The 'farcical' Christian Petracca and Melbourne saga - Sunday Footy Show

the whole Christian petraca and the media release that came out from the Melbourne football club yesterday this is it's not a full stop to this story no look TJ the whole episode with Petra Melbourne has just been completely FAL there's been ego there's been delusion there's been ridiculous media management there's been Spin and have a look at this last night and and the use we've highlighted there of the word exclusive now this is a footy club that hadn't been able to communicate with Christian Peta for weeks where it fested to the point of almost no return and then they've managed to track track down and and declared it's an exclusive on their own website so look that's well done melbour Med Department that's fantastic it's just extraordinary even that last line there we'll just leave up that quote there I love my footy it remains my number one priority and always has been well yeah as for my future at the Melbourne football club I remain committed to playing for the red and blue well you weren't when you say I remain committed you weren't committed to playing for the red and blue you wanted to go to another club you wanted to take brand Petra to a big club and that was what you were saying that's what your teammates were saying and this is the the circus that unfolding in the past 2 or 3 weeks as Christian himself chose to let this play out in a very very public media sense now the realities of it are there were 5 years remaining of a contract and the delusional element to this whole Saga was partially driven by Christian himself how a currency from a club of one of those big Club natur's brownie was ever ever going to be able to get this deal done he's got wind of that in the past week that No Deal could possibly be done for him on as much as 1.7 million dollar at various stages of that deal that remains until the end of 2029 so saying the only reason he's staying is there was no takers is that is that your there were takers from the sense that they would like the deal the deal could not be done with what Melbourne was going to demand and look I acknowledge fully acknowledge the trauma Kane that that Christian Peta has been through physically and more so mentally from the King's Birthday hit from Dar Mo I get all that and it's a major part of where his thought processes are but there's been an immaturity in my eyes a significant immaturity attached to his dealings in the past two weeks at least and maybe even a whole lot longer yeah I mean there's there's a lot of ways you can take this discussion you can then look at the club and they they're blaming this as well and has this been the Catalyst for them finally acknowledging that they've got some issues when they've been so strong that they don't they've had their heads in the sand but you can also look at Christian's management as well because anyone you speak to in this space says you don't use this action or go this nuclear unless you know a deal can get done unless you've got a club there saying yep we've got pick such and such we've got the salary cap room we've got a future first round pick we can get it done that was that was that was never going to happen so I mean his advice that he's been given in this year question that as well I'm not I'll let Robbie datio and Paul Connors of Conor sports management play this out publicly if they want to but my reading of this year is this was all Christian driven and people around Christian driven before it even got to the management so they are experienc I'm not here to defend them I don't care for how they present themselves but history tells me when they do go public they do get their player out I don't I don't believe they G I feel he's gone Rogue on the whole thing and his teammates think he's gone Rogue to a certain point Brown Doo sorry where did the whole thing come from about this was orchestrated to build his social media media brand because he's he's big on you know making banana bread or something that came from him that came from him that that was surely there's no substance to this being a catalyst to drive numbers on social media he used the word brand himself uh in conversations with people at the footy Club in recent times and the whole brand petara thing took out of control he's not Travis Kelsey he's not David Beckham and and he he doesn't have a right to go to a big Club just because he wants out and Bry you've got a view too and you and I discussed this on and off air that the problems that he's got and they are real they are with the foot Club we'll look at the foot Club in a moment TJ as part of this storyline but they were obvious to Christian before the injury on King's birthday in my eyes and I know you've got the same view yeah there would have been and the the issues at the Melbourne football club whether it's a coaching level playing level the commitment that some players have shown this year he would have known that before he's asked for it or wanted to explore trade but where I Dam you scoffed at the fact that he doesn't think that football you didn't think football is number one priority in one of those statements there do you do you think he's got other priorities I still feel like Chris P tra the football is his number one priority that's what he makes his bread and butter from that's what he wants to be he wants to be a Premiership player I still feel like that is his number one obligation well that's where he gets the most part of his money that that is going to come to him and will come to him by way of the contract for another 5 years yeah okay just before you get on to uh the the train wreck that was the Kate Ry interview on senen uh on Thursday can I ask you three guys right you've all been at football clubs where you've had comings and goings and I dare say you've been in situations where you've had teammates in a situation not quite as dramatic as this one who have then sort of come back into the club with their toil between their legs do you forgive and forget and just move on and you're all there for the common cause I think you do forgive and forget once you're back there absolutely I think they're going to open their arms and say welcome back because we need you to go back up and play finals football again we need you fit we need your healthy but I was surprised that Kate Ry hadn't spoken to Christian betco okay we'll get to that in a moment yeah 100% you forgive and forget and one thing you got to understand on Melbourne's leadership group you got lever and may who both come from other clubs as well so players understand this is the business players understand there are certain issues players will have certain issues with the club these get taken over um so players forgive and forget players will move on um but I think as an industry and as a playing group as coaches as clubs as fans you're willing to take players from other clubs but you don't want to lose players and I think as an industry we need to grow up a little bit of the conversation but also there's ways and means of doing it isn't there well there are and did you want to have a I think there'd be a level of disappointment that this has become so public because at the end of every offseason at the end of every exit interviewer as you guys know you share what your frustrations are but I feel like TJ everything has become public from the time that he was disgruntled with the care that he didn't receive that Tom Morris broke on on your station I think it was on August 12 or something your station as well andn as well um that's become public then I feel like every exit interview becomes public Coy pickets homesickness becomes public what is happening at Melbourne where all of the stories are leaking publicly CU these sort of discussions happen all the time and they remain private so my point would be if I was a teammate of Christians I'd be really frustrated not that it can't be solved that this has all become public well again the problem of this this is a a fically handled situation from everyone and Kate Ry TJ to which you referred a moment ago on SC on Thursday just didn't have answers when she chose herself to to publicly talk about the problems I haven't spoken directly to him about that so again I'm not going to comment on on the media issues I I'm not commenting so um please be really clear I'm not commenting on anything about what his wishes are or are not because um I haven't had that direct conversation these conversations have been had as is appropriate with with the football Department not me I'm um that's not my area of expertise do you have a clear grasp of where he thinks the club has failed him no I don't um actually and so we're very happy to work through through that with him and we're chatting to him and talking to him every day and working through that we're not in direct contact with him for Medical Care at that point in time that's happening through his doctors so in that constant communication has he told you that he would rather be elsewhere next year he has not told me that directly no do you need to hear that um again I don't personally need to hear that what I need to hear are Christian what are the issues that you have with the club and how do we work towards a resolution just a a dreadful media moment amongst a series of dreadful media moments for that football club it's not only Kate Ry it's also the CEO Gary Pur it's the coach s Goodwin who just talk about culture and culturally uh ad nauseum where that is the problem and that is the core of what Christian petrer has been about and it seems It's all been left to Max gon I mean you only needed to see him you know as he arrived at the all Australian night he was and to his credit he did each and every interview that was asked of him and most of it was centered around Christian Peta so hey Max can't do it all on his own