AFL general manager defends Chrstian Petracca from social media jibe

The AFL’s footy boss has defended wantaway Demon Christian Petracca from suggestion he is looking to leave the club to boost his social media following.

AFL footy boss Laura Kane has defended Christian Petracca after a veteran footy reporter suggested the Demons star could be agitating for a move out of Melbourne to boost his social media audience.

Footy columnist Caroline Wilson said Petracca — who posts cooking videos for his thousands of followers on Tik Tok and Instagram — may want to leave Melbourne to grow his audence at a club with a bigger fan base.

“Christian Petracca, we know he wants out,” she told a Melbourne Press Club event on Wednesday night.

“He is so desperate to leave Melbourne.

Christian Petracca is still recovering from his lacerated spleen. Picture: Michael Klein

“Whether it’s because of his brand, or he wants to go to a big club, or he thinks his recipes will get a better run at Collingwood or maybe he’s angry about how they handled a lot of issues.

“If it is right, he will go to the grievance type tribunal. How does that weigh on the AFL?

“When you have one of the best players in the game suggesting that his club is not good enough to, basically, handle a player like him.”

Wilson went on to say she had “no doubt” Petracca had said he only wanted to play for one of two clubs, Collingwood or Carlton, because he thought “that’s going to be better for my brand”.

But Kane, the AFL’s general manager, said Petracca promoted the game in a positive way through his social media presence.

AFL’s footy boss Laura Kane. Picture: Michael Klein

“It’s hard to be a player. There’s lots of different pressures that exist,” she said.

“His cooking channel and the content that he creates, that young kids watch, that promotes what we do.

“I see the game looking healthy and (Petracca) thoughtful about his own performance.”

Kane wouldn’t weigh into Petracca’s playing future, but said the league’s grievance tribunal was an effective tool in the process when player and club may be at a disagreement.

Petracca is exploring a trade from Melbourne amid disappointment over the way his life threatening injuries were handled.

Petracca suffered a lacerated spleen and punctured lung in the King’s Birthday clash against Collingwood.

Originally published as AFL general manager defends Chrstian Petracca from social media jibe