Full name Christian Petracca Height 1.86 m | Height / weight 186 cm / 94 kg | |
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Date of birth (1996-01-04) 4 January 1996 (age 21) Draft No. 2, 2014 national draft Siblings Robert Petracca, Julian Petracca Parents Elvira Petracca, Tony Petracca Similar Angus Brayshaw, Jesse Hogan, Jack Viney, Max Gawn, Paddy McCartin Profiles | ||
Going places christian petracca afl
Christian Petracca (born 4 January 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.86 metres (6.1 ft) tall and weighing 94 kilograms (207 lb), Petracca has the ability to play dual-positions as a forward and a midfielder both on the inside and outside. He had a standout junior basketball career where he played in the Victorian under 16 side and he was named in the Australian under 18 squad. He entered top-level football early when he played for Victoria at under 12 level and he represented them throughout his junior career, culminating in selection for Victoria Metro in the 2014 AFL Under 18 Championships. In addition, he joined the TAC Cup competition as a bottom-aged player. His achievements as a junior included winning the Larke Medal, the most valuable player at state level, and selection in the All-Australian and TAC Cup Team of the Year sides. He was recruited by Melbourne with the second selection in the 2014 AFL draft and he made his AFL debut in 2016, resulting in an AFL Rising Star nomination.
Contents
- Going places christian petracca afl
- Christian petracca interview nab afl rising star 6th september 2016
- Early life
- AFL career
- Statistics
- References
Christian petracca interview nab afl rising star 6th september 2016
Early life
Petracca was recognised as an adept footballer at a young age by representing Victoria at under-12 level. He played his junior football with the Park Orchards Football Club, Warrandyte Football Club and Beverley Hills Football Club. Apart from football, he was talented at most sports he played including cricket, soccer, and tennis, but especially basketball. His leadership was recognised at a young age when he was named co-captain of the Victorian Primary Schools (VPS) basketball side. He featured in the under-16 Victorian basketball side and he was selected in the Australian under-17 squad alongside 2014 NBA number-five draft pick and Utah Jazz player, Dante Exum. Basketball was his best sport as a junior, however, he decided to pursue a football career instead at sixteen years of age to stay in Australia and be closer to friends and family.
Petracca attended Whitefriars College, completing year 12 in 2013 and he was named as the captain of their football side in the same year. He was a bottom-aged player with the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup during 2013 playing as a forward and he finished with 41 goals from 17 matches, including six against the Geelong Falcons in round nine and five in the preliminary final, also against the Geelong Falcons. He was named as one of the best players in the 92-point grand final victory against the Dandenong Stingrays, finishing with two goals and twenty-one disposals and ended the season as the Eastern Ranges leading goalkicker whilst also tying for second place in the best and fairest count. He received mid-year honours through selection as a bottom-aged player for Vic Metro in the 2013 AFL Under 18 Championships, and played in one match, the opening round match against Queensland where he was named as one of the best players. He also played for and captained the Victoria GAA minor (under 18) gaelic football side at the 2013 Australasian Gaelic Football in which he garnered player of the tournament honours.
After graduating high school in 2013, Petracca attended Swinburne University during 2014, studying commerce and marketing. He was awarded a scholarship within the AIS-AFL Academy, which saw him begin his draft year participating in the AIS-AFL Academy match against Collingwood's Victorian Football League (VFL) side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in April, followed by a two-week tour to Europe. After declaring he wanted to be captain of the Eastern Ranges for 2014, he was instead named vice-captain due to his commitments with the AIS-AFL Academy. He played nine matches for the season finishing with 20 goals, he ended the season with a tied third-place finish in the Morrish Medal and he was named on the half-forward flank in the TAC Cup team of the year. He was again selected for Vic Metro in the Under 18 Championships playing a midfield, on-ball role. He played five out of six matches and he was named in the best players in every match, where he averaged twenty-five disposals, five marks and five clearances per match. His performances in the championships saw him rewarded with the Larke Medal as the championships best player, the best and fairest player for Vic Metro where he finished fourteen votes ahead of Ed Vickers-Willis, and he was named in the All-Australian team as the centre midfield position.
After Petracca's strong performances in the championships, it was predicted he would be drafted inside the top-five in the 2014 national draft, however, by the end of the TAC Cup season his draft chances were elevated to him becoming the number one draft pick. His move into the midfield during 2014 proved he had the ability to play in both the forward-line and midfield, along with an increase in his endurance, this saw him described as the "most dominant player in the draft" by AFL Media journalist, Callum Twomey. His dual position capabilities saw him draw comparisons to Richmond player, Dustin Martin, and Port Adelaide midfielder, Ollie Wines, which led an AFL recruiter to rate him as a "star" and note that he has a "unique skill-set for an 18-year-old. He mixes power, speed, leap and marking. He’s a mid-forward, he’ll be an impact player used in short spells onball, [and] he’s a unique talent."
AFL career
Despite speculation Petracca would be the number one draft pick in the months leading to the 2014 national draft, he was ultimately drafted by the Melbourne Football Club with their first selection and second overall; the eventual number one draft pick, Paddy McCartin, was drafted to the St Kilda Football Club as a long-term replacement for Nick Riewoldt. He was predicted to play in the opening round of 2015 due to having an "AFL ready body", however, his season ended abruptly after rupturing his ACL in his left knee at training in February. In May, he signed a two-year contract extension to the end of 2018.
After missing the entire 2015 season, speculation surrounded Petracca and when he would play his debut match, however, a basketball mishap saw him break his toe during the Christmas break. Early reports stated he could still make his debut in round one, but, Melbourne coach, Paul Roos, quashed the reports by stating the mishap had cost Petracca a round one debut. Following the recovery from his broken toe, he played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions. As he spent more time in the VFL, speculation grew as to when he would make his AFL debut, along with AFL Media journalist, Callum Twomey, noting the footy world was "fascinated" with Petracca and his potential debut. He ultimately made his debut in round six against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in a 39-point loss; there was strong hype surrounding his debut, however, his performance in his debut was labelled as a glimpse of his potential. In his second match he kicked his first AFL goal, finishing with two for the match; his second goal, in which he broke away from his opponent and tapped the ball to himself from the ground, saw former Brisbane Lions forward, Jonathan Brown praise his skill by stating "jeez...it's a simple game when you make it look that easy." In his fourth match, he recorded twenty-one disposals, eleven score involvements and seven tackles in the sixty-three point win against the Brisbane Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which saw him rewarded with the round nine nomination for the Rising Star. The match drew high praise from the head of football writer at the Herald Sun, Mark Robinson while teammate, Jack Watts labelled him an "absolute beast". After a handful of matches, he became the favourite to win the Rising Star and received praise from Australian Football Hall of Fame members, Matthew Lloyd and Wayne Carey, with the former claiming his ability would bring fans through the gates, and the latter compared him to Norm Smith Medallist and three-time premiership player, Steve Johnson. Fox Sports Australia journalist, Ben Waterworth made further comparisons to Steve Johnson, while also declaring Petracca edged Johnson with his overhead marking ability, with former St Kilda captain, Danny Frawley reiterating during the Queen's Birthday clash, "every time he goes near the ball, you sense he's going to mark the ball because he's got a beautiful pair of hands." He played every match following his debut, and finished the season with seventeen in total. After tailing off in the second half of the season, he finished sixth in the Rising Star and he finished twelfth in Melbourne's best and fairest count. He was, however, recognised as one of the best young players in the league when he was named in the 22under22 team on the half-forward flank.