On 19/08/2024 at 11:50, WiseDeeMan said:

 

The longer this Petracca saga drags out, the more I’m leaning towards he’s going. He should have addressed it by now, and the fact he hasn’t, suggests he wants out in my view. 

 

Melbourne rightfully are playing the “he’s contracted and not going anywhere” card. 

 

But for f*+k sake MFC, if he does want to go, make a stance, and stop playing ‘nice guy’. 

 

You send him to the club that offers the best return for the our club ANYWHERE in Australia…not, oh “he wants to go to Collingwood” because it’s nice and convenient for him! With all due respect f^*k him!

 

This also sends a firm message to anyone else wanting to break contract - you can request a trade, but where you end up, is up to us. 

 

My sneaky suspicion is the managers have too much power in the AFL and clubs are scared to upset them. 

 

I’m sick of contracted players calling the shots in AFL “Im home sick”, but I will only play for this specific team. 

 

In US sports, if you are contracted, the clubs will trade you where suits the CLUB, not the individual. When you become a free agent, then you can call the shots. That’s what FREE AGENCY is. 

 

Also, they rarely ever send them to a team that’s a potential fellow contender (eg. exactly the opposite of what we did with Grundy last year), you send them to the [censored] end of the competition!

 

As a top 5 player in the comp (categorically), he’s worth at least 3 top 10 picks (as per Dangerfield, Tim Kelly, Jeremy Cameron etc) and the only clubs that could come up with that, are the bottom of the ladder teams most likely. See how he likes it there. 

It's a fine line 

The club is being nice to try and salvage the situation imho.

But if the horse has bolted than by all means your right it's time to play hardball.

Nobody is bigger than the club. And the Mfc has a right and a duty to send players who want to break contracts wherever they want.

You can't have a contract and reap all the advantages of it and break it as you see fit. It's totally the clubs disgresssion where you end up.

This is not to say Tracca is being demanding or anything negative but simply that the club must look after itself first.

I hope he stays and I think he will.

Edited August 21, 2024Aug 21 by leave it to deever

1 hour ago, von said:

That show really is a wasteland of moronic opinions.

Come on, you can go harder than that.

2 hours ago, 640MD said:

There is no bad publicity.

this keeps tracca’s name around. And the demons name up front.

if we are being spoken about the club sponsors are happy.  
 

Its like a win win situation. If it is orchestrated then tracca will not make a public decision until after the finals.  We might have missed the finals action bit this keeps the “brand” front and centre.

 

and it gives the media something to ponder and pontificate about.

everyones happy except demonland !

Spot on 640MD. It also helps that Goody, Richo and Pert are not a bunch of nuffies who act professionally, work the problem, and are able to send a clear message without picking fights with the media who relish in conflict.

I think Trac will stay.  Things need to be said sometimes.  Sometimes club leaders and officials need to hear it.  Trac needs to listen and understand.  It’s part of life. Life at a footy club or a workplace involves some hard discussions.  We love Trac and will always want him in a red and blue jumper !!! 

1 hour ago, Lucifers Hero said:

Until I hear from the Club/ Christian that he isn't staying I'm prepared to give both the benefit of the doubt. 

I haven't seen much love toward him in this thread so it would be good if folks expressed that from time to time.

Totally agree that fans vent their frustrations. The venting can be done with respect and compassion rather than vitriol and imputing all sorts of motives, jumping at shadows without any facts etc.

This isn't bigfooy!

Fair enough. I’m in the camp that thinks he’s leaving his options open until it’s clear the big vic clubs can’t put together a deal, then he’ll commit. That may well be hogwash but it’s my vibe and I think it’s incredibly poor form from a guy who’s got 5 years on a contract and is a leader at the club. 

All this worry for nothing. 

It's funny, I didn't get the same things as others from Jake's interview.  He was professional and sais the right things.

Firstly, in terms of what he revealed in the interview - and not wanting to be seen as supporting someone like Caro - but if the players were wondering "where's Trac?" as he mentioned, why didn't one of them call / text him?  And if they did and didn't get a response, didn't they keep trying or escalate it until they knew he is ok - it doesn't sound like anyone did that.  It comes across like when a player like Max is getting worked over by the opposition and no one comes to check in / help them out.  These guys are meant to be close!  It just doesn't add up.  This is obviously not on Lever but Gary / Tim didn't follow up at all.  

Secondly, I hope he's not our next captain - he doesn't have the charisma / personality for mine.  He would do a good job, but I hope by then there is an alternative.  I know others / most will disagree.  Before the last month I thought it was going to be Trac.

2 minutes ago, deelusions from afar said:

It's funny, I didn't get the same things as others from Jake's interview.  He was professional and sais the right things.

Firstly, in terms of what he revealed in the interview - and not wanting to be seen as supporting someone like Caro - but if the players were wondering "where's Trac?" as he mentioned, why didn't one of them call / text him?  And if they did and didn't get a response, didn't they keep trying or escalate it until they knew he is ok - it doesn't sound like anyone did that.  It comes across like when a player like Max is getting worked over by the opposition and no one comes to check in / help them out.  These guys are meant to be close!  It just doesn't add up.  This is obviously not on Lever but Gary / Tim didn't follow up at all.  

Max has mentioned multiple times over the past few weeks that he was in contact with Trac while he was away, speaking to him often. Haven't listened to the Lever interview yet. Does he mention that none of them were in contact with Trac?

4 minutes ago, Young Blood said:

Max has mentioned multiple times over the past few weeks that he was in contact with Trac while he was away, speaking to him often. Haven't listened to the Lever interview yet. Does he mention that none of them were in contact with Trac?

I think he was just hosing down the reports that there was a rift by saying it was more that they missed and so were asking (maybe themselves) "where's Trac?"

Maybe Max didn't fill the players in or maybe he did but not to the full extent and so players are thinking Trac is more into his tiktoks and spending time in better weather despite being one of the highest paid - not realising how he was struggling?

After listening to that SEN interview I’ve made the decision to have Jake Lever handle all communication with my family moving forward.

Absolute class.

12 hours ago, Gawndy the Great said:

Nope that ship has sailed IMO. After all that has transpired I don’t think you can ever fully trust Trac to have the best interest of the club at hand again. He has shown a part of himself that cannot be unseen no matter the circumstances.

Written by someone who, like everyone else on here, relies on gossip, rumour and press leaks for their information, this a reckless and unworthy statement. None of us really knows what is going on. While Trac is testing our patience with his silence, we need to understand that he is one bruised personality right now, having apparently looked the big goodbye in the eye.

5 minutes ago, pitmaster said:

Written by someone who, like everyone else on here, relies on gossip, rumour and press leaks for their information, this a reckless and unworthy statement. None of us really knows what is going on. While Trac is testing our patience with his silence, we need to understand that he is one bruised personality right now, having apparently looked the big goodbye in the eye.

You realise that you are one of the "everyone else"?

It seems there was a significant miscommunication surrounding Trac's prolonged absence from the team, and pinpointing exactly where the fault lies is challenging. It's likely that there were breakdowns in communication across various parties involved. What is clear, however, is that Trac was given time away from the club to recover, which is entirely fair and understandable considering the circumstances. While the club was undoubtedly aware of the physical toll on Trac, they might not have fully grasped the mental challenges he was facing as a result of the incident.

One would assume that the players were informed of Trac's leave, but perhaps they were not aware of the duration or the depth of his mental struggles. It's reasonable to think that some of the players may have tried to stay in touch with Trac, likely reaching out via text. If Trac wasn’t responding, possibly because he was grappling with the mental aspects of his situation, it’s easy to see how concerns could have arisen among the players. When they aren't receiving responses to their messages but then see him active on social media, posting cooking videos on TikTok and Instagram, it might have raised questions like, "Where is Trac?"

This lack of communication seems to have been confirmed by reports from training sessions where Trac was overheard apologizing to people at the club for not replying to their texts. This suggests that either Trac was feeling overwhelmed and disconnected, or that there was a broader issue of the players not checking in on him, leading to feelings of isolation on Trac's part. Jake Lever’s comments about players asking, "Where is Trac?" indicate that either they hadn’t reached out to him or hadn’t received any responses, and perhaps the club had not adequately communicated with the team about Trac's situation or the length of his absence.

While confidentiality issues between Trac and the club (as mentioned by Jake Lever in the interview) may have complicated matters, surely there could have been a way for the club to update the playing group without breaching any confidential agreements. The situation involves numerous variables, and much of this is speculation, but the root cause seems to be a breakdown in communication on several levels.

Moving forward, it’s crucial that everyone involved gets together to address these issues and ensure that such miscommunications don’t occur again. The hope is that relationships can be repaired and that the club can improve in more than just communication, evolving into a more professional and supportive environment for all its players.

17 minutes ago, Stretch Johnson said:

You realise that you are one of the "everyone else"?

I’m pretty sure they do. 
 

The point they’re making is that we all have the same level of understanding here (basically none) so we should be hasty in our attempts to disparage one of the club’s greatest players. 

Edited August 21, 2024Aug 21 by Mel Bourne

3 hours ago, seventyfour said:

Richmond are heading towards the same pain that North and West Coast have been through recently. I'd expect least 2 more years of <5 wins, then another few years remaining out of finals.

Say 2025-28 are seasons of development, then they might be ready for a go at finals in 2029. Trac would be 33 heading into that season.

Good luck selling that to Trac. There is zero chance he would go to Richmond and it's pointless for Richmond to trade for him. They could use their picks to have several shots at draft a player like Petracca, plus building a team of strong role players with all the other picks.

Agree, Petracca is not going to want to go there and its not going to happen. But if any team could satisfy us from a picks only perspective, it's them. Maybe St Kilda if they get high compensation for Battle.

Apologies if already posted - https://events.humanitix.com/petraccafdsringwoodrsl?

Someone go ask him straight up

Honestly I think this is 80% just some blokes who play football who aren't the best at communicating (some a bit unaware) with eachother. Trac may have felt isolated and didn't reach out but the players probably just kinda forgot and were playing just thinking about the next game. Both sides wishing the other side would reach out. Me and my mates are pretty similar but it stings Trac more since he was unable to do anything. 

26 minutes ago, DeesignerAU said:

Apologies if already posted - https://events.humanitix.com/petraccafdsringwoodrsl?

Someone go ask him straight up

Well either he will have gone public before then or he will do so there, having attracted a larger audience than he might have got otherwise.

Well I'm of the belief that he is as good as gone! 

3 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Well I'm of the belief that he is as good as gone! 

So who came to the party with 3 top 10 picks?

5 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Well I'm of the belief that he is as good as gone! 

And that Jeffo should be a 50 game player by now.

26 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Well I'm of the belief that he is as good as gone! 

Thank god. I was starting to get worried he might leave

😂

After 83 pages, I hereby declare Trac is not going anywhere.

I can't point you to anything definitive, BUT I make this conclusion based on:

- Original story was started by gutter rat tom morris. 

- There's still no categorical substance to this story. Silence/lack of definitive response from Trac is not necessary, and does not, of itself, prove the story. Sorry, tom. 

- No other viable team has the trade capital. Deal just can't get done. 

- On a human level, I can see Trac might have some issues. He could have died. I would think such an event makes people think and see things differently. Maybe not always perfectly. Who knows? Either way, it's quite possible it was not handled the best perhaps from everyone. These guys play footy for a living. They are not comms/relationship experts or psychologists/counsellors etc. They're fallible. They make mistakes. I am sure mistakes have been made across the ground. Trac said his piece yesterday and I trust that this will be the building blocks upon which they will build a better version of all players for next year. Trac's road to recovery/full health (physical and mental) will be a long one. Who better to assist than his band of brothers, many of whom with he won a flag. He will need their support to return to his best next year, and I am sure everyone will learn from this. 

- There is no outside supporting evidence of didly squat. 

Anyhoo, now that it's settled, I propose we call this thread... Christian Petracca tears it up for the Dees in 2025

Carryst, no good having an alternate opinion on this site is there??

Just now, picket fence said:

Carryst, no good having an alternate opinion on this site is there??

I asked a genuine question.

Who has come to the party with a trade that would satisfy the club?

Surely you were told something to make you believe he's as good as gone.