Melbourne defender Jake Lever says he was shocked to hear what Christian Petracca was going through

As Melbourne officials make it clear Christian Petracca is going nowhere, a star teammate has opened up on a meeting with the injured superstar.

Christian Petracca back at Melbourne training.

Melbourne premiership defender Jake Lever says a meeting with disgruntled superstar Christian Petracca earlier this week was a real “eye-opener”, but he walked out content his teammate had put to bed reports of him wanting out of the club.

Petracca addressed the players on Monday amid ongoing speculation about his future and continued reports that frustrations stemming from his season-ending injuries and poor performances from the Demons put his future in doubt.

Senior club officials have all declared Petracca that will see out his contract, which runs until 2029.

Lever, who played in the 2021 premiership with the Norm Smith medallist, said the meeting not only allayed any fears of Petracca leaving but dismissed suggestions teammates were upset that he had spent time away from the club as he recovered and said it was important to hear just what he had been going through.

“We probably just haven’t understood what he’s gone through since his injury. He spent a long time away from the football club,” Lever said on Wednesday.

“For senior players like myself, it was really an eye-opener of what he’s been going through. I know he wasn’t in (at the club) a hell of a lot over the last 10 to 12 weeks, but since he’s spoken to the group about what he’s gone through, you can see him coming through the door (again).

All the focuses from this morning's media conference, thanks to Fujifilm 📷

🔹 Petracca addresses the players
🔹 Ben Brown's legacy
🔹 Jack Viney's contract

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“It was almost like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. He’s back involved, (we see) his smiling face at the football club again, that’s the Christian Petracca that I’ve missed.

“I fully understood once he explained to me that he needed time away and needed time with his fiancee Bella to really get away and football wasn’t the priority at that time, which is completely understandable.

“Everyone goes through ups and downs in life and his happens to be a little bit more public than most others. I love seeing him at the football club now with a smiling face, there’s a weight lifted off his shoulders.

“He said he couldn’t speak to us five or six weeks ago, he wasn’t ready to talk about it. He hadn’t come to terms with it himself, let alone trying to speak in front of 44 guys that you see every day.”

Petracca cleared the air with teammates earlier in the week. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Christian Petracca was in a bad way after the incident.

Lever said he was shocked when reports Petracca wanted out first aired and had since seen enough smiles from his star teammate to feel confident they weren’t true

“My first reaction was, ‘I don’t think that’s true at all’,” Lever said on SEN Breakfast.

“For the past seven years we’ve been driving the club forward together and been really passionate about making Melbourne a great team again.

“A couple of years ago he signed a seven-year deal, so obviously when you read stories like that you’re not sure if they’re true or not.

“Obviously, ‘Trac’ has been going through a tough time of late, so someone is going to try and grab onto a story. But for me, I’ve seen a person that comes into the club every single day and tries to drive the club forward.

Max + Jack leading the next generation of Demons 🥹

Just like @Hertz who's been supporting us across the decades, the next generation of Maxes and Jacks know their leaders aren't going anywhere.#DemonSpiritpic.twitter.com/Xxqg5u6w9t

— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) August 20, 2024

“For someone I’ve seen every day do that and then the story comes out, it was a big shock to me.”

Melbourne star Jack Viney and captain Max Gawn have both committed their long-term futures to the Demons this week and declared their intent to get back to the finals after missing for the first time since 2019.

The Demons finish their 2024 season with a massive Friday night clash against Collingwood at the MCG.