By Jon Pierik
Christian Petracca has revealed he is suffering from insomnia and seeing a trauma psychologist to deal with the aftermath of his life-threatening football injury, while AFL great Matthew Lloyd reported that some of the Melbourne superstar’s teammates believed it was time for Petracca to leave the Demons.
Lloyd told Nine’s Footy Classified he had spoken directly to Melbourne players who believed the relationship between Petracca and the club had deteriorated to the point that it was time they parted ways.
This masthead reported on Monday that Petracca had reiterated to the club at his exit interview, and to teammates at an end-of-season function, that he wanted to play for a rival Victorian club in 2025, and that Carlton spearhead Harry McKay was one of the few players who could unlock a potential trade. However, a trade remains unlikely as both players are on long-term multimillion-dollar contracts.
Petracca’s falling out with Melbourne follows a serious internal injury he sustained while playing for the Demons against Collingwood in June, and his reported frustration over the club’s rapid demise since the 2021 premiership, both on field and with a number of headline-grabbing dramas off-field.
Petracca has not spoken publicly about that disquiet, but has spoken about the physical and emotional trauma caused by the injury that ended his season. His latest comments – aired on the Howie Games podcast released on Tuesday morning – reveal the life-threatening injuries have led to insomnia and him seeing a trauma psychologist.
Even though Petracca is considered one of the AFL’s best players and in the prime of his career, Lloyd said his teammates were now questioning whether it was worth making the four-time All Australian honour his contract, which supposedly ties him to the club until the end of this decade.
“Two days ago or even a week ago, I would have said, you just fight for Christian and you just say, ‘No, we are going to have another year at it, let’s see if we can sort things out.’ But I think it’s going past that point,” Lloyd told Footy Classified.
“I am happy to say, I have bumped into a couple of his teammates, and they probably now think it is best for Christian to leave the club. I think it’s got to the point where they are frustrated as much with Christian as Christian is with the club.
“It might have got to that point of no return. The problem is, if Harry McKay says no, the whole thing falls over.”
In what continues to be a traumatic time for Petracca, with the in-contract Melbourne star informing teammates and the Demons he wants to play at a new club next season, the champion midfielder has again opened up about his mental and physical battles.
Christian Petracca was in immediate pain after the collision in the King’s Birthday clash.Credit: AFL Photos
Petracca, 28, said he continued to relive events from that traumatic afternoon when he suffered four broken ribs, a lacerated spleen and a small puncture to his lung when accidentally kneed by Collingwood captain Darcy Moore.
“It’s been really, really tough. Probably the most traumatic thing I’ve experienced in my life,” Petracca said on the Howie Games podcast. “The trauma of everything … it’s actually not necessarily the incident of it, it’s the aftermath of it. The surgery in general was a really traumatic experience: being awake for it, internal bleeding, wasn’t able to be put to sleep under anaesthetic. I can think of every single thing happening at that time.
“This must have been 3am in the morning. I didn’t know at the time; I was drugged up. Bella [Petracca’s partner] came to the ICU the next day and basically said that at three in the morning … we got the number off the surgeon because he called to say you might not make it, basically. He’s in critical condition.”
Asked if there were fears he might not survive the operation, Petracca replied: “Yeah, because there was internal bleeding and everything. So [I was] in serious and critical condition. For me, it was more that, that hit home rather than the actual injury itself. I’ll be fine physically, and I’ll be able to train and get back to playing and everything. It’s just more that ... the people around you feel it more than you.
“Even since then, the last six, seven weeks have been really tough on both of us. She’s been amazing for me since I first met her but just through this experience. I’ve got insomnia I feel like, to be honest, because of stuff like that. I can’t sleep because of stuff like that … I’m having to see a trauma psych to deal with what’s going on.”
Petracca said there was “a lot of stuff” he was dealing with.
“The self-doubt, the trauma, and the stress of everything. I’ve been in and out of hospital three or four times through emergency,” he said.
Petracca wasn’t asked about his playing future. He has been linked with a move to Collingwood, the club he grew up barracking for, or Carlton.
McKay has been linked with an exchange for Petracca, but McKay’s manager, David Trotter of Hemisphere Management, was emphatic that his client would not be leaving the Blues. McKay is contracted to the Blues until the end of 2030.
“There is absolutely no way Harry would consider going to Melbourne,” Trotter told SEN.
“Harry will not be going anywhere. Carlton have said it’s not coming from them and Melbourne have said it’s not coming from them.
“Harry is an absolute no –100 per cent.”
The Blues or Magpies would satisfy one of Petracca’s main desires – to regularly play in front of big crowds.
On the podcast, he said Greater Western Sydney captain Toby Greene was the man he would most like to play with.
“I love Toby Greene. He is so polarising, but I just love watching him play,” Petracca said. “He is such a boss.”
Petracca’s future will be the most intriguing debate through the October trade period, despite Demons chief executive Gary Pert, coach Simon Goodwin and football department chief Alan Richardson insisting he will not be traded under any circumstances.
“No, we’re not going to trade Christian,” Richardson told 3AW on Friday night.
“He’s a fantastic player, a fantastic Melbourne person. We acknowledge that it has been a really tough time for him, but our footy club has been built around some really important signings.”
Petracca is a four-time All-Australian, a dual best and fairest winner, Norm Smith medallist and a premiership player. He is contracted on a multimillion-dollar deal until the end of 2029.
He confirmed in June that his family had been left “frustrated” over the situation he was in after surgery, while he was frustrated last season when he felt the club could have acted more strongly when dealing with teammate Clayton Oliver, who had well-publicised issues on and off the field.
A Demons spokesman insisted on Tuesday night that Petracca would be at the club next season.
Petracca’s manager, Robbie D’Orazio, declined to comment.
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