Demons champion skips club best and fairest after trade unrest

The Demons have announced superstar Christian Petracca will not attend the club’s best and fairest awards after recent turmoil.

Christian Petracca at the Demos' Best and Fairest and at the Brownlow medal awards.

Christian Petracca will not attend the Demons’ best and fairest awards, the club announced on Wednesday night.

The move is raising eyebrows just weeks after bombshell reports the superstar footballer was considering requesting to be traded away from the club.

The turmoil overshadowed the Demons’ nightmare season with reports Petracca’s family will “never forgive” the football club over its handling of the internal injuries he suffered during an on-field incident earlier this year.

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The Demons, however, insist the reason for Petracca’s decision to skip the awards night is unrelated to the storm that swirled last month.

According to the football club, Petracca says he’s trying to get himself back “physically and mentally to the person I was” with an overseas trip to Austria for a training camp next month.

He will join other international athletes for a Red Bull training camp, but said he expects to join teammates on the first day of pre-season later this year.

However, the overseas trip means he won’t be there for the club champion dinner on October 4.

The club has approved Petracca’s break overseas.

Christian Petracca at the Demos' Best and Fairest and at the Brownlow medal awards.

Melbourne said Petracca had been cleared by his surgeon to increase his heart rate from a previous limit which had meant slow progress in his comeback from a ruptured spleen and other internal injuries he suffered in a marking contest during the King’s Birthday game.

The 28-year-old said in an interview on Melbourne’s website that he was “just trying to prioritise my training and my injury” with the overseas trip.

“It’ll be awesome probably from a mental point of view, getting back to that confidence in myself and my body, ready to attack day one of pre-season,” he said.

“For me it’s just been the most amazing experience, being able to use their facilities and have access to some of the best high performance people in the world.

“I want to be able to compete and get back out on the (MCG) in round 1 for the fans, and be really excited to run back out there.”

Melbourne fitness boss Selwyn Griffith said the Demons had been able to have input into Petracca’s training regimen while in the Red Bull camp.

“This training camp is crucial for Christian, both from a performance and mental wellbeing perspective,” Griffith said.

“We have worked closely with the high-performance team at Red Bull to ensure the camp maximises every opportunity, with the goal of having Christian fully prepared and ready for day one of pre-season.”

Petracca, who was widely reported to have pushed for a trade from Melbourne after dissatisfaction with the club’s direction, said he had participated in “really robust discussions” with the club’s leadership.

Christian Petracca was put through a traumatic surgery ordeal in June after he suffered a ruptured spleen, punctured lung and cracked ribs in a marking contest collision against Collingwood. Picture: Supplied

“I think for me, the conversations I’ve had over the past two or three months with the club have been really healthy,” he said.

“We’ve had really robust discussions. I think that’s awesome.

“Like any workplace or any footy club, you have these conversations throughout the year and you just want to make the environment a really good one that we love coming to work.”

The star midfielder had publicly made clear he would remain with the Demons earlier this month via a club statement.

Petracca underwent surgery without an anaesthetic due to the seriousness of the internal injury he suffered in June.

Petracca sat alongside Melbourne AFL and AFLW players to watch a women’s game at Casey Fields earlier this month. Picture: Morgan Hancock / Getty Images

The football club was eventually cleared by the AFL over the medical team’s handling of the incident where he returned to the field before needing to return to the dressing room.

He needed surgery to repair four broken ribs, lacerations to his spleen and a punctured lung and spent time in the ICU.

According to veteran football reporter Caroline Wilson, the saga is not over.

Wilson said on Channel 9 earlier this month there’s still a level of disgruntlement from the Petracca family behind the scenes.

“He is staying at the Melbourne Football Club for now. But this is not over, the family has not forgiven. I don’t think they’ll ever forgive for what happened to their son that day,” she said.

“I’m not accusing the Melbourne doctor of negligence or any wrongdoing, but mistakes were made and I’m not just talking about the Melbourne doctor.

“I’m not sure exactly what happened, but the story Christian is telling the PA I don’t think is pretty.”

Petracca is contracted at the Dees until 2029 on a lucrative seven-year deal signed in 2021.

Originally published as Demons champion skips club best and fairest after trade unrest