How Melbourne’s ‘one-paced’ midfield can cover Christian Petracca after horrifying injury

Christian Petracca will leave a massive hole in both the Dees’ midfield and forward lines. Does Melbourne have the depth to cover him?

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 10: Christian Petracca of the Demons leaves the field injured during the 2024 AFL Round 13 match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Melbourne Demons at The Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 10, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin will be scrambling to revitalise its engine room after the Demons lost their second-most important player on King’s Birthday.

Christian Petracca is set for an extended stint on the sidelines after lacerating his spleen, partly puncturing a lung and breaking four ribs.

Speaking on the Herald Sun Footy Podcast, scribe Glenn McFarlane said the aside from captain and ruckman Max Gawn, Petracca was the one player they could ill-afford to lose.

“This is the guy who can play in a midfield that now looks a boring, flat midfield, and he can also play forward and we’ve seen him go forward and dominate and kick goals and that’s an area where Melbourne are having huge issues in at the moment,” McFarlane said.

“They need that explosiveness they bring.”

He said Petracca was the one point of difference in the “one-paced” Dees midfield.

“You look at their list at the start of the season and think ‘this is a good list, it’s going to go places’ but I don’t know, it’s looking very similar to me and one-paced,” McFarlane said.

“You look at Clayton Oliver and at the moment he looks a shadow of himself, getting plenty of possessions but 298 metres gained so he’s had so many handballs.

“He’s not the player he was, Jack Viney’s been down a bit and still trying his heart out but almost looks like he’s trying too hard. so that’s why I think they need some spark in there.”

He said the Demons would need to throw the magnets around over the coming six weeks.

“We saw Kozzie (Kysaiah Pickett) in there at stages and I think that’s important and he’s important down the other end but he needs to become the player in there who gives them a little bit of spark.”

Will Kysaiah Pickett move into the midfield to give the Dees some spark? Picture: Michael Klein

“Do Rivers or McVee go through there? They need to reinvigorate the midfield because that was their great strength and at the moment it’s getting destroyed.”

Herald Sun Footy Podcast host Andy Bellairs said the issue was even more stark up forward, with Petracca having 14 goals to his name — the Dees’ fourth-most behind Bailey Fritsch (28), Pickett (17) and Jacob van Rooyen (16).

“There is and has been for a while a sense of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic in the forward line,” Bellairs said.

“They drop Ben Brown and then they bring him back two weeks later. They did the same with Josh Schache.”

Melbourne brought in Tom Fullarton to provide support in attack and in the ruck to replace Brodie Grundy, but has yet to be seen at senior level.

Jacob van Rooyen has continued his stint in the ruck despite being the Dees’ best forward and still very young, while youngster Matt Jefferson is also yet to debut despite 38 goals in 30 games since he was drafted.

“Does McAdam come back, do they send McDonald another go, do they go Schache, send Tomlinson forward?” Bellairs asked.

Harrison Petty is out of form for the Demons. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“Nothing’s worked so they may as well try something different.”

McFarlane said Goodwin would be “burning the midnight oil” during the bye to try and find a solution up forward.

“I think he needs to be daring and I think he needs to take a punt, the way their season is going, I don’t want to say it’s a write-off and they might still make finals but I don’t think they can win the flag. Why not have a crack and change some things and get some pizzazz in there.”

He said he didn’t think the Demons should end up in hot water for sending Petracca back onto the MCG, but questioned why they risked their star.

“I’ve got no issues with the medical staff, they would have done the right thing, they wouldn’t put him at risk but this guy is the most important player – leaving aside Max Gawn – at the club.

“Not often you see players come off in real pain, they go downstairs and get treatment and come back on.

“I don’t know why he went back on. Petracca is a Roll Royce, the game wasn’t gone when he came off but it was pretty close to being gone.”

Bellairs said it was “unconscionable” to send him back out considering the amount of pain he was in when he came from the field.

Originally published as How Melbourne’s ‘one-paced’ midfield can cover Christian Petracca after horrifying injury