I get people don't like him for what he does so you can shoot the messenger if you like, but has any of what he reported proven to be untrue?   As someone else alluded to he gets very strong mail re our club and always has.  

Personally I don't think  he had to go digging for the story, I think it was given to him on a silver platter.

Has Tracc been the best team mate he can possibly be?  

Some serious bridge-mending to be undertaken.

 

* McClure isn't a real journo, just a fifteen year old trapped in an adult body fantasing he's making and breaking deals - none of what he 'reports' is actual reporting - it's pure conjecture.

Edited by grazman
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10 hours ago, The Lobster Effect said:

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...

From the perspective of how Reid still has so much growth as a footballer and Trac will soon be starting to decline (given his age), then yes I would.

Another part of me reckons if we were to trade Trac, we may as well trade Clarry and Viney, because our window would definitely be closed and we’d need to maximise going to the draft and bringing in A-graders before Tassie comes in.

Barret is getting stuck in to North how they’ve been useless for so long, but as the Giants did as their list matured, North’ improvement will happen rapidly once the kids get games and continuity playing together.

Dont want to wallow at the bottom of the ladder for years on end. Hit the draft hard and rebound asap (and no, I don’t even want the club to even dare think about t@nk!g, coz that worked out wonders last time)

Edited by Demon Disciple
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6 minutes ago, spirit of norm smith said:

Trac to collingwood.  We would burn the joint down ! I’d rather keep him to his contract.  

If Trac goes to Collingwood I will go to somewhere in South East Asia, engage a back yard dentist to perform a full frontal lobotomy, have my flaccid body carted off to a beach and there I will thumb my copy of our 2021 premiership pictorial book whilst patiently waiting for the next tsunami to roll in.

Edited by John Crow Batty
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11 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

If that means Pert, Richardson or board members go, good.

100% agreed with everything you said, but we've seen enough from the senior leadership at the club to know that the above won't happen. 

Any review will be commissioned by the President and headed up by the CEO - there won't be any self reflection there.

My fear is this will be a smoke and mirrors exercise with a few sacrificial lambs... and as you say we have little or no ability to influence this.

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20 minutes ago, grazman said:

Why,  Morris at least is  just reporting what he has been told.  I get people don't like him for what he does so you can shoot the messenger if you like, but has any of what he reported proven to be untrue?   As someone else alluded to he gets very strong mail re our club and always has.  

Personally I don't think  he had to go digging for the story, I think it was given to him on a silver platter.

Has Tracc been the best team mate he can possibly be?  

Some serious bridge-mending to be undertaken.

 

* McClure isn't a real journo, just a fifteen year old trapped in an adult body fantasing he's making and breaking deals - none of what he 'reports' is actual reporting - its pure conjecture.

Your fooling yourself on Morris , he is a leech.

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36 minutes ago, drysdale demon said:

Your fooling yourself on Morris , he is a leech.

I agree with you - but my point wasn't about his character, it was whether his reporting was accurate - which I believe it is.  It's just most Melbourne supporters don't want to hear it. 

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1 hour ago, grazman said:

I agree with you - but my point wasn't about his character, it was whether his reporting was accurate - which I believe it is.  It's just most Melbourne supporters don't want to hear it. 

He doesn't have any character. He probably was given some information but by who and how true it is remains to be seen.

He is also trying to obtain as much mileage out of it as possible.

I also realise that as in all sporting clubs there are problems amongst playing groups at various times, it would be strange if there weren't, most are dealt with without leakage

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West Coast Eagles receive Quaynor or Brody Mihocek and our first rounder

Pies receive Petracca

Dees receive Harley Reid and lose their first rounder.

- Sam McClure please reference me when you run with this story.

Edited by Norm Smith's Curse
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14 hours ago, The Lobster Effect said:

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...

Abso-[censored]-lutely.

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It was reported Petracca was spotted talking with Lachie Neale.

Christian Petracca spotted meeting Brisbane Lions captain Lachie Neale

He may be seeking the voice of someone who went through a similar experience, both requesting his trade from Freo then requesting one from Brisbane, but ultimately sticking with the latter.

Interesting reading this 2021 article about Neale's situation and his difficulty dealing with its public nature.

Real reason Lachie Neale backflipped on AFL trade request

 

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2 minutes ago, Deebymistake said:

I like your humour, but a tad too soon :-)

Oh I don’t think he’s going anywhere - but there’s a bit of supporter backlash on him and his management for starting this chapter

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13 minutes ago, MrFreeze said:

This may well be true. But if I'd started a media [censored]-storm I would be doing my best to be discreet. Meeting with opposition players is not an act of good faith and I think it would reflect very badly on him. I hate to think what other players are thinking. 

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