St Kilda would give anything to have taken Petracca at No. 1 over the ill-fated McCartin, writes Nick Riewoldt
Jake Lever, Steven May, Ed Langdon and Adam Tomlinson should be the icing on top of Melbourne’s list rebuild. But how many of the additions have actually been a success? Nick Riewoldt looks at the two rebuilds of Melbourne and St Kilda.
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The path to Saturday night’s clash between St Kilda and Melbourne can be traced back to 2014. The year both clubs hit the reset button.
The Saints drafted Paddy McCartin at No. 1 and the Demons took Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw at two and three.
Until now, it has been a lean decade for both clubs. The Saints have not played finals since 2011.
The Demons made the play-offs once — a preliminary final in 2018 — but their form since makes that season look like an aberration.
They finished 17th last year and this season they have only beaten one top-eight side in Collingwood.
As a result, these sides have been incredibly active in reshaping their lists over the past six years. On Saturday, one point will stand out.
When they run out in Alice Springs the lives of the headline acts from the 2014 draft – McCartin and Petracca – could not be further apart.
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McCartin’s career appears all but over after stepping away from the game to deal with the debilitating concussions that affected his quality of life.
Petracca, in comparison, is on the cusp of superstardom.
When you rewind to that 2014 draft and look at the ensuing six years it really is a cautionary tale about the inexact science and patience needed when recruiting teenagers.
There are no guarantees that early picks will work out immediately, if at all.
There is talk that St Kilda is in the market for an A-grade midfielder.
What they wouldn’t give to have called Petracca’s name out six years ago.
But we can only say that now with the benefit of hindsight. And we wouldn’t have been saying it 12 months ago, such has been the improvement in Petracca’s game.
McCartin endured a horrible string of bad luck.
He is genuinely one of football’s saddest tales.
You could strongly debate whether selecting McCartin was the right call — he played 35 games and he kicked three goals once.
So his performances never rubber stamped the lofty draft expectations, and unfortunately his concussion issues mean we might never get a definitive answer on whether he should have been taken at No.1.
Unless, of course, he recovers sufficiently and makes a comeback to the game — a storyline that we are all barracking for.
With that being said, Petracca was not an overnight sensation.
Another example of why patience is needed when assessing draft talent.
For every Chris Judd and Matt Rowell who burst on to the scene as high picks, there are the Luke Hodges, Gary Abletts and Christian Petraccas who take a few years to hit their peak.
When assessing the 2014 draft, clearly Melbourne has come out on top.
The Saints’ first three picks were McCartin, Hugh Goddard and Daniel McKenzie. Two of the three are no longer on the list, and McKenzie is not getting a game.
So we move on to trades and recruiting mature age players — decisions made on footballers who are a much more known quantity.
Both of these clubs have been active in this space in recent years.
It is here that St Kilda has a clear edge. It brought in Dan Hannebery which hasn’t worked yet and Dean Kent who has been OK, but last year the Saints got it right.
Dan Butler is a tick, Dougal Howard is a tick, Zak Jones is a tick, Brad Hill hasn’t been at his best but we are now seeing more of what he can do, and Paddy Ryder started slowly but is fighting back to his best.
Melbourne has not had the same success. In recent years they have brought in Jake Lever, Steven May, Ed Langdon, Kade Kolodjashnij, Braydon Preuss and Adam Tomlinson.
Of those six, Tomlinson has been a failure, Lever has looked shaky since his knee reconstruction, Preuss and Kolodjashnij have hardly played, Langdon has been OK and May has been good after poor start to his Melbourne career.
The Saints and Dees will still be active in draft and trade moving forward, but one gets the feeling that their pieces are set.
Both squads have great young talent to grow around and Clayton Oliver, Petracca, Max King and Jade Gresham will excite their fans for a decade.
Which brings us to this contest. Saturday looms almost as an elimination final.
A loss to either team is not terminal in terms of finals hopes but if you can’t beat the other you’re not winning the flag.
No matter what side of the fence you sit on with these two, you’re thinking: “If we are good enough, we just win.”
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There are tiny degrees of separation between these two teams everywhere you look.
There’s a layer of Alan Richardson sitting in the Melbourne coach’s box, as back up for Simon Goodwin, against his replacement at St Kilda Brett Ratten.
But mostly it stems back to 2014 when both were on the bottom and began a race to the top.
While Saturday is not the summit, it’s a vital step in the journey.
Originally published as St Kilda would give anything to have taken Petracca at No. 1 over the ill-fated McCartin, writes Nick Riewoldt