AFL 2025: Melbourne star Christian Petracca on injury, trade buzz and appetite for success

Christian Petracca fought back tears as he revealed the toll his life-threatening injury had on his family. Petracca will play his 200th match this Sunday, but he almost didn’t reach 190 after suffering a lacerated spleen, punctured lung and fractured ribs last year. The Melbourne star returned to the field after the initial knock that day against Collingwood but was soon rushed to hospital with critical damage internally. He spent several days in the intensive care unit and underwent a gruelling recovery – similar to that of a car-crash victim. Petracca, 29, labelled the injury the most taxing period of his life for him and his family but said it provided him “with incredible perspective”. “Not even a part of my career, part of my life, and (for) my wife Bella obviously that was really difficult,” an emotional Petracca said. “For me, it’s been … we’ve got through it together which is the main thing. “I look back at that time now with incredible perspective, as I said, silver lining. “I wouldn’t have wanted to go through something like that, but life gave me that gift and I am really appreciative of being able to pull on the jumper every day now. “It’s given me a feeling that I never would’ve had before the injury, I think I took footy for granted a little bit and life. “It’s definitely shifted my priorities of what’s most important to me.” Petracca said his wife and family not only aided him through his recovery from injury but to 200 games. “She’s (Bella) been my biggest rock … it’s been amazing to have her by my side through difficult times but also through the highs as well,” he said. “She’s a competitor too, which is very funny, she pushes me to get better, which is awesome. “Obviously, my family, my parents, I wouldn’t be in the position I am here if it wasn’t for them, the sacrifices they made growing up for me. “My two older brothers, obviously being one of three and the youngest, I got bullied a lot growing up, but I thank them for the player I am now. “They still give me sh*t now for everything – that’s what brothers are there for.” Amid Petracca’s traumatic recovery and the investigation that followed was speculation he was in search of a fresh start elsewhere. Petracca said the “strong conversations” had last year was a normal process for a team striving to taste premiership success again. “Externally I understand there’s always going to be noise surrounding that, but internally I know, my teammates know, the club know: I am a Melbourne person through and through,” he said. “Last year was nothing more than wanting to make this football club better and see success. “I think we had strong conversations but that’s healthy, what high-performance environment isn’t having them? “It’s not necessarily listening to the players, I put the onus on myself, I need to get better as a leader too. “It wasn’t pointing fingers or blaming people, it was as a collective ‘how can we get better? We have the list, we have the coaching staff, we have incredible fans’. “For us it was about that, being in it together and understanding what we can achieve.” That speculation surfaced again this year after the Norm Smith medallist threw his mouthguard in frustration at Melbourne’s winless start to the season. Petracca pointed to his heritage with a giggle when asked about the well-documented reaction. “It’s (winning) why I play footy, to be honest, I express emotion … I am Italian,” he laughed. “I wear my heart on my sleeve, the way we talk, we talk with expression and emotion – I feel everything deeply. “For me, yeah, I was frustrated after a loss, but what competitor isn’t?” Petracca said he would look back on his career with great pride knowing he played more than 200 games after an ACL rupture in his debut year and the issues of last year. “I think I took it for granted in my first few years, having that ACL injury taught me a lot about what I needed to do and what it takes to be one of the best players in the competition,” he said. “Also my own expectation, what I need to do to get to that level – I think everything you go through helps you (and) makes you a better player. “Everything happens for a reason, there’s been a lot of highs and I have felt like over my period I have been a consistent footballer built off the habits and routines of Monday to Friday. “Then even last year with my injury as well, it was something that was unfortunate but it’s part of your journey, it’s part of your career and I will look back on my time and be really proud of going through something like that.”